- From: <JMMAW@aol.com>
- Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 05:38:26 EDT
- To: JMMAW@aol.com
- Message-ID: <2f.3afca0ea.2c1d9892@aol.com>
Hello,
What is the current status of Section 508 implementation within the
federal government? Is 508 benefiting federal employees with disabilities? Are
there ripple effects for 508 to the consumer or other government levels, and
if there are where are they? Who is the lead federal agency involved in
implementing 508? These questions and others will be discussed Friday, June 20 at a
town meeting on the web.
Join us and tell your friends to join us.
Thanks,
John Williams
TVWORLDWIDE.COM PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Thursday, June 12, 2003
Disability Experts to Webcast National Town Meeting on Rescuing Section 508
at AT508.com
Noted Panelists to Convene Disability Community On-line to Issue "Federal
Agency Report Card on Section 508 Compliance" as Concern over Government
Implementation Grows: Friday, June 20, 2:00 PM ET at www.AT508.com
Contact: Dave Gardy John Williams
TV Worldwide.com AT508.com
dgardy@tvworldwide.com JMMAW@aol.com
www.tvworldwide.com www.at508.com
(703) 961-9250 ext. 221 (703) 404-0071
Chantilly, Va. Internet TV Channel and leading assistive technology portal
AT508.com, an affiliate on the TVWorldwide.com network, announced it will offer
a free live video webcast of the National Town Meeting to Rescue Section 508,
to be held June 20, 2003 2:00 PM ET, on-line at www.AT508.com. The event will
highlight Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act on its 2nd
anniversary and feature prominent expert panelists from the community of those people
with disabilities who will issue a "Federal Agency Report Card on Section 508
Compliance". The panel will be led by world-renowned disability columnist John
Williams of AT508.com and Mike Paciello, President of The Paciello Group
(TPG), a leading international authority on Internet and software accessibility.
Other panelists from industry and government will be announced shortly. The
meeting will be webcast with open captioning of the streaming video, or
"webcaptingsm", developed by TVWorldwide.com to assist federal agency clients in
complying with Section 508.
"Our goal is to generate mainstream awareness of the inherent weaknesses in
the federal government's implementation of the important Section 508
legislation," stated Mr. Paciello. "A key flaw in the effective enforcement of Section
508 involves a consistent and reliable set of usability, quality assurance, and
certification measures that ensure E&IT product accessibility. Consequently,
federal agencies aren't truly complying -- and vendors are given mixed
messages about what is or isn't accessible. This town meeting will result in a viable
plan of action, with real proposals for re-structuring conflicts of interest
in Section 508 enforcement and federal agency oversight as we unite our
community to rectify this problem."
"President Bush's administration has not made the enforcement of section 508
a priority, despite the fact that they've claimed credit for doing exactly
that," remarked Mr. Williams. "There are more than 56 million Americans with
disabilities, and its time that the federal government's enforcement of disability
legislation is granted the same dedication of resources as other ongoing
federal efforts such as the war on drugs."
"Individuals with disabilities are a very close-knit community and we've
found through the rapid growth of AT508.com, that the web is a strong enabling
factor for this demographic," commented Dave Gardy, CEO of TVWorldwide. "I am
very proud of our accessible video streaming applications being utilized to
engage the community of those people with disabilities and pleased to be working
with AT508.com to make this interactive webcast event a reality for the
thousands we expect nationally. "
Visitors to the live webcast town meeting will be able to post questions to
panelists and participate in Q&A via e-mail, providing a fully interactive
forum for sharing of information.
The event will be webcast live and archived for viewing at
www.tvworldwide.com and www.AT508.com. Participants should have the free Real Video Player
installed prior to the event and should log on by 1:45 PM ET on Friday, June 20.
About AT508.com
TVWorldwide's AT508.com Internet TV channel was launched in October at the
World Congress on Disabilities in Orlando, Fla, featuring world-renowned
disability columnist John Williams covering the latest in assistive technology and
Section 508 news and since then has webcast the TASH, ATIA, CSUN and CEC events
for the community of people with disabilities. AT508.com features articles and
videos on the latest in assistive technology products, services and issues
and during trade show events, highlights keynotes, presentations and interviews
with exhibitors and speakers. AT508.com events are webcast live and archived
in fully accessible format using the captioned video streaming of
TVWorldwide.com's "webcaptingsm" process. AT508.com sponsors include The Paciello Group,
Keybowl, HP, Kurzweil Educatonal Systems, Corda, Deque, Audio Eye, Sighted
Electronics Freedom Vision and Vcom3D.
About The Paciello Group (TPG)
Founded by Mike Paciello, TPG is an international leader in Accessibility
Consulting and Engineering. TPG is dedicated to helping corporations, government
agencies and educational institutions make their IT
resources accessible to all people, including those with disabilities. They
offer professional consulting, technology solutions and monthly monitoring
services to ensure that clients reach and maintain the ongoing accessibility of
their digital assets. Further information on The Paciello Group can be found
online at www.paciellogroup.com.
About TV Worldwide
As a leading global Internet broadcasting and streaming media company, TV
Worldwide (www.tvworldwide.com) is developing a network of video channels that is
an affiliation of community-based Internet television stations, each
underwritten by a strategic partner, "aimcastingsm" to targeted demographic audiences
worldwide. TVWorldwide.com works with strategic partners to develop the latest
in live and archived state-of-the art video streaming content applications. .
TVWorldwide.com was recently named one of the streaming video industry's
"Hottest Streaming Companies" by Streaming Magazine, www.streamingmagazine.com,
and CEO Dave Gardy was honored by the magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential
People in Streaming Media.
Received on Sunday, 15 June 2003 05:47:54 UTC