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Speech of Sao Mai center in the conference Building Vietnam law of people with disabilities
Ha Noi
October 3rd 2008
Held by Ministry of Labor Invalids and Society Afairs & VNAH

Mr. Dang Hoai Phuc/Director
Sao Mai Informatics Center for the Blinds
4/12B Van Chung st. ward 13 district Tan Binh, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
Phone: +84 8 8495069 – Fax: +84 8 2938300
Website: http://www.saomaicenter.org

Development and application of technology at Sao Mai Informatics Center

Sao Mai Informatics Center for the Blinds, at beginning, is the first center in country, is functioned to research the application of Informatics training for the blinds, our center was belong to Vietnam Relief Association for Handicapped Children of Ho Chi Minh city. Officially operated in early 2002, with equiments first were tranfered from Informatics project Bung Sang (1999-2001) sponsored by Mantovan organization - Italy. For further information about Informatics project Bung Sang, visit www.bungsang.org

Our center is functioned to co-operate with social organizations, offices in oder to develop Informatics for the blinds. The center's main mission is:
Research, apply and roll out the Informatics projects, products for the blinds
Organize Informatics training programs for the blinds
Set up places for cultural activities for the blinds by Informatics, e-library
Provide Informatics services such as printing, consult, developing software... for the blinds

Since its establishment, Sao Mai has acchive many successes in researching the solutions of reaching information, developing many supporting tools for the blinds and applying technology under new international standards. Some of its main activities include:
Develop the web browser supporting Vietnamese speaker
Develop the Vietnamese reader (Text-To-Speech) for Windows
Intergrate Vietnamese speaker ultility into screen reader JAWS
Vietnamese localize screen reader NVDA (open source)
Co-operate with SEA organizations to forward the web reaching standards
Research the standards of reaching software
Although there are supporting tools but the approach of Informatics of disabilities in general, the blinds in specific, is still unsolved. Hence, we must build the reaching standards so that supporting technology could inteface and access information better.
During our operating process, we realize 2 problems in the approach of Infomatics of the blinds, we suggest them to Offices and Goverment to consider:

1. Web accessibility standards
Today, internet has becomed the best and most effective network for information provide. Beside, internet is also a useful tool to forward the social development in many fields. So, there are today more and more technology coporations/companies have been developing new technology standards to serve the needs. However, many developers has skip end users as the disabilities. So, W3C organization and many developed countries has developed their own web accessibility standards/law, in which remarkably there are W3C's standards and U.S Section 508.

If being developed under these web accessibility standards, internet will be easier to reach for the blinds. Based on the possibility and world's general tend, i suggest that Vietnam also need to build its own web accessibility reccommendation/law based on W3C's current standard along with some Vietnam's specific properties and add them into the Law of informatics reaching.

2. Software/Hardware accessibility standards
Software/Hardware/Accessories also has very important roles in the approach of Informatics. For example, if a web browser is developed unfriendly and inaccessibly then the blinds can not access and get information through supporting tools like screen reader, braille screen, text-to-sign converter (for the deafs). So, to better support the information approach via software/accessories, we need a accessibility standards for the developers, so they can base on it to develop more accessible products.
Above are the 2 main ideas i want to share in this conference. I hope, with the care of goverment, offices and individuals for the informations approach of the blinds, and of society in general, would make a friendly and highly accessible information environment.

Translated by: Vu Anh Dung