Stephen King's presentation at the Technology for Life Conference in Glasgow, September 2012.

1. Can Scotland Lead the World?
Digital Engagement
An International Perspective
Stephen King
President, DAISY Consortium
Group Director, International Affairs RNIB

2. What I'm going to talk about
• Why should you believe me?
• Big countries doing well (in parts)
• Small countries doing well
• Working together works
• Engagement opportunities
• International cooperation

3. Why should you believe me?
• I Love Scotland!

4. I Love Scotland!
• School in Glasgow
• 2 Universities (Stirling & Glasgow)
• Worked for 10 years in Glasgow
• Wife is Scottish (From Kirkudbrightshire)
• Both my Children born in Stirling
• Mum, Dad, & Sister in Scotland
• Bank is in Scotland (Tho its Australian)
• But I'm English, UK, EU & citizen of the world

5. Why should you believe me?
• Global businesses for 20 years-books, film, art
• RNIB International digital inclusion for 20 yrs
– Founded DAISY Consortium 1996: Reading
– Web accessibility in 90's (WAI)
– Access to TV since 1990 (AD & talking TV)
– Making mobile phones talk
• Ex-Chair World Blind union Technology group
• President DAISY Consortium :E-books

6. The DAISY Consortium
Our Vision
• People have equal access to information and knowledge,
regardless of disabilities
Our Mission
• Working to create the best way to read and publish,
for everybody, in the 21st century
By delivering global partnerships ... that build a more effective
solution for everyone.
Committed to a common mission & vision. Coordinating
resources to deliver global change
6

7. A Global partnership
Solving the book famine

8. The DAISY Consortium
We deliver!
• A better way to read for print disabled people
• Used in more than 50 countries worldwide
• Basis of leisure and educational support services
• Great user experience; but book famine persists
• Now a Better way to publish!
• Inclusive publishing for all
• The EPUB 3 standards
• Adopted by publishers for e-books worldwide via IDPF
• Inclusion built in. If implemented properly
• We will end the book famine

9. Digital Engagement
Big countries doing well (in parts)
• USA has ADA, public procurement & leading
education provision at school and higher ed.
– But lags in TV, film, mobile, training support
• UK Great TV & Film (AD & captioning), talking TV,
mobile, access to work, DSA. But disjointed
education and poor citizen training.
• Germany has great ICT support, but poor TV
• India catching up fast with legislation: some great ICT
employment in Bangalore
• Korea: fast catching up!

10. Digital Engagement
Small countries are exemplars
• Scandinavian countries outstanding
– Sweden Higher education, libraries, training
– Denmark: Libraries
– Finland: Online services & training
– Iceland: Strategic speech synthesis investment
– Lesson: They cooperate & share to get economies
• Mauritius
– Equipment supply, training buses, buddying

11. Working together works!

12. Working together works
• Scandinavian cooperation shows results
• Work with neighbours, & world
• DAISY Consortium participation exemplars
• Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Korea
• Ideas, benchmarking, cost sharing, competition
• Scotland has great starting point from sharing UK
infrastructure.
• TV, film, synthesisers, web, training materials
• Potential links with Scandinavian exemplars
• RNIB can help with global, local & UK clout

13. Digital Engagement opportunities
• Books & Reading are transforming rapidly
– E-books are here; but about to transform. (EPUB 3)
– Older people LOVE e-books. Enlarge, bright, talk
– Are Scottish schools, higher-ed, libraries involved?
– Is there a good Gaelic speech synthesiser?
– Scottish voices great example; but deployed?
• Health should be transforming. But is it?
– Digital eye imaging project is world leading
• Optometrist to ophthalmologist
– But provision of independence equipment ?

14. Digital Engagement Opportunities
• TV and Web convergence biggest opportunity
– TV's now talk; and are getting clever
– Text & Audio description now standard (20%)
– Web is already on TV. YouView launched
– Are public services planning?
• Computers & Web getting simpler for all
– Apple have transformed simplicity
– Microsoft Windows 8 is transformational
• Are we selling the past?

15. Digital Engagement Opportunities
• Making sure citizens know & get skills
– E-books: Transforming accessibility, but few know
– Audio description/Talking TV: Many missing out
– Accessible simple mobile: Do people know?
– Web shopping, banking, government transactions
• Public procurement
– e-books, talking TV, AD video in homes, libraries
– Accessible workplace and public services

16. Commonwealth Games 2014
• Olympics were most inclusive ever
• Based on political & leadership commitment
• Paralympics brought disability into mainstream
• Used to demo good practice
• Online ticketing, paying,
• Audio description (Not just disabled) Radio narration
• Transport information
• Employment & volunteering inclusion & engagement
• Do we have that commitment in Glasgow?
• Its already quite late in the day, but not too late

17. How could I not mention
RNIB talking books?

18. Digital Engagement Opportunities
• How could I not mention talking books?
• Scotland has been leading in provision
• Digital readers for over 10 years
• Ave age 84, many over 100
• Simple, easy to use; But could deliver far more
• 10, 000 hours per day of listening pleasure in Scotland
• Could deliver radio, information & public service
• Finland leads the way in online provision
• Should Scotland lead the UK?
• It did with Insight Radio

19. Digital Engagement
Can Scotland lead the world?
• Yes it can!
• Embrace global and UK cooperation
– Small countries do best by international
involvement & neighbour sharing
• Make sure Scottish people benefit from what's there
now!
• Find the transformations and implement inclusion
• Focus on what people want to do, not the
technology. Read, watch, shop, pay, transact

20. Can Scotland lead the world?
YES!
Thank you
Stephen King
President, DAISY Consortium
www.daisy.org President@daisy.org
Group Director, International affairs, RNIB