A new functionality has been launched on ANACOM's website which lets the public access an audio version of content published in the website's news and press room areas.
ANACOM is therefore making another contribution to the integration of citizens with special needs, by providing conditions of equality in access to information. This step also goes towards accomplishing the objectives of Plano Nacional de Promoção da Acessibilidade (PNPA - National Plan for the Promotion of Accessibility) by which all public bodies are to contribute to the elimination of barriers to physical access and access to information technologies.
The RoboBraille project consists of a tool that converts electronic documents to braille or synthetic voice, quickly and without cost. Any user can convert text into audio with this system, simply by sending an email with the text to be converted (in attachment) to britspeech@robobraille.org. To convert text into braille, requests should be sent to sixdot@robobraille.org.
This functionality has been made available through a partnership established between ANACOM and the RoboBraille Consortium, represented in Portugal by Centro de Inovação para Deficientes (CIDEF - Centre of Innovation for Disabled People).
The service, which is operated and maintained by the Danish Centre for Visual Impairment, Children and Youth (Synscenter Refsnæs), was initially implemented in Denmark. The second phase saw implementation in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom and Cyprus, with EU financing through the eTen programme. France and Lithuania have also recently joined the project. Audio conversion is currently possible in Danish, French, Greek, English, Italian, Lithuanian and Portuguese.
It should also be noted that in 2007, Synscenter Refsnæs and the RoboBraille Consortium won the ''Social Contribution Award 2007'', a prestigious prize awarded by the British Computer Society, a body which promotes knowledge and education in the areas of computing and information technology.
Consult:
- Accessibility at www.anacom.pt https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=8773
Further information:
- CIDEF - Projecto Robobraille http://www.lerparaver.com/node/1129
- The RoboBraille Consortium http://www.robobraille.org/rb/subpage191.aspx
- eTEN European Community programme http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/eten/newsletters/june_2007.htm
- Nota de imprensa: RoboBraille wins prestigious award from the British Computer Society http://www1.robobraille.org/websites/acj/robobraille.nsf/Nyheder/79533BCE3E7D06CDC12573AC002FE539?OpenDocument
- British Computer Society http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.00100c
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- ANACOM makes website content available in audio format https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=556738
