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G3ict's SC4A Toolkit
مجموعة الأدوات باللغة العربية
English Toolkit
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Boîte à outils française
ערכת כלים בעברית
हिंदी में टूल्स
日本語のツール
한국어로 된 툴
टूल्स मराठीत
Ferramentas em Português
Measuring & Benchmarking
Inclusive Procurement
Inclusive Sidewalks
Valparaíso, Chile
SC4A in the News
SC4A Views
SC4A at a Glance Newsletter
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"The Smart Cities for All Toolkit
empowers city leaders and
urban planners to make
their programs truly 'smart' by being
inclusive and accessible by design."
- Toni Townes-Whitley, Vice President, Microsoft.
Discover How Accessible ICT
benefits Smart Cities
New York City has increased
its commitment to digital inclusion
and the tools that G3ict and
World Enabled are building are the
exact steps that Smart Cities need to follow.
- Victor Calise, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office
for People with Disabilities, NY
Learn about Model Procurement
Policies, Accessibility Standards,
and the Latest Global Trends.
G3ict and World Enabled's
Smart Cities for All initiative
exposes a stark problem and
describes the growing risk for
persons with disabilities in today's
Smart Cities - a growing digital divide.
- Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director, International Disability Alliance
Smart Cities are Inclusive
and Accessible Cities
Welcome to Smart Cities For All
Ahora en Español - la Guía Practica
Ciudades Inteligentes para Todos!
La Guia en español
About Smart Cities for All
G3ict – The Global Initiative on Inclusive ICTs partnered with leading technology companies and civil society organizations, like Microsoft, AT&T, and World Enabled, to launch the Smart Cities for All initiative to define the state of ICT accessibility in Smart Cities worldwide. Our focus is to eliminate the digital divide for persons with disabilities and older persons in Smart Cities around the world. We are partnering with leading organizations and companies to create and deploy the tools and strategies needed to build more inclusive Smart Cities.
Our Mission is to eliminate the digital divide for persons with disabilities and older persons in Smart Cities programs worldwide.
Smart Cities are inclusive and use innovative technologies to benefit persons with disabilities and older persons.
James Thurston
G3ict Vice President and SC4A Managing Director
James Thurston is the Managing Director of Smart Cities for All. He is an internationally recognized technology policy leader. As G3ict's Vice President for Global Strategy and Development, he leads the design and implementation of new programs and advises high-ranking government leaders in the US and abroad on technology policy, human rights, and digital inclusion.
Yulia Sarviro
Yulia Sarviro is an experienced specialist in philanthropy and CSR, building the capacity of non-profit and educational organizations using different instruments, including marketing, communications, and social media. As Senior Project Manager at Smart Cities for All, she is responsible for successful implementation of multiple projects focusing on raising awareness among cities regarding digital inclusion and ICT accessibility when developing and introducing smart city solutions.
Udita Singh
Udita Singh is a communications professional with a keen interest in the ever-changing digital realm and a multidisciplinary academic background. At G3ict and Smart Cities for All, her work incorporates the creation and management of diverse digital content.
Mahtab Irani
Webmaster and Project Support Manager
Mahtab Irani is a policy and communications professional and is interested in the impact of new age media on the development sector. She was Senior Project Coordinator at the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) on the Promoting Easy Access for Persons with Disabilities project.
Bela Tumasova
Project Assistant
Bela Tumasova is a dedicated professional with over ten years of experience in running NGO projects. As a Project Assistant, Bela provides support to G3ict Global Policy team in implementation of projects and initiatives, ensuring optimum project success.
Country Representative Program
Smart Cities for All benefits from a global network of expert country representatives. These Country Representatives collaborate with local and national governments, civil society, and private sector stakeholders in making global cities more inclusive in the context of the UN SDGs (#11), the UN Habitat III New Urban Agenda, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Country Representatives bring to their countries the global work of Smart Cities for All, a broad understanding of accessibility and universal design for technologies and environments, the UN CRPD, and the perspectives of a variety of disabilities. Meet our country representatives
Smart Cities for All Advisory Committee Members
The Smart Cities for All Advisory Committee includes disability leaders with deep knowledge of and expertise in disability rights, cities, assistive technologies, information technologies, and Smart City solutions. The role of the Advisory Committee is to help to continue expanding the SC4A scale and impact; provide feedback to the SC4A staff on the current projects and opportunities; suggest outreach opportunities and possible cooperation with other organizations; etc. Learn more about members of the SC4A Advisory Committee
G3ict's Smart Cities for All Toolkit
The toolkit contains four tools to help Smart Cities worldwide include a focus on ICT accessibility and the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities and older persons.
The toolkit supports a range of organizations and roles related to Smart Cities, including government managers, policy makers, IT professionals, disability advocates, procurement officials, technology suppliers, and developers who design Smart City apps and solutions.
Each of the tools addresses a priority challenge identified by global experts as a barrier to the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities and older persons in Smart Cities.
Tools in English
Outils en français
כלים בעברית
G3ict's Smart City Digital Inclusion Maturity Model© and Smart University Digital Inclusion Maturity Model© tools help cities and higher education institutions assess and benchmark their level of digital inclusion and ICT accessibility. G3ict is currently deploying both assessment tools through its global partner ecosystem.
Learn more about how to measure accessibility and inclusion in cities and higher education
The Smart Cities for All initiative confirms through its research that most of today's Smart Cities, in both the global north and the global south, are not fully accessible. The result is a growing digital divide for persons with disabilities and older persons.
The Smart Cities for All initiative engages experts and communities in an ongoing way to generate new data and learnings related to digital inclusion in Smart Cities.
Highlights from the Smart Cities for All Global Survey
In 2016-17, the initiative surveyed more than 400 international experts from city governments, industry, civil society, and academia, and convened a series of expert roundtable discussions with program managers, disabled persons organizations, and technologists in Smart Cities worldwide. Our work is informed by this rigorous research.
DOWNLOAD HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR GLOBAL SURVEY (Powerpoint )
TAKE OUR GLOBAL SURVEY (English , Spanish )
Smart Cities are Leaving Millions of People Behind
of global experts believe that Smart Cities are failing persons with disabilities.
Smart Cities are Not Accessible
of global experts know of a Smart City that uses ICT accessibility standards.
Disability and the Digital Divide
of Americans with disabilities never go online, compared with 8% of the general US population.
Calçadas Urbanas Inclusivas em São Paulo
sc4a_g3admin January 17, 2022 January 17, 2022
Inclusive Urban Sidewalks in São Paulo
sc4a_g3admin January 17, 2022
Aceras accesibles e incluyentes en Quito, Ecuador
Accessible and Inclusive Sidewalks in Quito, Ecuador
Projeto "Calçadas Urbanas Inclusivas" em São Paulo
Regina Cohen December 20, 2021 December 20, 2021
Project "AI for Inclusive Urban Sidewalks" in São Paulo
G3ict and World Enabled's Smart Cities for All initiative exposes a stark problem and describes the growing risk for persons with disabilities in today's Smart Cities - a growing digital divide.
- Victor Calise, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, NY
New York City has increased its commitment to digital inclusion and the tools that G3ict and World Enabled are building are the exact steps that Smart Cities need to follow.
- Toni Townes-Whitley, Vice President, Microsoft
The Smart Cities for All Toolkit empowers city leaders and urban planners to make their programs truly 'smart' by being inclusive and accessible by design.
- Mike Zeto, Vice President and General Manager of Smart Cities, AT&T
We're working with Smart Cities for All to help ensure that as more and more cities implement smart city strategies, they can do so with inclusion in mind from the very start.
- Mayor Mauricio Rodas of Quito, Ecuador
Quito was the first city in Latin America to contribute to the Smart Cities for All Toolkit. As Mayor, I am committed to deploying technology solutions for human needs, solutions that align with the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Elkin Velasquez, Regional Director of UN-Habitat ROLAC
We are proud to work with Smart Cities for All to enhance inclusion and accessibility in Latin American cities. We want to integrate the concept of universal design into the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.
- Yuval Wagner, President and Founder of Access Israel
Access Israel is proud to be one of the leading organizations in the world promoting ICT accessibility. We believe the translated [into Hebrew] toolkit will help a lot for the implementation of accessible ICT technologies making sure digital smart cities will be accessible for people with disabilities.
- Danielle DuMerer Commissioner and Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Chicago
Cities like Chicago are looking to innovate and provide better digital services. The tools developed by Smart Cities for All are unique and can help cities make measurable progress on digital inclusion and digital accessibility.
- Geraldo Nogueira, Undersecretary in the Mayor's Office for Persons with Disabilities, City of Rio de Janeiro
We see here in Brazil, especially in cities such as Rio, a need for this kind of tool [Maturity Model]. We are delighted that Smart Cities for All is taking the initiative to get one developed and make it available. It is urgent to set in place a process for digital inclusion in cities throughout Brazil, otherwise we will suffer a setback in the social inclusion of people with disabilities.
- Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft
At Microsoft, were working every day to create accessible technologies that advance inclusion for everyone. Supporting the development of this maturity model aligns with our work, and we are excited about its potential to help cities meet their inclusion goals.
- Tim Springer, CEO of Level Access
The Smart Cities [for All] initiative is a crucial step toward cities that truly embrace every citizen. We see access to technology as a key part of ensuring that people with disabilities can fully participate in their communities and lead more independent lives.
- Joshua Fouts, Executive Director of Bioneers
Providing a platform for radically inclusive social justice solutions is at the heart of the work that Bioneers does. And the Smart Cities for All global initiative is singularly emblematic of what it means to pursue equitable, just, access to technology to all people.
- Mrs. Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN
The use of innovative technologies to provide our citizens with disabilities greater accessibility is a fundamental priority for the UAE… For our region, the development of the SC4A toolkits in Arabic will mark an important step in the use of technology for implementing international human rights agreements.
- Trudy Norris-Grey, Managing Director, Microsoft CityNext
Microsoft is excited to partner with G3ict and World Enabled to help drive the next wave of inclusive and connected city solutions. The introduction of the Smart City for All toolkit in 8 languages provides new opportunities for local leaders to ensure their community's digital transformation reaches everyone, leaving no one behind. As technology and urbanization continue to change the way governments interact with citizens, Microsoft CityNext applauds the work Smart City for All is delivering and their continued efforts to scale tools and resources globally to support city development for all.
- Prashant Ranjan Verma, General Secretary of the India National Association for the Blind
I appreciate the Smart Cities for All (SC4A) initiative for bringing out the maturity model, designed to help cities assess and benchmark their level of digital inclusion and ICT accessibility. This tool will bring the much-needed focus on digital inclusion, which often gets overshadowed by the emphasis on physical accessibility. Without accessibility of ICT infrastructure and services, a large section of the population is in the danger of getting far left behind due to digital divide.
- Charlotte McClain Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank
To operationalize Inclusive Smart Cities, we need a suite of good tools on digital inclusion and digital accessibility. The SC4A toolkit is a welcomed contribution to advancing article 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
G3ict and its partners believe that six interrelated strategies can help address the barriers to digital inclusion in today's global Smart Cities. The six strategies described in this document will help ensure that Smart Cities worldwide, their policies, programs, and growing technology investments, will not leave behind persons with disabilities and older persons.
Download the Six Strategies Towards More Inclusive Smart Cities Worldwide
Smart Cities for All: A Vision for an Inclusive, Accessible Urban Future
AT&T and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) have created this report to help cities identify ways that smart city technologies can adopt a people-first approach to benefit people with disabilities and older citizens. The paper takes its name from the G3ict and World Enabled Smart Cities for All global initiative.
Download the Smart Cities for All: A Vision for an Inclusive, Accessible Urban Future
G3ict's Smart Cities for All global initiative publishes a monthly newsletter that is a great source for updates about our latest projects, events as well as news from our network organization, the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. If you have not yet signed up for our newsletter and are interested in doing so, please subscribe to our newsletter.
Access the Newsletter Archives
Smart Cities for All at a Glance Newsletter
info@smartcities4all.org
Microsoft is pleased to support the SC4A initiative and shares the belief that technology empowers persons with disabilities to achieve more in the places where they live and work. For more on MSFT's commitment to cities and its commitment to accessibility visit:
Microsoft Accessibility
Microsoft CityNext
Microsoft Empowering Countries
Persons with Disabilities and Older Persons
Any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. These limitations are in part shaped by environmental barriers that hinder a person's full participation in society on an equal basis with others. Older persons can acquire such impairments as part of the aging process.
The Smart Cities Council defines a Smart City as one that "uses information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance its livability, workability, and sustainability."
ICT accessibility is generally accepted as being the quality of a mainstream technology such as a computer, mobile phone, self-service kiosk, or piece of software, to be used by the widest range of users possible regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
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