E-labelling Promotes Accessibility
Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF)
International association of companies with interest in mobile & wireless communications including 5G and IoT
Every year, we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on the third Thursday in May with the intention to “get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments[1]”.
The digital ecosystem consists of a multitude of elements that can each promote or break accessibility for the user. Compliance and safety labels are one such element.
Electronic labelling (e-labelling) is the digital depiction of logos, marks and labels that show that a device complies with the relevant national requirements for a given country. The current system in Europe is based around the use of printed labels and information. These come for example in the form of the CE mark printed on the device and the packaging, accompanied by information printed on paper.
“However, few people know what the CE mark stands for and the printed information that is required to be provided is not readable by everyone and quickly discarded in most cases,” says Michael Milligan, Secretary-General of the Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF). “Electronic labelling (e-labelling) on the other hand is a more environmentally responsible, consumer and accessibility-oriented approach with the required information readily available within the device itself where accessibility features such as text-to-speech can help those who need it.”
Not every consumer will want to access the information contained in the labels, but as they include compliance information having them available at all times and in an accessible format is important nonetheless.
“From our perspective, it is a win for all: improving accessibility of that information for consumers, benefiting the environment by saving an estimated 48 million sheets of A4 paper from smartphone packaging every year and helping the EU move labelling requirements into the digital age in line with our major trading partners”, added Mr. Milligan.
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More information about the MWF: www.mwfai.org
More information about the GARI project: https://www.gari.info
More information about the e-labelling initiative: https://www.elabellinginitiative.org ?
About the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD): ?
The Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is an awareness day focusing on digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people with disabilities and impairments. It is marked annually on the third Thursday of May: https://accessibility.day/