Launch of CEN Workshop Agreement - 'Curriculum for training professionals in Universal Design'

The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design is pleased to announce the launch of the CEN Workshop on 'Curriculum for training professionals in Universal Design'

What is a CEN Workshop Agreement

A CEN Workshop Agreement CWA is a consensus-based specifications, drawn up in an open 'Workshop' environment. They have a short development time, and their development is extended to any interested party, with low participation costs and no geographical restrictions. CEN Members often have similar activities at national level, in processes that are similar to informal standards consortia. CWAs are CEN publications, and as such, are available from CEN Members. In addition, the CEN Members have agreed that, under special arrangements, certain CWAs may be provided on this website for electronic downloading free of charge for individual use. Other CWAs may be purchased from a CEN Member.

The goal of this workshop agreement is to specify and recommend a curriculum for training ICT professionals in the Universal Design approach. Universal Design (UD) aims to design ICT products and services so they can be used by everyone without the need for specialised solutions or adaptations regardless of a person’s age, environment, ability or disability. A crucial part of the approach is compliance with relevant standards and guidelines. It aims to develop technology that is robust, can be used on different platforms or in different contexts of use, as well as being usable by users with different skills.

In order for ICT industry to adopt UD principles, methods and solutions, the professionals involved will need to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. This is a crucial condition for an effective, as well as economic, change in management and production process in the ICT industry.

The UD curriculum to be specified by this CEN workshop Agreement will identify the knowledge and skills that are necessary to successfully implement the UD approach in an ICT development process. The training guidelines shall reflect the special training needs of ICT professionals, the conditions and context of training for professionals, and the different needs of different professional roles in the ICT industry.

The CEN Workshop agreement is available to download from CEN Workshop Agreement