The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) have eclipsed manufacturing technologies as the basis for world economies and social connectivity, people without access to the Internet and other ICTs are at a socio-economic disadvantage, for they are unable or less able to find and apply for jobs, shop and sell online, participate democratically, or research and learn.
Anthony Lee Coelho is an American politician from California who served in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and is a former chairman and current member of the board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation.
Debra Ruh is an American business woman and advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. She founded TecAccess, which provides software and services for information technology accessibility for people with disabilities and for Section 508 compliance.
Lex Frieden is an American educator, researcher, disability policy expert and disability rights activist. Frieden has been called "a chief architect of the Americans with Disabilities Act." He is also regarded as a founder and leader of the independent living movement by people with disabilities in the U.S.
Judith Ellen "Judy" Heumann is an American disability rights activist. She is recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. Heumann is a lifelong civil rights advocate for people with disabilities. Her work with governments and non governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profits, and various other disability interest groups, has produced significant contributions since the 1970s to the development of human rights legislation and policies benefiting children and adults with disabilities. Through her work in the World Bank and the State Department, Heumann led the mainstreaming of disability rights into international development. Her contributions extended the international reach of the independent living movement.
Disability Rights International (DRI), formerly Mental Disability Rights International, is a Washington, DC based human rights advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the human rights and full participation in society of persons with disabilities worldwide. DRI documents conditions, publishes reports, and promotes international oversight of the rights of persons with disabilities.
Viscardi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Henry Viscardi School is a state supported special school operated by the Viscardi Center in New York for severely disabled students requiring a specialized educational setting with medical supports. The location is in Albertson, New York. The school enrolls students in grades pre-K through 12. The school was originally called The Human Resources School. Founded by Henry Viscardi Jr. and supported by public and private initiatives, the tuition-free school was the only one of its kind in the world. It was renamed in honor of its founder.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month was declared in 1988 by the United States Congress for the month of October to raise awareness of the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. The month is an extension of "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week" originally observed during the first week of October beginning in 1945. In 1962 the word "physically" was removed from that week to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. Americans observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month by paying tribute to the accomplishments of the men and women with disabilities whose work helps keep the nation's economy strong and by reaffirming their commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all citizens.
The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation (DJF) is a national all-volunteer-run 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that focuses exclusively on adults with autism-spectrum disorder. The DJF mission is to develop, advocate for and support programs through grant awards that enrich the lives of adolescents and adults with autism. The guiding principle of Foundation is to honor the individuality of each person with autism-spectrum disorder so that each may participate throughout their lifetime in vocational, recreational, educational and residential opportunities that are suitable, stimulating and sustainable and allow for maximum integration in the community.
J. Randolph "Randy" Lewis is an American businessman, a disability employment advocate, and author.
Susan E. Sygall is an American disability rights advocate and civil rights leader. She is the CEO of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), which she co-founded in 1981.
Marca Bristo was an American disability rights activist.
Henry Viscardi Jr. (1912-2004) was an American disability rights advocate who championed the cause of equality and employment of disabled people in workforce. In 1952, on Eleanor Roosevelt's advice, he founded Abilities, Inc. which has now expanded to the Viscardi Center - a non-profit organization and global leader advocating for the empowerment of people with disabilities. To provide equal educational opportunities to children with disabilities of all ages, he founded the Human Resources School in Albertson, New York in 1952, which was later renamed the Henry Viscardi School in his honor. He served as advisor to several US presidents bringing many policy changes in the disability sector. He is also the author of the book Give Us The Tools. In his honour, the Viscardi Center in 2013 started the Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards to identify and recognize exemplary leaders from the disability community.
The Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards were established to honor the legacy of the founder of the Viscardi Center, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a leading disability rights advocate who wore prosthetic limbs. These international Awards, first conferred in 2013, recognize exemplary leaders in the disability sector around the globe who have had a profound impact on changing the lives of people with disabilities and championing their rights. Considered as most prestigious, these global awards honor champions of disability activism.
John D. Kemp is an American disability rights leader who co-founded the American Association of People with Disabilities and is currently the president and chief executive of the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama.
Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu is the South African deputy minister in Department of Social Development. She has been a member of parliament since 1999 and now. She is serving a fourth term in the Jacob Zuma cabinet. She was Deputy Minister of Public Works and Women, Children and Persons with Disability. Along with Michael Masutha she is one of only two leaders with disability in the current regime. She is a motivational speaker, HIV & AIDS activist, business woman and co-founded Disabled Youth South Africa. She was instrumental in drafting the country’s UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ Country Report.
Yuval Wagner is an Israeli Air Force combat pilot who was injured in a helicopter crash in 1987. It left him paralysed and he was reliant on a wheelchair. He realised the lack of accessibility in Israel for people with disabilities, and started Access Israel, a non-profit organization, in 1999. It works for accessibility to people with disabilities.
Marilyn E. Saviola was an American disability rights activist, executive director of the Center for the Independence of the Disabled in New York from 1983 to 1999, and vice president of Independence Care System after 2000. Saviola, a polio survivor from Manhattan, New York, is known nationally within the disability rights movement for her advocacy for people with disabilities and had accepted many awards and honors for her work.
