| FCC honors innovators in accessible communications technologies |
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Washington, D.C. – On October 28, 2011, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioner Michael Copps presented the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (AAA) to several organizations that have made significant technological innovations to help consumers with disabilities benefit from the country’s communications technologies. The Chairman also honored the winners of an FCC Challenge: Lifted by the Cloud: Visions of Cloud Enhanced Accessibility (Cloud Challenge) and presented a special award to Apple, Inc., for its visionary leadership in, and contributions to, accessibility. The Chairman’s AAA are intended to encourage technological innovation in communicationrelated areas and to recognize engineers, researchers and other technologists whose energies and perseverance have been successful in crafting innovative ways for consumers with disabilities to benefit from our nation’s communications technologies. The work of these honorees has improved the ability of people with disabilities to obtain and succeed at jobs and participate more actively in the community. Today’s awards ceremony was held in conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness month and the one year anniversary of the 21st Century Communications and Video Programming Accessibility Act (CVAA). Awards were being presented for the development of mainstream or assistive technologies, the development of standards, and the implementation of best practices that foster accessibility. The awards are a project of the FCC’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative (A&I Initiative), as recommended in the National Broadband Plan. The A&I Initiative seeks to facilitate dialogue among industry, assistive technology companies, app developers, government representatives and consumers to allow these stakeholders to share best practices and solutions for accessible communications technologies. The Chairman’s 2011 AAA Winners are:
The Chairman’s 2011 AAA Honorable Mentions are:
Winners of the Cloud Challenge are:
Today, the Commission also launched the Accessibility Clearinghouse, which was required by the CVAA. To further recognize innovation in accessible communications, the FCC’s Technology Experience Center will display the technologies of each of the winners and honorable mentions, as well as other cutting edge technologies that provide access to persons with disabilities through November 30, 2011. The Technology Experience Center is open to the public and offers the opportunity for visitors to experiment with these technologies. Technologies Exhibited at the Technology Experience Center:
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