The National Accessibility Portal (NAP) is a five-year research & development project aimed at addressing the marginalisation of people with disabilities from the mainstream economy and society. The project was conceptualised and developed by the CSIR in partnership with a representative group of Disabled Persons’ Organisations (DPOs) and the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons (OSDP) in the Presidency.
Approximately 4 million people in South Africa are disabled and access to information, services and the ability to effectively communicate is a key need. Significant technological challenges exist in making services accessible to people with different forms of disabilities in an affordable way. Existing devices and software that allow people with disabilities to interact with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems are prohibitively expensive and have not been designed with South African context in mind. Technical challenges that are being tackled include; research and development in Text-to-Sign-Language, support for South African Languages, development of quality Open Source technologies including Text-To-Speech screen reader and measures to enable DPOs to operate the portal. The Institute will also explore R&D collaboration with South African Universities and Industry as well as partnering with International peers in Europe and the developing world.