<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]-->
<title>Press Release: G3ict to Acquire IAAP</title>
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Helvetica;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Helvetica;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Lucida Bright";
panose-1:2 4 6 2 5 5 5 2 3 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:7.5pt;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
h2
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:7.5pt;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:13.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
h3
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:7.5pt;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
h4
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 4 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:7.5pt;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
h5
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5 Char";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:6.0pt;
margin-left:.3in;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:normal;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.MsoQuote, li.MsoQuote, div.MsoQuote
{mso-style-priority:29;
mso-style-link:"Quote Char";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:.5in;
margin-bottom:6.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
span.QuoteChar
{mso-style-name:"Quote Char";
mso-style-priority:29;
mso-style-link:Quote;
color:black;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading2Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading3Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading4Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 4 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 4";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
span.Heading5Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";}
span.EmailStyle27
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:-132;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:-497637982;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:1.25in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:-131;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:407512160;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.0in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:-130;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:453006228;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:.75in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l3
{mso-list-id:-129;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:1562834036;}
@list l3:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l4
{mso-list-id:-128;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:444212142;}
@list l4:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.25in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l5
{mso-list-id:-127;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:-1143419264;}
@list l5:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.0in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l6
{mso-list-id:-126;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:756335792;}
@list l6:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.75in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l7
{mso-list-id:-125;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:980983566;}
@list l7:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l8
{mso-list-id:-120;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:2035320948;}
@list l8:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:.25in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l9
{mso-list-id:-119;
mso-list-type:simple;
mso-list-template-ids:100315206;}
@list l9:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.25in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" style="word-wrap: break-word;-webkit-nbsp-mode: space;-webkit-line-break: after-white-space">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">G3ICT runs the annual
<a href="http://g3ict.org/resource_center#summit">M-Enabling Summit</a> and created the
<a href="http://www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org/" title="Toolkit homepage">e-Accessibility Policy Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities</a>. They have been working on creating a reliable repository of accessibility information, which is something the IAAP was
thinking of doing. It makes sense to me that they would merge: there is currently little overlap of efforts, and a lot they can do to support each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Bright","serif";color:#1F497D">Sarah E. Bourne<br>
Director of IT Accessibility, MassIT <br>
Commonwealth of Massachusetts<br>
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 811 Boston MA 02108<br>
617-626-4502 <br>
<a href="mailto:sarah.bourne@state.ma.us"><span style="color:#1F497D">sarah.bourne@state.ma.us</span></a>
<br>
<a href="http://www.mass.gov/MassIT"><span style="color:#1F497D">http://www.mass.gov/MassIT</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Thompson, Rachel<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, July 20, 2016 10:42 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> athen-list@u.washington.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Athen] FW: Press Release: G3ict to Acquire IAAP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">FYI. I don’t know anything about G3ICT except what is included in this message. If you have experiences with either org that you’d be willing to share, I’d like
to hear them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">Rachel<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:#5C5F68;background:white">Dr. Rachel S. Thompson </span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:#5C5F68;background:white">Director, Emerging Technology and Accessibility </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:#5C5F68"><br>
<span style="background:white">Center for Instructional Technology </span><br>
<span style="background:white">The University of Alabama</span><br>
<span style="background:white">123 Russell Hall</span><br>
<span style="background:white">Box 870248 </span><br>
<span style="background:white">Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 </span><br>
<span style="background:white">Phone 205-348-0216 </span><br>
<span style="background:white">rsthompson2@ua.edu | http://accessibility.ua.edu</span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">From:
</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">G3ict - The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs <<a href="mailto:G3ict_The_Global_Initiative_for_@mail.vresp.com">G3ict_The_Global_Initiative_for_@mail.vresp.com</a>><br>
<b>Reply-To: </b>G3ict - The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs <<a href="mailto:reply-c43c3411e6-6eca2018c2-69d0@u.cts.vresp.com">reply-c43c3411e6-6eca2018c2-69d0@u.cts.vresp.com</a>><br>
<b>Date: </b>Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 9:39 AM<br>
<b>To: </b>Rachel Thompson <<a href="mailto:rsthompson2@ua.edu">rsthompson2@ua.edu</a>><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Press Release: G3ict to Acquire IAAP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div align="center">
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/fbl?c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/http%3A%2F%2Fhosted-p0.vresp.com%2F606411%2Fc43c3411e6%2FARCHIVE%23like"><span style="border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="100" height="100" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:~WRD000.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/ts?c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/http%3A%2F%2Fapi.addthis.com%2Foexchange%2F0.8%2Fforward%2Ftwitter%2Foffer%3Ftemplate%3D%257B%257Btitle%257D%257D%2B%257B%257Burl%257D%257D%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fhosted-p0.vresp.com%252F606411%252Fc43c3411e6%252FARCHIVE%26shortener%3Dbitly%26title%3DPress%2BRelease%253A%2BG3ict%2Bto%2BAcquire%2BIAAP"><span style="border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="100" height="100" id="_x0000_i1026" src="cid:~WRD000.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/ls?c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/http%3A%2F%2Fapi.addthis.com%2Foexchange%2F0.8%2Fforward%2Flinkedin%2Foffer%3Ftemplate%3D%257B%257Btitle%257D%257D%2B%257B%257Burl%257D%257D%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fhosted-p0.vresp.com%252F606411%252Fc43c3411e6%252FARCHIVE%26shortener%3Dbitly%26title%3DPress%2BRelease%253A%2BG3ict%2Bto%2BAcquire%2BIAAP"><span style="border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="100" height="100" id="_x0000_i1027" src="cid:~WRD000.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black"><a href="http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/606411/c43c3411e6/282552261/6eca2018c2/">Click to view this email in a browser</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="margin-bottom:7.5pt">
<div align="center">
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="650" style="width:487.5pt;background:#666666">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><img border="0" width="319" height="61" id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender. release-top.gif"></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
<td width="100%" style="width:100.0%;background:white;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" style="padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">
<div align="center">
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%;border:solid #666666 6.0pt">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border:none;background:white;padding:15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt">
<div style="margin-bottom:7.5pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><img border="0" width="145" height="66" id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender. G3ict Logo"></span></b><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">
</span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><img border="0" width="303" height="42" id="_x0000_i1030" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender. IAAP-Logo"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white"><br>
<br>
</span></b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">G3ICT TO ACQUIRE IAAP AND ACCELERATE GROWTH OF THE
<br>
GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF ACCESSIBILITY PROFESSIONALS </span></b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;background:white"><br>
<br>
</span></b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:7.5pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">ATLANTA, GA (July 20, 2016)
</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">--
</span><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">IAAP, the International Association of Accessibility Professionals and G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies, announced today that
G3ict will be acquiring IAAP in a merger aimed at promoting the accessibility profession on a more global scale. Under this agreement, IAAP will become part of G3ict, effective immediately, but will continue its mission to define, promote and improve the accessibility
profession globally through networking, education and certification in order to enable the creation of accessible products, content and services. This joint decision by the Boards of IAAP and G3ict reflects the strategic alignment of these organizations and
a shared need to respond to rapidly growing, unmet worldwide demand for IT professionals, developers, educators, business leaders, and content creators knowledgeable in accessibility. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom:7.5pt">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Under the agreement, IAAP programs (including online communities, professional education, certification, membership and events) will be
operated as a new division of G3ict. All existing IAAP membership benefits and services will remain unchanged, and IAAP certification programs will be further enhanced with new tracks and content to address the needs of international markets and more specialized
areas of expertise, such as web accessibility. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">This critical global need for accessibility professionals is driven by four key factors: (1) Increasing compliance requirements in countries
with existing accessibility legislation; (2) Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by 166 countries, which obligates those governments to ensure information and communication technologies are accessible to persons
with disabilities; (3) Aging demographics in major markets, which greatly increases the population needing accessible solutions; and (4) Intense competition in the IT industry to provide superior digital experiences to consumers of digital content, products
and services.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“The G3ict and IAAP missions have always been very well aligned. So, this opportunity to directly align our investments and programs is
a major step forward that will enable IAAP and its members to continue doing the same great work — but with greater efficiency and broader impact. By aligning our day-to-day operations with G3ict, we will expand IAAP’s global footprint, help more professionals
around the world develop important accessibility skills, make it easier to achieve the goals of the CRPD, and ultimately improve the lives of millions of people with disabilities around the world,” said Rob Sinclair, President of the IAAP Board of Directors.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The merger leverages the strengths of both organizations: IAAP’s large, multi-national membership, training resources, and industry-leading
certification program; and the G3ict’s global reach and trusted consultation with governments, corporations, academic institutions, and advocacy organizations around the world. It represents a natural step for both organizations that are well-known among constituents
dedicated to promoting the accessibility of information and communication technologies. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Sharon Spencer, whose role was instrumental in developing IAAP from its inception, will serve as Director of IAAP for G3ict and lead the
immediate transition of IAAP operations to G3ict. Members of the current IAAP Board have been appointed to the IAAP Global Leadership Team and will be responsible for overseeing all current and future developments of IAAP programs. The technical, academic
and logistics aspects of the IAAP training and certification programs will be managed in partnership with the Alternate Media Access Center (AMAC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. AMAC will also help ensure all IAAP programs and web sites are fully
accessible. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Chair of the Board of G3ict, and former Chair of the United Nations General Assembly Ad hoc Preparatory Committee
for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, highlighted: “We are extremely pleased to see this merger formed at a time when the lack of skilled accessibility professionals constitutes a major roadblock to fully realize the promises of the
Convention. We look forward to making a real difference in promoting the IAAP programs around the world.”</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“It is a very timely opportunity for G3ict to work closely with the IAAP leadership to promote the association’s training and certification
programs worldwide. Those activities and the global footprint of IAAP testing centers will directly complement our work since ten years in promoting CRPD compliant accessibility policies and programs around the world. IAAP’s networking tools will enable professionals
working in accessibility to help learn from each other and spread ICT accessibility even more broadly. It will allow us to offer practical resources for governments, corporations and academia to rapidly build their capacity to develop and maintain accessible
digital content and services. The IAAP programs will considerably enhance G3ict’s ability to fulfill its mission of promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in the digital age,” said Axel Leblois, Founder and President of G3ict.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"># # #</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">About IAAP</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) is a membership-based organization for individuals and organizations
that are focused on accessibility or are in the process of building their accessibility skills and strategies. The objective of this association is to help accessibility professionals develop and advance their careers and to help organizations integrate accessibility
into their products and infrastructure. The IAAP will provide a place for accessibility professionals around the world to gather, share experiences and enrich their knowledge of accessibility. Visit:
<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?G3ictTheGlobalInitia/c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/5a763bc281">
www.accessibilityassociation</a><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?G3ictTheGlobalInitia/c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/ec4c808fa8">.org</a>.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">About G3ict</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">G3ict - the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs is an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006 by the United Nations Global Alliance
for ICT and Development, in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN DESA. Its mission is to facilitate and support the implementation of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities on the accessibility of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and assistive technologies. G3ict relies on an international network of ICT accessibility experts to develop and promote good practices, technical resources and benchmarks
for ICT accessibility advocates around the world. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Georgia, USA, and headquartered in Atlanta. Visit
<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?G3ictTheGlobalInitia/c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/4dc704495a">
www.g3ict.org</a>.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">For more information, please contact:</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">IAAP</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Sharon Spencer </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Email:
<a href="mailto:sspencer@accessibilityassociation.org">sspencer@accessibilityassociation.org</a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">G3ict</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Francesca Cesa Bianchi</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Email:
<a href="mailto:fcesabianchi@g3ict.org">fcesabianchi@g3ict.org</a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><br>
<br clear="all">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">
<hr size="2" width="100%" align="center">
</span></div>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link:
<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/u?c43c3411e6/6eca2018c2/mlpftw">Unsubscribe</a> </span>
<o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";border:solid #999999 1.0pt;padding:4.0pt"><a href="http://oi.vresp.com/f2af/v4/send_to_friend.html?ch=c43c3411e6&lid=282552261&ldh=6eca2018c2">Click here</a> to forward
this email to a friend</span></b><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">G3ict - The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs<br>
6300 Powers Ferry Road<br>
Suite 600-300<br>
Atlanta, Georgia 30339<br>
USA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://www.verticalresponse.com/content/pm_policy.html" target="_blank">Read</a> the VerticalResponse marketing policy.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><a href="http://www.verticalresponse.com/landing/ef/?np/c43c3411e6&utm_campaign=footer&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=footer" target="_blank"><span style="border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="100" height="100" id="_x0000_i1032" src="cid:~WRD000.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender. Non-Profits Email Free with VerticalResponse!"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><img border="0" width="100" height="100" id="_x0000_i1033" src="cid:~WRD000.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="1" height="1" id="_x0000_i1034" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="1" height="1" id="_x0000_i1035" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="1" height="1" id="_x0000_i1036" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="1" height="1" id="_x0000_i1037" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="1" height="1" id="_x0000_i1038" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="100" height="100" id="_x0000_i1039" src="cid:~WRD000.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."><img border="0" width="1" height="1" id="_x0000_i1040" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1E278.5C2226F0" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>