April 13, 2013 Dear experts on accessibility, A Rapporteur's meeting of ITU-T Question 26/16 (Accessibility to multimedia systems and services) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will be held on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, 3-4June 2013, focusing on relay services for persons with disabilities. The meeting will be hosted by Technology Access Program - Gallaudet University, and Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI). ITU is developing a Technical Paper on various types of relay services that are offered throughout the world. The meeting is geared to collect as much information and material on current offerings and practices in the relay industry throughout the United States. The meeting is open to key stakeholders in relay services such as consumer group advocates and leaders, academia, relay service industry leaders, and government regulatory officials. Details of the meeting are contained herein. 1. Date ^^^^^^^ From Monday, 3 June 2013 to Tuesday, 4 June 2013 The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. EST on 3 June, and end around 6:00 p.m. EST on 4 June. 2. Venue ^^^^^^^^ I. King Jordan Student Academic Center Gallaudet University 800 Florida Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. 20002 United States of America Contact Information with co-host TDI for Meeting: Phone: +1 (301) 563-9112 Fax: +1 (301) 589-3797 E-mail: cstout@tdiforaccess.org The signs to the meeting will be displayed on location at Gallaudet University. NOTE: Registration prior to the meeting is required (see section 6, below). 3. Topics (tentative) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1.) Completion of FSTP-RSPD: F-series Technical Paper on relay services for persons with disabilities 2.) Initial draft creation of F.Relay document. 4. Documents ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ /// Registration of the document: by 15 May 2013 /// /// Distribution of the document: by 20 May 2013 /// /// Use the ftp site for distribution /// 1.) If you plan to submit a document, please notify Mr. John S. Lee , document manager of this meeting, as soon as possible, by Wednesday, 15 May 2013. Document number WAS-### will be allocated. Early indication of your submission plan is welcome and encouraged. 2.) You are advised to use the document template available at the following place: http://ftp3.itu.int/accessibility/1306-WAS/Docs/ 3.) File format: Use of Word, PDF, ASCII or HTML is recommended. 4.) All the contributors are requested to distribute their documents as early as Possible on or before 27 May 2013, at least seven calendar days in advance of the 3-4 June 2013 meeting by posting them at the following e-mail address: t13sg16q26@lists.itu.int (subscription required), with Mr John S. Lee in CC. Please avoid the use of reflector when your document is voluminous (i.e., more than 100 kbytes). 5.) Input documents can be retrieved from documents directory of the FTP site once Mr John S. Lee has an opportunity to put them into place. The documents will be available through the following URLs: http://ftp3.itu.int/accessibility/1306-WAS/Docs/ 6.) The document distribution/presentation at the meeting will be all electronic. Participants must bring along a laptop, wireless LAN card, and/or Ethernet card, in order to access the documents (Internet access will be available in the meeting rooms). NOTE: make sure you have the right power adapter for North America, namely type A in http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_AC_power_plugs_and_sockets 5. Logistics Information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The meeting will be hosted by Gallaudet University and TDI in the Jordan Student Academic Center, Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., USA. Sign language interpreting and CART (computer assisted real time transcription) services will be provided at the meeting. Gallaudet is about three blocks from the NoMa Metro (subway) station. 6. Registration and visa Information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ To register your meeting attendance, please complete the registration form attached and forward to the meeting organizers at cstout@tdiforaccess.org. Early registration of your attendance is welcome and encouraged, but positively the absolute deadline is two weeks before the meeting (20 May 2013). People needing visa support letters (see below for requirements) should register much in advance of the meeting. We respectfully remind that citizens of some countries are required to obtain a visa in order to enter and spend time in USA. The visa must be requested and obtained from the office (embassy or consulate) representing USA in your country, or if there is no such office in your country, from the one that is closest to the country of departure. Visa requests should be made according to USA rules. An invitation letter may be provided to the appropriate accredited participants if required. If an invitation letter is required please contact the host at: jslee@blackberry.com. 7. Hotel Accommodations ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Three (3) hotels are within close proximity to the meeting at Gallaudet, and there are other suitable hotels throughout Washington, D.C. Gallaudet University Kellogg Conference Center (on campus, next to meeting location) 800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, USA +1 202-651-6000 Courtyard Washington, DC/U.S. Capitol (By Noma subway station) 1325 2nd Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, USA +1 202-898-4000 Hilton Garden Inn. Washington DC/U.S. Capitol (By Noma subway station) 1225 First Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, USA +1 202-408-4870 8. Other information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Members attending the Q26/16 meeting may also be interested to attend the M-Enabling summit hosted by G3ICT will be occurring on the same week (5-7 June 2013) at the Federal Communication Commission and at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View hotel. Details can be found at www.m-enabling.com Look forward to seeing you there. Sincerely, Claude L. Stout Executive Director Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) Christian Vogler Director Technology Access Program, Gallaudet University John S. Lee Rapporteur Question 26/16 International Telecommunication Union