– Now I have more or less given up! It is difficult to get a job as a visually impaired person when you have not completed education and do not have work experience. Then people are not interested in having you in the workplace. Cathrine Ravnanger from Moss rarely experiences being called for an interview. She has applied for over 25 jobs in the last couple of years, but only gets rejected. – I inform on my CV and in the application that I am visually impaired. It seems to me that I am right and reasonable, so that I do not suddenly appear at the interview and then “oh, yes, there she is with a cane, yes – she is probably a cane blind”. Negative attitudes The gongs she has been to for an interview, she knows the attitude afterwards with answers such as “It has gone well, but thank you. You are visually impaired, maybe not here ». Several manufacturers of IT systems refuse to deliver what is necessary for the blind and partially sighted to work digitally. Universal design of ICT shall help the blind in the same way that the disabled can otherwise function in society by means of a threshold-free entrance for wheelchair users, stair lifts and other physical measures. Up in the Storting Regulations on universal design of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions do not require suppliers to offer this. But the Gender Equality Ombudsman and the Children’s Ombudsman have requested a meeting with the education committee in the Storting to discuss the lack of universal design of digital teaching aids, and the consequences this has for blind and severely visually impaired children. Anita Bjerknæs, section leader in the Norwegian Association of the Blind. Head of department in the Association of the Blind, Anita Bjerknæs, has since 2018 tried to put in place digital HR and recruitment systems, in addition to an e-learning program for employees and members of the association. – At that time we met a positive corps of suppliers who said that they should make this happen. But when we started talking a little more technically, they withdrew. And when we get in touch again, when they only hear when I call, they say “No, we can not help you”. She experiences a very negative attitude towards taking on such assignments. – It is very sad! Impatient Terje Andre Olsen, union leader in the Norwegian Association of the Blind. Photo: Tom-Egil Jensen / Tom-Egil Jensen Also union leader Terje Andre Olsen is impatient considering the many members who could be out in working life. – There are currently 100,000 disabled people in Norway who want to work, and I think we should address those who actually want to, because here we have an untapped potential, he says. He thinks one of the measures is to include requirements for universal design of ICT on internal systems in the workplace. Oslo Municipality Field The Discrimination Tribunal decides complaints about discrimination, harassment and retaliation. On 3 May, the tribunal will make this decision in a case concerning the universal design of ICT: The education agency in Oslo municipality discriminates against A due to a lack of universal design of ICT. Two weeks later, the tribunal makes a new decision, also against the education agency in Oslo municipality. Kjartan Almenning heads the department «Non-profit and welfare policy» in Abelia, the NHO association for technology and knowledge activities in Norway. Photo: Ilja C. Hendel Abelia is the association for technology and knowledge activities in Norway, and represents about 2,700 companies, among them suppliers of IT systems. Abelia’s website states: “Together we create a sustainable knowledge society by realizing digital Norway, strengthening the pace of research and innovation and increasing the competitiveness of our members by positioning them in the international knowledge society.” International challenge Kjell Almenning in Abelia realizes that it is not good that none of these companies can deliver IT systems adapted to the blind at work. – It hardly depends on the will, but if this were a lucrative market, more developers would be ready to offer solutions. When one does not do so, it is probably due to the fact that there are large development costs in a relatively small Norwegian market. The solution is that more people, not least the public sector, must demand universal design in digital tools, or it must be solved politically through measures in a larger European market. He understands that both the blind and the Association of the Blind have given up. – It is problematic, not only for the Association of the Blind, but for society. We are supporters of universal design, and must discuss how we can achieve this in a good way for those who need it. He is more uncertain about how they will make it happen. – The solution is not necessarily to make demands in Norway, but to go up a notch at European level, and we also do that through our European partner «Digital Europe». He emphasizes that universal design is a requirement for software that is available in the public sector, but this requirement does not apply to software that one has as an employer. – And that is the challenge we are happy to look at, says Almenning. A little light and sound helps After giving up applying for a job, Cathrine now spends a lot of her time volunteering. Cathrine Ravnanger hopes one day she will get a job in a city where IT systems are universally designed so that the blind can work there. Photo: Bjørn Atle Gildestad / news – I want to be useful in society. I want to do something. – If you were to enter a workplace today, what adjustment do you need? – For my part, it is practical with the right lighting in the office landscape, and customization on the computer such as zoom and sound that fits with the system the workplace uses. It does not take much. And yet she has not completely given up hope of getting a job. – I will probably continue to apply for work, it does you, says Cathrine.
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Digital barrier stops blind Cathrine – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
