Colombia. With the aim of evidencing the development of the regulation project, the National Television Authority, ANTV, presented the schedules and specific dates to adjust and assess the alternatives for the implementation of access systems in national television.
Angela Mora Soto, director of the ANTV, chaired the meeting in which the socialization of Resolution 350 of 2016 began, which was attended by Juan Pablo Salazar, counselor of the Presidential Program for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, several representatives of the National Institute for the Deaf -Insor- and members of the Society of the Deaf of Bogotá - Sordebog-, and some entities such as the Ombudsman's Office.
Taking into account that 6% of the Colombian population has some type of disability, a percentage within which 15% are related to some limitation to hearing, this project is strategic and of great importance for the ANTV. The process of creating the regulatory project took into account the observations of MINTIC, Asomedios, Insor, Fenascol and the Popular Action Verification Committee.
Among the most important actions revealed in socialization are those contained in Article 9:
Implementation Levels
60% Implementation of Closed Caption as of June/30/16
100% Implementation of Closed Caption as of 31/Jan/17
Implementation of Sign Language in at least one (1) informative program and programs of public interest transmitted through Public Television Operators.
Implementation of Sign Language in Institutional Messages and Presidential Speeches.
New Access Alternatives
- The ANTV will carry out studies to assess and evaluate alternatives for greater access of the hearing impaired population to television content – Term 12 months.
- Implementation of a defined alternative based on the studies carried out – Term 24 months from the completion of the studies.
Likewise, the director of the ANTV clarified that the use of close caption is a temporary measure, because the definitive solution to the needs of people with hearing disabilities depends on the Regulatory Framework and the Budgetary Framework that will determine the real cost of the project.
The ANTV hopes to advance in the medium term new spaces of rapprochement with the population in condition of hearing disability, reiterating the importance of including all those involved in the process of issuing the Resolution: concessionaires and operators of the television service, beneficiaries of the access tools and the entities involved in the fulfillment of the same.
