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INCREASING ACCESS TO DIGITAL TV

02/03/2004

"We hope that by the end of the Fellowship, Kevin will have broken some important new ground in paving the way for a much more inclusive approach to the development of digital TV."

Kevin Carey, from Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, is the Founder Director of the charity, humanITy, which advises government and public and private sectors on issues relating to IT and social exclusion. He has a history of working in the media, starting on the Cambridge University Newspaper Varsity and going on to work in the BBC before launching a new career in overseas development which he completed as Overseas Director of Sightsavers International. He is the Vice Chair of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), Chairman of the Stakeholder Group Cybrarian, an Hon. Research Fellow in Human Computer Interaction Design at City University and sets on the Content Board of Ofcom. His community activities vary from standing as an SDP Parliamentary Candidate in 1987 to directing Shakespeare plays.

Over the next 20 months, Kevin wants to explore the accessibility potential offered by the newly converged media - DVD, TV and digital radio. Kevin believes that digital TV presents many access opportunities and the use of non-scheduled entertainment through DVD and downloaded material, makes it easier, he thinks, to meet the needs of disabled consumers.

Setting out on this path of enquiry, Kevin has identified an intensive programme of training and research. This will include achieving an understanding of how digital multimedia is produced so that he can integrate this with his knowledge of public policy formulation. The aim is to work towards the foundation of a European centre for accessible media, drawing on the experience of the National Center for Accessible Media in the United States which he will visit as part of his Fellowship.

Venu Dhupa, NESTA Fellowship Director, said: "We are delighted to be supporting Kevin's work which will pursue much needed improvement to the current provision of access to new multimedia technology. We hope that by the end of the Fellowship, Kevin will have broken some important new ground in paving the way for a much more inclusive approach to the development of digital TV."