GPII – Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure

The GPII will combine cloud computing, web, and platform services to make access simpler, more inclusive, available everywhere, and more affordable. When completed it will provide the infrastructure needed to make it possible for companies, organizations, and society to put the web within reach of all —  by making it easier and less expensive for consumers with disabilities, ICT and AT companies, Public Access Points, employers, educators, government agencies and others to create, disseminate, and support accessibility across technologies.
More information about GPII can be found here: https://gpii.net

Raising the Floor

A movement

The movement is composed of people and organizations who are concerned that access to the broadband and Internet is no longer optional, yet many people are not able to use these technologies effectively.
Participants and organizations in RtF have come together because, like an old barn raising, we can achieve more working together than we can separately – and a coordinated activity is needed to address this complex and pressing problem.
Participants are engaged in a broad range of activities, commercial, academic, voluntary, and governmental, all aimed at ensure that everyone who has trouble using the default interface on modern information and communication technologies (and the default format of content) has the features and tools they need to use them alongside everyone else.

An organization

There is also an international association that has just been formed in Geneva Switzerland to facilitate these efforts called Raising the Floor – International (RtF-I).  

Whereas members of the consortium or movement are engaged in a wide range of activities, the RtF-I association will focus its effort on facilitating the efforts of others and especially fostering the development of a Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure.
The primary objective of Raising the Floor is putting the Web within reach of all those with disability, literacy, or aging related accessibility barriers regardless of their economic status.

Funding

Raising the Floor is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the European Commission, and from private donations.  Two grants, Cloud4all and Prosperity4all, are currently underway in the European Union, while other support is being delivered in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere.

More information about Raising the Floor can be found here: http://raisingthefloor.org