Message from BT's Inclusive Design Champion

"As BT's Inclusive Design Champion what do I mean by Inclusive Design? Our goal is to design our BT products and services to make them as useable as possible for everyone. We know that information helps us all in our daily lives whether for example in communicating, shopping or working. So making technology work well for all of us is very important.

BT believes that applying an inclusive design approach is good for business as well as for customers. Disabled people want to take advantage of new communication technologies just like anyone else. There are 10 million disabled people in the UK and this will increase as the population ages - Age Concern estimate 12.2 million people over 65 by 2011.

We have developed inclusively designed phones for a number of years, with our Big Button range proving to be very popular. We have provided bills in alternative media for over 15 years and we are improving accessibility in other areas. You will find more examples on these pages.

We know that there is more to do so BT is working with the Centre for Inclusive Technology and Design (CITD) on a three-year project to develop a toolkit to guide businesses through the whole process.  We will keep you up to date on the progress of this project. Please visit this website again for the latest news."

Steve Andrews
Managing Director, Strategy, Convergence and Products

Examples of Inclusive Design in BT