A brief presentation (15 min) at the HYVITE 2007 symposium in Tampere - on the changing situation of people with disabilities in Estonia as well as IT solution as a way out of exclusion. Features some schemes from my 1999 PhD thesis (in full available at http://www.kakupesa.net/kakk/thesis)

1. Estonia: an uneven journey towards inclusive society Kaido Kikkas Tallinn University Estonian Union of People with Mobility Impairments Estonian Society for Information Technology kaido.kikkas@kakupesa.net http://www.kakupesa.net HYVITE symposium, Tampere 25.04.07

4. The circle Kikkas 1999 Low level of education Low level of employment Low social status Limited role in society, neglect Limited access to different parts of society

5. The circle revisited Low level of education Low level of employment Low social status Limited role in society, neglect Limited access to different parts of society @ Extra means of access Distance education Telework Means of politics and PR Powerful, accessible medium Kikkas 1999

13. Main rule: you have to be a bit crazy do everything “unsuitable for people with disabilities”

14. Thank you for your attention Note: the illustration above (from the THINK project) is drawn by Mr. Meelis Luks, a foot-painting Estonian artist – see http://www.lux.ee) The slides will be available at SlideShare under the Creative Commons BY-SA license (http://www.slideshare.net/UncleOwl)