BEZGRANIZ.RU
On 9 November 2009, the pilot version of "Bezgraniz.ru" ("Life without borders") was launched in Moscow to an impressive audience of civil society activists, business executives, information technology experts and philanthropists.
The portal (http://www.bezgraniz.ru/), was already accessible for the visually impaired, and is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks and will be undergoing further upgrading according to quite ambitious plans of its creators brought together by the Marketkompas company.
According to them, the Bezgraniz project is intended for people with special needs and focuses on improving the environment they live and work in. Not only it presents new opportunities for communication in cyberspace, but it also "offers a large variety of interactive approaches to like-minded people".
Opening the ceremony, Alexandre Gorelik, Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow, welcomed this highly positive development on behalf of the UN Country Team in Russia. He placed the event into the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stressing that 14 out of 32 substantive articles of the treaty mention obligations with implications for Information and Communications Technology (ICT). In continuing on that matter, according to the Convention, states are to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures promoting human rights of persons with disabilities, he said that e-accessibility is among the most pressing tasks internationally. Finally, he noted that the Bezgraniz project is a considerable step forward towards a disabled-friendlier society in Russia.
Introducing the portal itself, Tobias Reisner of Marketkompas stated that Bezgraniz would help many people with special needs break out of isolation, start networking and step with more assurance into the social life. In his words, “the ‘Life without borders’ will assist them in organizing seminars, concerts, sport competitions, exhibits, but also will offer goods and services.”