Accessibility
Music Festivals Are Notorious for Inaccessibility—This Organization Is Pushing for Change In 2023
Music festivals are notorious for being inaccessible. People with disabilities working in the music industry have overwhelmingly chose not to disclose their non-visible conditions to their employers for a number of reasons. Event accessibility organization Attitude is Everything (AIE) is working to expel this stigma by partnering with music festival associations to ensure there are more practical measures embedded into their booking and operational processes. As part of a campaign called #FestivalsWithoutBarriers, AIE has reportedly started working with the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the Association of Festival Organizers (AFO) and the British Arts Festival Association (BAFA). These organizations’ employees and members are working on measures to establish a bet...
INEC promises to train Malawian electoral body on delineation, creation of polling units
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised to teach its Malawian electoral commission counterpart the tricks it used in the delineation of constituencies and creation of polling units. Speaking when his Malawian counterpart, Justice Chifundo Kachale, led a delegation on a courtesy visit on him in Abuja on Thursday, National Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said he understand that the Southern African country is also faced similar challenges Nigeria had previously. He announced to the delegation that the Commission is currently undergoing a historic voter registration exercise, emphasizing: “We are also doing the voter pre-registration online, which will now be completed physically in person at designated centres nationwide. So you are coming at the right time. ...
Ex-US envoy: British museum holds over 700 pieces of Benin bronzes
The British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, currently holds 700 pieces of the Benin Bronzes collection, more than any other museum and other institutions globally, a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. John Campbell has said. Campbell, however, acknowledged that the authorities of the British Museum had agreed “to return the Benin Bronzes collection once the Edo Museum of West African Art, currently under construction in Benin City is completed.” He gave this figure in a blog post titled “Germany to Return Some African Art to Nigeria” published on the website of Council for Foreign Relations (CFR), a US non-profit think-tank specialising in international affairs on Wednesday. More than a century after British soldiers looted a collection of priceless artifacts...
Sustaining economic empowerment through financial inclusion, energy access
Financial inclusion and provision of sustainable energy is at a turning point in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria. With a population of over 200 million, about 50 per cent of the total population live in rural areas, and only 39 per cent of those living in rural communities have access to electricity. This is in addition to over 40 per cent of the entire population who are financially excluded or underserved. However, the proliferation of digital financial services in Nigeria – powered largely by growth in fin-tech companies – has catalysed an unparalleled increase in the current number of people with access to formal financial services, while further opening up opportunities to address power supply challenges across rural communities; a major feat instrumental towards achieving the broad...
Kano governor: Nigeria can’t progress with current level of corruption
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has said Nigeria cannot progress with the level of corruption in the country. Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of an eight-man Anti-Corruption Strategy Steering Committee, Ganduje stressed that all stakeholders must do all that is necessary to ensure a corruption-free state with limitless opportunities. Ganduje, who was represented at the occasion by Alhaji Usman Alhaji, the Secretary to the State Government, noted that there is no sacred lamb in the fight against corruption in the state. “Believe me, we don’t need to say that corruption in this country is killing all of us. The truth of the matter is that we will never develop or progress with this level of corruption in this country,” the governor cautioned. The governor said the miss...
JAMB: CBT centres must carry names of their examination towns
File Photo Ahead of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and direct entry registration exercise, all Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the nation have been mandated to feature the name of the examination town in which they are located as part of their identity for easy recognition and accessibility. The registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, made this known recently at a meeting with the Board’s Zonal Directors and State Coordinators. The move is to enable candidates to have a good grasp of centres within their chosen examination towns. The registrar had called on the state coordinators to ensure that examination towns are well delineated for easy location by candidates and avoid any situation where candidates wo...
DPR: Market forces should determine gas prices
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has advocated that market forces should be allowed to determine gas prices to guarantee the security of supply and demand of the commodity. Mr Sarki Auwalu, the Chief Executive Officer, DPR, disclosed this while presenting keynote address at the pre-summit conference on “Decade of gas’, in Abuja, on Monday. Auwalu said that the right and market-based pricing of gas was critical, as it would assure producers of returns on their investments. He also outlined five critical levers for gas development, especially as Nigeria moves to leverage its abundant gas resources for national growth, diversification of the economy and to use gas as the fuel for economic transformation. According to him, the levers include availability, accessibility, a...
NSE upgrades data portal to improve market access
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday announced the upgrade of its Data Portal (X-DataPortal) to revamp and improve market accessibility for subscribers. Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the exchange, said in a statement in Lagos that the portal upgrade was to explore digital technologies to provide top notch accessibility. Onyema said: “The upgrade of the X-DataPortal is in line with the desire of the NSE to continue providing an exchange that is easily accessible, leveraging digital technology. “The newly enhanced X-DataPortal has, therefore, been equipped with market-focussed features that will complement the NSE website and other NSE portals in response to stakeholders’ increased demands for easy access to data. “Given the importance of Market Data in investment decisi...
Google Maps is Making Wheelchair-Accessible Locations Easier to Spot
Sourced from Google. In honour of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Google is adding a long-overdue feature to its Maps app that puts details about a location’s accessibility facilities front and centre. With the “Accessible Places” feature enabled, business and points of interest with wheelchair-accessible entrances are marked with a wheelchair icon along with information about whether accessible seating, restrooms, and parking are available. Previously, all that information was tucked away in a location’s “About” menu, which users would have to navigate to for every destination individually. “With this feature ‘rollout’, it’s easier to find and contribute wheelchair accessibility information to Google Maps,” Google Maps software engineer Sasha Blair-Goldensohn says in a company blog po...
