Luxembourg still has no talking ATMs

Mr Forotti, thank you for your time. For our readers who don't know you, could you please introduce yourself briefly?

My name is Alain Forotti, I am from Luxembourg and live in Greiveldange and Berlin. My main job is at the CDV, Luxembourg's school for the blind, in Bertrange. There, I make written materials accessible to blind and visually impaired people. I also work on an irregular basis as a reporter/interviewer/presenter for Belgian Radio in Eupen.

From time to time, I am active with my promotion agency and help musicians become famous. In this context, I have worked with Mungo Jerry, Andreas Martin and Olaf Henning in the past, for example. I helped the latter achieve the great success he has enjoyed in German-speaking countries for decades. My hobbies are travelling (I have already been to 61 countries) and the Eurovision Song Contest and its "little brother" Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

I have been covering these events with my microphone and expertise for 35 years for various radio stations in German-speaking countries. In this context, I was delighted that Luxembourg is back in the running after this long break and annoyed that the prophet was not given any work by the local media in his own country! Otherwise, I enjoy going to street festivals and similar events.

One of the missions of OSAPS is to ensure that the accessibility of products and services is improved. What recurring barriers do you yourself encounter time and again?

When it comes to cashless payments, for example, touchscreen devices have become increasingly prevalent in recent times, meaning that blind people can no longer enter their code without assistance, and it is prohibited to give this code to someone else. Until recently, there were keypads that allowed me to easily type in the four-digit code. These still exist but are becoming increasingly rare.

Furthermore, there are still no talking ATMs in Luxembourg, even though they have been available in our neighboring countries for 30 years. "Talking ATMs" improve quality of life by announcing all the necessary steps in detail for blind people and those with reading or visual impairments. The new technologies added to screens and keyboards must take all disabilities (motor, visual, auditory) into account so that affected citizens can benefit from functions such as the following:

• Voice commands;
• Headphone jack;
• Screen with enhanced contrast;
• Large print text.

Ultimately, despite the new law, most websites (including those in the public sector) are often not accessible, and I then need help from others, whom I have to trust with the websites I visit.

What does inclusion mean to you? When do you think it will be achieved?

For me, inclusion means that it is always normal for a person with a disability to be taken seriously when they need help. Because schools are already doing a good job of integrating people with disabilities into mainstream schools, it is natural for children without disabilities to have a best friend who is blind, for example. They become sensitized to the issue and are familiar with disability later, and it is hardly worth mentioning whether someone is disabled or not.

Conversely, with perfect inclusion, disabled people no longer have the problem that – as is often the case – they mainly have friends or partners among other disabled people.

Inclusion may be 100% achieved in a few decades, but if I must relate it to the whole world, then probably never.

Finally, what are your general hopes for the future when it comes to accessibility?

I hope that things will continue to develop in such a positive way. A lot has happened in recent years, but some people tend to ignore it.