The Norwood Award for Inclusion Through Technology
Malcolm J. Norwood (known affectionately as “Mac”) stands out in the deaf and hard of hearing community as “the father of closed captioning.” He is listed as one of the “great deaf Americans” in a book about the 77 greatest achievers in the community.
He first became involved in the Captioned Films for the Deaf program (now the Described and Captioned Media Program) in 1962 and eventually became its mainstay and leader, serving as chief from 1972 until his retirement in 1988. As the head of this organization, Norwood became a leading advocate for the development of closed captioning on television.
Norwood’s pioneering work on television and film captioning improved access to media for deaf and hard of hearing Americans. It was Malcolm Norwood who was singularly responsible for popularizing the captioning technique.
Norwood is revered as a pioneer. He was the first deaf professional to work at the Department of Education and head a major program there. Norwood was at the forefront of almost every research and development program related to captioned media for the deaf. Most importantly, Norwood was the first to envision the possibilities of closed captioning on television.
Norwood explored the possibility of captioning television programs at a time when hearing viewers rejected the prospect of embedding open captions on television networks: the solution was to produce closed captions—captions that could be turned on by people who want to view them.
Norwood’s pioneering contribution in making television and film accessible to people with disabilities became a beacon for other individuals and companies to follow. Norwood demonstrated that Assistive Technology is a foundation piece for people with disabilities to be included in their communities and, perhaps especially, within the Cinematic Arts community. Therefore, the DCC is proud that the Award for Inclusion Through Technology bears Malcolm Norwood’s name.
He first became involved in the Captioned Films for the Deaf program (now the Described and Captioned Media Program) in 1962 and eventually became its mainstay and leader, serving as chief from 1972 until his retirement in 1988. As the head of this organization, Norwood became a leading advocate for the development of closed captioning on television.
Norwood’s pioneering work on television and film captioning improved access to media for deaf and hard of hearing Americans. It was Malcolm Norwood who was singularly responsible for popularizing the captioning technique.
Norwood is revered as a pioneer. He was the first deaf professional to work at the Department of Education and head a major program there. Norwood was at the forefront of almost every research and development program related to captioned media for the deaf. Most importantly, Norwood was the first to envision the possibilities of closed captioning on television.
Norwood explored the possibility of captioning television programs at a time when hearing viewers rejected the prospect of embedding open captions on television networks: the solution was to produce closed captions—captions that could be turned on by people who want to view them.
Norwood’s pioneering contribution in making television and film accessible to people with disabilities became a beacon for other individuals and companies to follow. Norwood demonstrated that Assistive Technology is a foundation piece for people with disabilities to be included in their communities and, perhaps especially, within the Cinematic Arts community. Therefore, the DCC is proud that the Award for Inclusion Through Technology bears Malcolm Norwood’s name.
2013 Recipient: AT&T Inc.
The DCC is delighted to present the inaugural Malcolm J. Norwood Award for Inclusion Through Technology to AT&T because of its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and technological innovations that empower individuals with disabilities to follow their passions, including their passion for the Cinematic Arts. In addition to AT&T’s numerous Diversity-related Awards over many years, AT&T has been ranked No. 1 in CAREERS & the disABLED magazine's list of Top 50 Employers for people with disabilities.
As part of AT&T’s ongoing commitment to ensure that customers with disabilities are able to enjoy the opportunities that modern technology affords, AT&T has recently launched its new Corporate Accessibility Technology Office that is designed to promote accessibility in AT&T’s products and services.
From early work on relay services to current offerings such as the award winning U-verse® Easy Remote and AT&T Mobile Accessibility Lite, AT&T’s commitment to supporting people with disabilities spans decades. This new corporate structure will help ensure accessibility remains a top priority into the future as well as add defined accountability into the corporate governance structure to advance AT&T’s efforts in this important field.
AT&T demonstrates its commitment to accessibility by working closely with the disability community to identify areas for improvement. With its open-door policy, this new office will help ensure that AT&T’s efforts continue to be a model for the industry. As a global leader in pioneering diverse and inclusive policies and innovations, AT&T has created an Advisory Panel on Access & Aging (AAPAA) that is composed of national leaders in assistive technology, aging and cross-disability issues.
AT&T has committed substantial resources to the research and development of a vast array of assistive technology and prototypes. Just a few examples include:
• The AT&T Watson speech recognition platform
• AT&T's Natural Voices text-to-speech
• The AT&T Speech Mashups platform, and
• The MIRACLE image and video processing platform
In addition, AT&T researchers are currently collecting data comparing the intelligibility of seven different synthetic speech systems at various speaking rates. The aim is to make Text-to-Speech more usable by all, including users of mobile devices,
For all these reasons, it is quite fitting that the inaugural Norwood Award for Inclusion Through Technology be presented to AT&T.
As part of AT&T’s ongoing commitment to ensure that customers with disabilities are able to enjoy the opportunities that modern technology affords, AT&T has recently launched its new Corporate Accessibility Technology Office that is designed to promote accessibility in AT&T’s products and services.
From early work on relay services to current offerings such as the award winning U-verse® Easy Remote and AT&T Mobile Accessibility Lite, AT&T’s commitment to supporting people with disabilities spans decades. This new corporate structure will help ensure accessibility remains a top priority into the future as well as add defined accountability into the corporate governance structure to advance AT&T’s efforts in this important field.
AT&T demonstrates its commitment to accessibility by working closely with the disability community to identify areas for improvement. With its open-door policy, this new office will help ensure that AT&T’s efforts continue to be a model for the industry. As a global leader in pioneering diverse and inclusive policies and innovations, AT&T has created an Advisory Panel on Access & Aging (AAPAA) that is composed of national leaders in assistive technology, aging and cross-disability issues.
AT&T has committed substantial resources to the research and development of a vast array of assistive technology and prototypes. Just a few examples include:
• The AT&T Watson speech recognition platform
• AT&T's Natural Voices text-to-speech
• The AT&T Speech Mashups platform, and
• The MIRACLE image and video processing platform
In addition, AT&T researchers are currently collecting data comparing the intelligibility of seven different synthetic speech systems at various speaking rates. The aim is to make Text-to-Speech more usable by all, including users of mobile devices,
For all these reasons, it is quite fitting that the inaugural Norwood Award for Inclusion Through Technology be presented to AT&T.
The Gateway Award
The Gateway Award is presented to an individual who has been a pioneer in the area of disability empowerment and inclusion in the Cinematic Arts. The Award recognizes the personal commitment and achievements of this individual in breaking through barriers and inspiring others to take their own stand for inclusion within the entertainment industry.
2013 Recipient: Michael Christopher Cooney
The DCC is delighted to present the inaugural Gateway Award to Michael Christopher Cooney.
Mr. Cooney is the founder and president of Team Diversity Media, a first-of-its-kind, Hollywood-based production company, exclusively owned and operated by filmmakers with disabilities. Originally from Boston, he is a graduate of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, and received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing from Otis Col- lege of Art and Design, Los Angeles.
Before his career in film production, writing, and public speaking, he spent ten years working in all facets of the music industry, as well as mentoring at-risk kids. Having been born with Cerebral Palsy, Michael began his education in a Boston school for the handicapped, but soon became one of the first kids with a disability in the United States to break the mainstream barrier. Mr. Cooney is the author of Walking In My Sleep, a vivid, intelligent, often comical memoir of finding his way in the world as a boy and young man with Cerebral Palsy. In his book, Michael describes his journey to adulthood, and from one coast to the other, as a series of adventures in which he’s sometimes the hero, sometimes the loser, and sometimes a little in between.
Mr. Cooney has also written three films: Zombie High and A Place To Call Home, along with Accidents, which he co-wrote with Raymond Martino. Without a doubt, Mr. Cooney has had break-out success in helping to change the perception of people with disabilities behind and, in front of, the camera.
For all these reasons, it is quite fitting that the 2013 inaugural Gateway Award be presented to Michael Christopher Cooney.