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The finals of the Vodafone Foundation Smart Accessibility awards 2011 will be held this Monday, the 5^th December in Brussels.

The competition opened in June and after the first round of Judging, the 12 finalists were announced on the 15^th October. Here are a number of great stories on the topic of Smart Accessibility.

·  Apps for blind and partially sighted users: Independent developers are adding accessibility features to Android apps with exciting results

·  Mobile accessibility: setting the standard: Setting non-regulatory standards will help developers stick to the 'design for all' principle, securing investment for the future. John Galloway investigates

·  Top 10 steps towards making your mobile apps more accessible: Accessibility should be high on the priority list for app developers, but where to start? Here are some ideas

·  Technology that gives children a voice: A mobile phone is helping children who cannot communicate effectively through speech alone to gather data about what they have been doing during their school day

·  Accessibility is vitally important for people with disabilities and older mobile users: Should the mobile industry be talking more about accessibility? A new report on the number of disabled people worldwide could provide a powerful incentive to users and developers alike

·  Accessible mobile location services lead the way: Smartphones are responsible for a boom in location-based apps due to their GPS chips, which allow users to share their location with other apps

·  Smartphone technology as an accessibility platform: Much progress has been made, but experts say there is more work to do – particularly with a rapidly ageing population

·  Smart and accessible: new awards promote IT applications: Can you develop an app to make life easier for older people or people with a disability? If so, you could win €50,000

We will be announcing the winner on the evening of the 5^th, so watch this space!