Rolling Rains Report:

Wisdom from Wilderness Inquiry

I want to reach back to showcase a pioneer of inclusion - Greg Lais of Wilderness Inquiry.

With the recent emphasis on outdoor sports here as a result of the travelogue covering REATECH in Brazil and the upcoming concurrent Adventure Travel World Summit and Adventure Sports World Summit it seems appropriate to publish this excerpt from Greg's article "Social Inclusion Through Recreation: The Wilderness Inquiry Approach":

As a society we have learned that physical integration – putting people with differences together in one place – is not enough. While we will always need laws to prohibit the most egregious forms of discrimination, we will never be able to force people to respect and accept each other. Wilderness Inquiry recognizes this and uses a unique approach to promote social inclusion within a community. Its formula for inclusion is simple, but it requires that we think more broadly than traditional “special” or “minority population” approaches to inclusion. Briefly, WI’s approach to integration is:

1. Select a popular, voluntary, cooperative venue that has inherent challenges.
2. Provide support so that everyone can participate without changing the fundamental nature of the experience.
3. Actively recruit people from diverse backgrounds and ability levels.
4. Facilitate the process to optimize opportunities for social integration to occur.
5. Provide financial assistance to keep the program within reach of people from all socio-economic backgrounds.

WI has carefully refined its program to seamlessly serve people with disabilities and others who are neither disabled nor associated with other “minority” communities. It is the only program serving people with disabilities and chronic illness in the United States that regularly attracts people who would never consider personally participating in a program for “special populations.” In short, WI has developed a highly effective approach to facilitating social integration – it reaches people from all walks of life, opens their minds and changes their attitudes.

A Discrimination Case Against Tiger Airways

More on airline discrimination:

The advent of low-cost airlines and zealous interpretation of safety regulations has led to discrimination against people with disabilities, experts say.

A group of deaf people from Melbourne has launched a discrimination case against Tiger Airways after the budget carrier insisted they travel with a carer last month.

But [Australian] federal disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes says the problem isn't limited to Tiger.

"There have been endemic problems in airlines over the past few years where people with disabilities have been refused carriage because of their disability,'' Mr Innes told Sky News.

REATECH: Una Abertura (Spanish)

Reatech 2008 fue una revelación para nosotros: nos permitió comprender la vida en toda su intensidad, más allá de nuestros propios interrogantes como seres humanos y de nuestras inquietudes como padres de una persona discapacitada.

Y es que fue aquí, en este maravilloso espacio que es la feria, donde aprendimos a valorar lo que tenemos sin pensar en lo que nos falta; donde comprendimos que el dolor va de la mano de la felicidad, sucediéndose de a ratos, conformando un continuum que es, nada más y nada menos, que la vida. Y que esa vida vale la pena.

Y es aquí, también, que aprendimos que…

REATECH: "E dessa vez a diferente era eu!" (Portuguese)

Há uns dois meses atrás, quando meu namorado me perguntou se gostaria de ir com a ele à Reatech, não pensei duas vezes e disse que sim. Afinal, estou escrevendo num blog sobre acessibilidade, inclusão, reabilitação bla bla etc e tal. Nada mais normal do que acompanhá-lo ao evento. Às vésperas da feira, então, quando percebi que meu namorado não parava de falar nos test drives que poderia fazer e nas cadeiras e acessórios que encontraria por lá, comecei a me perguntar se não me sentiria deslocada num evento como esse. Pra meu alívio, essa desconfiança passou quase que por completo assim que cheguei na feira, pois, como em tudo que é evento de porte internacional, você tem muito o que ver, ouvir, conhecer e explorar.

Mas como eu disse: quase. A primeira meia hora foi estranha.

Mobile March - Canada

Jeff Preston is on the road with a message:

"Accessible transit, not only in London, [Ontario] but in the province, is broken," the University of Western Ontario Master's student told a crowd of about 150 supporters outside city hall.

He is blogging on his trek to demonstrate the fact at Get Mobilzed. Here's from his first day on the road:

I’ve known all along that this was important and it’s something I just have to do, but when I think of all the people who came out to see me off today, all the people with disabilities around this province stuck in the ridiculousness that is accessible transportation, and all the friendly motorists along the way who happily shared the road with me today, well I know that not only can I accomplish my goal to reach Ottawa, but we truly are on the cusp of something revolutionary. People seem to really understand the problem and empathize with our plight–they genuinely believe that we, the disabled, have the same right to access transportation just like everyone else. I think that’s really significant.

Source:
http://www.getmobilized.ca/travelblog/

Da AVAPE: Turismo acessível

Convênio entre o Ministério do Turismo, AVAPE e a Prefeitura de Socorro facilitará o acesso de pessoas com deficiência ao turismo de aventura e atividades de lazer

Reportagem: Marília Penteriche

Em matéria de acessibilidade turística, o Brasil ainda engatinha se comparado aos Estados Unidos, Canadá ou Inglaterra. Além das poucas opções de destinos e habitações realmente acessíveis, as existentes costumam ser caras. Mas o município de Socorro (SP), a 130 quilômetros de São Paulo, promete mudar este cenário. Um convênio entre o Ministério do Turismo, a Prefeitura, a AVAPE e o programa Aventura Segura criou o projeto Socorro Acessível, para tornar a cidade - um dos pólos de turismo de aventura mais importantes do interior paulista - o primeiro destino turístico do país totalmente adaptado às pessoas com deficiência.

La région Riviera Cote d'Azur (French)

La région Riviera Cote d'Azur, dont la ville de Nice est l'un des centres majeurs, peut se vanter d'être l'un des principaux sites touristiques français. Une réalité qui a sa part d'ombre !

REATECH Bloggers Summit on Inclusive Tourism

Parque dos Sonhos

REATECH is South America's largest disability expo. Promoters of Inclusive Tourism gathered from throughout North, Central, and South America to add an entirely new topic to the typical showcase on technology, sport, self-help, and disability culture.

The Rolling Rains Report organized a Bloggers Summit during the event and Brazilian pioneers of inclusive adventure and eco-tourism arranged for technical assistance visits to observe their project in partnership with the federal tourism ministry known as "Socorro Acessivel." Below is a multi-lingual pastiche of conference reports from those who came together to run our booth. To the right are photos from only one of the several sites that we visited on the tour. Brazil is taking to inclusion in tourism with zest and innovation! (Note; the zipline in the photo is 1 km long starting in São Paulo state and ending in the state of Minas Gerais.)

Keep the September 4-7 Adventure Travel Summit and Adventure Sports Fair on your calendars as the next event where this corner of the world's Inclusive Tourism team meets up Join us. Vamos la!:

Craig Grimes (English)
Accessible Everything

Ricardo Shimosakai (Portuguese)
Turismo Adaptado blog
EcoViagem post

Nelida Barbeitos (Spanish)
http://nelidabarbeito.blogspot.com/

Eduardo Camara & Bianca Marotti
Mão na Roda

CRPD and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)

People come to disability through a variety of means. Landmines is one preventable cause. below the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) hails the passage of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Inclusion in Adventure Sports Makes Inroads in Nepal

High-risk sports are not everyone's cup of tea but stories like these do fix a destination in the minds of some intrepid travelers with disabilities:

Twenty-eight-year-old Sita KC took to the skies today becoming the first disabled person in Nepal to be airborne without the help of an engine.

KC, who is suffering from spinal paralysis and cannot use her limbs waist downwards, went paragliding with Swiss national Sebastian Baqeun in tandem for a 50-minute flight under the aegis of Sunrise Paragliding. She went into launch mode from Sarangkot cliff of Pokhara.

Sérgio Franco, Marta Suplicy, Hotel Fazenda Campo dos Sonhos em Socorro Continuam Trabalho do Pioneiro De Turismo Inclusivo Dada Moreira

A Ministra do Turismo, Marta Suplicy, visitou o Hotel Fazenda Campo dos Sonhos em Socorro (SP) - o primeiro empreendimento da cidade a ser referência para a acessibilidade a pessoas com necessidades especiais (deficientes auditivos, visuais e de mobilidade)

O Parque dos Sonhos, onde está localizado o hotel, também será referência para a certificação de turismo de aventura, pois é o primeiro a adotar integralmente as normas da ABNT (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas), que foram regulamentadas a partir do Projeto “Aventura Segura”, coordenado pela ABETA (Associação Brasileira das Empresas de Turismo de Aventura) em conjunto com o Ministério do Turismo.

Sérgio Franco, diretor da Adventure Sports Fair, acompanhou a visita, e pode constatar com orgulho o fato de que grande parte das iniciativas hoje implementadas tiveram início nas edições da feira, que se tornou o ponto de encontro anual entre os empresários do turismo, ONGs e Governo.

Todas essas iniciativas tiveram início durante a Adventure Sports Fair – o grande ponto de encontro entre os empresários do Turismo, Ongs e Governo.

Femme Den: More Linkage Between Universal Design and Women as a Market

As Universal Design continues to establish itself as baseline "good design" innovators like Smart Design continue to innovate and open new markets.

Disability Rights in China

The news note below on the rights of Chinese with disabilities is provided in anticipation of the Paralympic Games:

Last week, the Chinese government adopted a law amendment to better protect the country's more than 83 million persons with a disability, in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in September..."

My Green Map

GreenMap.org is a project that I have followed with interest for several years. I attempted to connect up with one of their projects in Brazil last week but scheduling did not allow it. Below is more on what GreenMaps is doing that's new:

Green Map System has promoted inclusive participation in sustainable community development around the world since 1995, using mapmaking as our medium. Over 450 locally-led map projects in 50 countries have successfully published 335 Green Maps, used by millions to connect with green living, nature, social and cultural resources near home and while traveling. While all use Green Map Icons to highlight both positive and challenging sites, each powerful guide is unique.

Now, we're taking our inclusiveness mission the next step by developing an open interactive Green Mapmaking tool that will help people worldwide quickly share their own selection of sustainability sites, pathways and resources online.

Event Announcement -- Include 2009

The RCA Helen Hamlyn Centre is pleased to announce it will be holding
Include 2009 at the Royal College of Art, London 5-8 April 2009.

The title of the event will be Inclusive Design into Innovation:
Transforming Practice in Design, Research and Business.

At Parque dos Sonhos - Socorro, Brazil

About 2 hours outside Sao Paulo is a town called Socorro. Adventure tourism is a central part of the economy there and Parque dos Sonhos (Park of Dreams) plays a leading role.

Among the activities adapted for people with disabilities are rafting, inner tubing, rappelling, canopy walks, off-roading and zip lines.

The top-of-class zip line ("tirolesa" in Portuguese) is called Tirolesa de Panico (The Panic Zip Line!). It runs almost 1 kilometer in the air, over a river, buildings -- and the edge of a very steep rock. Here I am after the 50-second / 1 km aerial trip. In this photo I am modeling the modified ultralight seating that is used for quadriplegics on this two-cable zip line.

Post-REATECH

A fuller report and photos from REATECH will have to wait for faster Internet connections but meanwhile progress continues in other parts of the world. Here is an example of what Svayam is doing in IndiaÇ

Jallianwala Bagh, a historical landmark in the Indian freedom struggle, is set be accessible to all with Svayam, an initiative of the Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust committed towards making public infrastructure accessible to persons with reduced mobility, and the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) today announced a unique initiative ahead of the occasion of “World Heritage Day” and commemoration of its 89th anniversary.

“Svayam has undertaken an access audit and come out with a set of recommendations for providing and ensuring accessibility to the Jallianwala Bagh complex. The audit has been forwarded to the ITDC, Abha Negi, director, Svayam, said here today.

Subways Accessible by 2010? Don't Count on it! (Portuguese)

REATECH in Sao Paulo is truly the largest disability expo I have ever attended.

That said, the other side of the story is told here in this video. Getting around the city is a nightmare. For those who understand Portuguese this bit of journalistic expose is entertaining. (Some small compensation for the inaccessibility of the city):

Video on Disability

Publishing Disability Directories as a Revenue Source: CapeAbilities

The Cape Cod Disability Access Directory is a project of CapeAbilities.

In Sao Paulo for REATCH

REATECH begain with a splash. Nelida Barbeito of Argentina spoke at the opening. I was introduced also but not able to maintin a low profile (until afterwards when the conference video crew grabbed me for an interview in my rudimentary Portuguese.)

Regular Internet access has been difficult to arrange while on the road. Craig Grimes of Accessible Barcelona and Accessible Nicaragua and I have met up. He has been more successful n posting to his blog. Read his humorous entre, Corte Cabelo, for a glimpse of the trip.

Field trips include a site visit to the town of Socorro and another to Brotas. Both specialize in adventure tourism with siginificant investment and growing vendor eexperience in adaptied outdoor sports.

The Socorro experience will incude a zip line (zip wire; tirolesa) that is one kilometer long - plenty of time for second thoughts, Im sure!

REATECH Disability Expo in São Paulo, Brazil

This week is Brazil's third national rehabilitation expo and disabbility arts celebration known as REATECH. The event runs April 24-28 and is held in the Centro de Exposições Imigrantes.

This year promoters of inclusive tourism and adaptive sports and recreation are gathering to participate. Architect Silvana Serafina Cambiaghi of São Paulo will be speaking about her new book on Universal Design. Nelida Barbito of Buenos Aires will speak about her work with travelers with disabilities and retrofitting a hotel in Argentina. As previously reported, Ricardo Shimosakai will speak on the inclusive adventure tourism group Turismo Adaptado. Dada Moreira will speak on his adventure tour non-profit Aventura Especial.

In addition, a Bloggers Summit will track the Expo from on site.

Blogger and Inclusive Travel expert Craig Grimes has already begun blogging at his site Accessible Everything.

Eduardo Camara will be blogging in Portuguese at his site Mão na Roda

I will also be blogging from the event and providing links back to these and other bloggers who cover the event.

Wellington City Council and Tourism for All

A public forum held by the Wellington City Council at Te Papa earlier this month was entitled “Tourism for All” and concentrated on a number of aspects around accessible tourism for people with disabilities (PWDs) and seniors. Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, is probably the most proactive jurisdiction in the country when it comes to access tourism, and the forum, driven by the council’s Disability reference Group (DRG), was opened by Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast.

Guest speaker Sandra Rhodda from Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth said that the New Zealand tourism and hospitality industry ignores the boomer, senior, and access tourism market to its peril.

Open Letter to José Manuel Barroso from the European Disability Forum

Open Letter to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission:

Brussels, 22 April 2008

Dear President,

It is with great satisfaction that I am writing to you, following public announcements made by your services that a proposal for a European directive fighting discrimination against disabled people will be proposed to the College of Commissioners at the end of June as part of a comprehensive ‘Social package’.

This is the best response that you, together with Commissioner Vladimir Špidla, could give to the ‘1million4disability’ campaign that EDF has led over last year, and that has gathered the support of over 1.364.984 citizens including prominent national and European politicians, representatives of a wide variety of civil society organizations, trade unions, and heads of State. It is also very significant as it is the first citizen’s initiative that is followed up by the European Commission, even before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. All citizens will rejoice of your decision, as it sets a positive example of democratic dialogue between the European Commission and the people of Europe.

Bathroom Talk

Let's face it. For those of us with spinal cord injuries and many people with mobility impairments bathrooms and bodily processes come up more often in our conversations than is the national average.

The Best Little Outhouse in Town!

An award-winning universally designed public restroom outside Bangkok, Thailand.

Skype presenta un servicio de videollamada para sordos (Spanish)

Madrid. (EFE).- Las personas sordas podrán comunicarse a través de una aplicación de videollamada on line de alta calidad que se ha presentado hoy por Skype y Logitech en la Asociación de Sordos de Madrid.
Más información sobre enlace www.skype.com

Talking Bus Stops

The e-government Awards in the UK recognize innovation. Talking bus stops in the Brighton & Hove City Council Sustainable Transport system won the award in 2007.

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=15193&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0