May 2011 Archives

AN INITIATIVE launched to assist persons with disabilities could open up a niche market for our tourism sector.

So says Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development Steve Blackett, who was delivering special remarks at the launch of the Rotary Club of Barbados' Sea for All programme at Browne's Beach yesterday morning, at which time three "floating chairs" were unveiled.

According to Minister Blackett: "Given our ageing population as well as the opportunities in the area of niche tourism, offerings such as these will also place us on the cutting edge in the world of disabilities, alongside such exciting programmes as the Fully Accessible Barbados Programme undertaken by the Barbados Council for the Disabled.

"It is my view that the provision of such equipment in hotels, eco-trails, and even at the Bridgetown Port would allow Barbados to cater to those among our visitors who are persons with disabilities, and that this would give Barbados a competitive edge on many other destinations in the region and beyond."

Making the point that Government cannot do it all alone, he invited other organisations to follow the lead of the Rotary Club of Barbados in this regard.

"...Survey the needs of the full range of the public that you serve, and see where assistance and/or equipment can be donated to make this country more user-friendly to all members of society, and to our visitors."

He noted that yesterday's presentation also provides an opportunity for realism and sends a sharp reminder that many persons with disabilities live on the margins of society and become dependent on the State - which, he explained, is not always able to respond to their needs in a timely manner on its own.

"Particularly in this tight economic environment, we all must step back and review what we do together, and see where possible we assist in making it a better life for all."

He stated that as is proposed in our Plan of Action of the White Paper on Disabilities, which is to lead the country towards the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, persons with disabilities are to be included wherever possible through the provision of facilities that are adequate to their requirements.

Minister Blackett lamented that too often Barbadians focus on the functional, and tend to neglect the recreational and social integration needs of persons with disabilities.

"Therefore, the Action Plan (of the White Paper on Disabilities) will, of necessity, speak to the issues of the right to equal access to leisure time facilities, independence, dignity, equity and justice. It will promote ongoing review and evaluation, the relevant standards of care, building standards and legislative amendments to protect against discrimination and safety," he said. 

Related articles

• Inclusion in Sports Being Promoted in Barbados: Minister of Sports Stephen Lashley (rollingrains.com)
• The Barbados Disability Council: the Spirit of "Harambee" (rollingrains.com)
• Fully Accessible Barbados is FAB! (rollingrains.com)

Mara Gabrilli*

Depois de muito trabalho da Frente Parlamentar dos Direitos da Pessoa com Deficiência, conseguimos alterar no início deste mês a medida provisória 514 de 2010, que define as regras da segunda fase do programa federal "Minha Casa, Minha Vida". No texto, foram incluídos dois itens que contemplam a acessibilidade para pessoas com deficiência e mobilidade reduzida no programa de habitação social.

Agora, o conceito do Desenho Universal poderá ser colocado em prática nas moradias populares. E pessoas com deficiência e idosos moradores destes locais terão um pouco mais de segurança e conforto para viver.
O primeiro item proposto na MP foi para que as famílias nas quais existam pessoas com deficiência tenham prioridade no cadastro do programa Minha Casa Minha Vida. A segunda modificação dispõe que na ausência de legislação municipal ou estadual acerca das condições de acessibilidade, 3% das unidades habitacionais construídas sejam adaptadas às pessoas com deficiência.

Fonte:

http://congressoemfoco.uol.com.br/coluna.asp?cod_canal=14&cod_publicacao=37146&filha=1

Image via Wikipedia

 "The fact that there are far fewer foreign correspondents makes the traveller more necessary as a witness and a reporter...In my opinion, the best of travel, and of travel writing - ancient or modern - is a species of trespass combined with true discovery, the wanderer surprised and bringing back news of the outer world...I have a love for reading about a really difficult trip, even better an ordeal. Such books, written with skill and appropriate detail, will always find a public, because they combine travel with problem solving and endurance, and that I suppose is the human condition."

Con la idea de garantizar el acceso universal y la inclusión para todo tipo de personas, el presidente Felipe Calderón promulgó hoy la Ley General para La Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad.

La nueva Ley busca proteger el derecho a la accesibilidad universal, a la vivienda adecuada, al libre desplazamiento en condiciones dignas y seguras, así como el derecho a la salud, la educación, el deporte, la recreación y la cultura.

El Decreto de esta Ley ya fue aprobado en Comisiones el pasado febrero, pero aún no ha sido publicada en el Diario Oficial de la Federación.

El ordenamiento legal incluye señalamientos específicos como que las dependencias deberán etiquetar los apoyosdirigidos a la atención de las personas con discapacidad, para transparentar el uso de esos recursos.

Asimismo, prevé la creación del Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidadque coordinará con dependencias de los tres órdenes de gobierno, la elaboración de programas de accesibilidad, desarrollo urbano y vivienda.

El decreto expresa que "se deberán emitir normas, lineamientos y reglamentos que garanticen la accesibilidad obligatoria en instalaciones públicas o privadas que les permita el libre desplazamiento en condiciones dignas y seguras, imponiendo a las dependencias federales, municipales y estatales vigilar el cumplimiento de las disposiciones que en materia de accesibilidad, desarrollo urbano y vivienda se establecen en la normatividad vigente".

El Consejo también supervisará la aplicación de estas disposiciones y promoverá que las personas que utilizan animales de servicio, tengan derecho a que estos accedan a donde lo requieran. Asimismo, el decreto prohíbe cualquier restricción mediante la que se impida el ejercicio de este derecho.

En cuanto a infraestructura básica, el equipamiento urbano, así como las instalaciones deportivas, culturales y espacios públicos, deberán contar con señalización, facilidades arquitectónicas, tecnologías, información, sistema braille, lengua de señas mexicana, ayudas técnicas y otros apoyos; la adecuación de estos aspectos será progresiva.

Además, la ley insta a que los programas de vivienda públicos o privados incluyan proyectos arquitectónicos que consideren las necesidades de personas con discapacidad.

Señala también que "las instituciones públicas de vivienda otorgarán facilidades para recibir créditos o subsidios para la adquisición, redención de pasivos y construcción o remodelación de vivienda".

Otro punto destacado es el transporte. La ley señala como obligación de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) la promoción del derecho de las personas con discapacidad. Esto incluye su consideración al momento de otorgar concesiones de transporte aéreo, terrestre o marítimo y sus instalaciones.

En materia de investigación, se impone la incorporación en el Sistema Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología aspectos que permitan el desarrollo de bienes, servicios, equipos e instalaciones de diseño universal.

Fuente:

http://www.cnnexpansion.com/obras/2011/05/27/discapacidades-accesibilidad-ley

From their web site:

Las Piedras is a friendly, family run business specialising in wheelchair accessible holidays in the Axarquia region of Southern Spain: Mediterranean coastal breaks, rural getaways, cultural touring holidays and lots more besides.

Our luxury, accessible accommodation is of the highest standard and totally wheelchair frendly. We have our own accessible transport and offer airport transfers and excursions.

Las Piedras Hotel is just half an hour from the beaches of the Costa del Sol and just an hour´s drive from Malaga Airport. In a stunning rural location, with beautiful views, it is ideally situated for exploring the Axarquia region and the best of Andalusia.

El Pleamar Apartment is just a stone´s throw from the beach at Torrox Costa on the eastern Costa del Sol and under an hour´s drive from Malaga Airport.

Twin Centre Holidays are a taste of all that the Axarquia and Andalusia have to offer. Stay one week at Las Piedras Hotel and one week at El Pleamar Apartment.

http://www.laspiedras.co.uk/

Buyie Masuku continues to bring word of Inclusive Tourism to Swaziland in this reprint piece in the Swazi Observer:

Inclusive [Tourism] is the systematic application of Universal Design by the travel and hospitality industry at every stage of its product, service, and policy life cycle. 

It starts by looking at real people as they exist in all their diversity of abilities. 

It looks at them at all stages of the human life cycle:  children, adults, and seniors.

 It looks at them whether they walk with a cane in a school, or high fashion boots in a mall or with a water pot on their head, returning from the village well.

Such a terse definition just raises more questions like, "why not 'accessible' instead of 'inclusive' and "what is Universal Design?"  When people hear the word "accessible" attached to tourism they think they have a pretty good idea what that means.  And there is the problem.

Almost everybody thinks they know what it means but, since it has never been fully defined, almost everybody has invented their own personal definition. That is a recipe for disaster. If travellers and the industry have no common language, then imagine how frequent disappointment and disputes will become? 

Childhood Disabilities : Making AT part of you!

In 2011, i-CREATe will be focusing on using Assistive Technology for children with disabilities. We believed that AT for early intervention will make it possible for children with disabilities to be more independent at home, schools and in the community. A child with speech problems can communicate using augmentative and alternative communications. A child with learning disabilities can use accessible learning tools in the classroom and a child who cannot use his hands can use on-screen keyboard, switches or eyegaze system to access the computer. Assistive technology can mean anything from simple, homemade devices to highly sophisticated environmental control systems. It can be adapted toys, computers access, powered mobility, augmentative and alternative communication devices, special switches and other adapted tools to assist a child with learning and interacting socially.

The 5^th i-CREATe will be held in Bangkok, Thailand for the 2^nd time. In 2008, i-CREATe Thailand drew a crowd of closed to 400 delegates during the 3 days convention where the participants were from a vast background which includes allied health professionals, special education teachers, rehabilitation engineers, researchers, practitioners, non-governmental organizations and more. In 2011, we are very honored to have the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn who will be gracing the opening of the convention for the 5^th consecutive year.

It is with pleasure to welcome you to join us at the Land of Smiles, Thailand for this meaningful event!

A plan for a UD resort at Roberts Lake in British Columbia. 

While I have seen this photo before I have never seen it with this extraordinarily illuminating caption, "WHEELCHAIR USERS Strong enough to pull an aeroplane, not always allowed on board. REUTERS"

Harambe! That's interdepence.

[Image description] Three lines of wheelchair users pull a full-sized four propeller airplane.

From DNA:

Rangasayee's visiting card is one of the different, if you look at his card and touch it, you will feel a slightly raised surface and dots. It is nothing but Braille language and he is on mission to create awareness among people over the universal design concept.

He said, "When I exchange my visiting card, people appreciate the idea behind it and start talking about it. I have made this card purposefully keeping broad-spectrum ideas in mind. Lack of universal design for helping the vision, speech and hearing impaired is creating obstacles in their integration into society."

"I feel there is an urgent need of universal design in our country, some of the developed countries have already made effort towards creating universal designs. The government also earmarked a budget for a universal design center in our 11th five year plan. With the help of the film directors, we have a planned to convert the some existing movies into universal design - such a film should have audio-visual information for the visually challenged. There is also a window for somebody to explain the movie in sign language," he added.

From the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Workplace Accommodations (Work RERC) :

From ENAT:

A public and heartfelt "Thank You" to Shuaib Chalklen, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Disability for weighing in instituitionally on what we all know to be true individually.

The European Union's flagship laws to protect the rights of air travellers are not working, say passenger-rights advocates, in the week that the European Commission acknowledged that tougher enforcement was needed.

Shuaib Chalklen, the United Nations' special rapporteur on disability, told European Voice that airlines were not applying the EU regulation protecting the rights of passengers with restricted mobility. "Something has gone wrong. They are not applying the law."

Chalklen, a wheelchair user, said that last week Swiss International Airlines prevented him boarding a flight from London to Geneva, because he could not use the bathroom alone. "I think it is absurd. I am a paraplegic frequent flyer and I've travelled around the world on my own." After he protested, the airline allowed him to fly five days later. Chalklen said he had frequently met similar problems, especially with Lufthansa. "The legislation is fine; it is the knowledge of it that needs to be improved," he said.

Confused airlines

This week (11 April) a report from Siim Kallas, the European commissioner for transport, concluded that the airlines were confused about the 2006 law on rights of disabled people and those with restricted mobility. Some carriers "tended to mix up" flight safety with passenger comfort, such as eating and using toilets, said the report. The regulation allows carriers to act for safety reasons in exceptional circumstances - but never in relation to comfort.

Yesterday US comedian Jerry Lewis announced that he was stepping down as spokesperson for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Here Laura Hershey recounts her experience as an MDA Poster Child in the video series "It's Our Story."

Here's the pitch:

For another view on how the ADA has influenced American architecture, we called on Monica Ponce de Leon. She's dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, and she's a proponent of something called universal design, which challenges the notion of able versus disabled.

Instead, Ponce de Leon says universal design encourages architects to think about a wide range of people.

Professor MONICA PONCE DE LEON (Dean, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan): What is powerful about this is that it acknowledges different stages in life so that we can acknowledge kids, middle age and then later in life, as well as people that have different kinds of disabilities.

SIEGEL: So what's an example of that sort of design?

Prof. PONCE DE LEON: So I have a private practice, and we designed a library for Rhode Island School of Design about now six years ago. And in the project, we designed with universal design principles.

So for example, when we designed the cubicles for the library, no two cubicles are actually the same. We used software that allows you to design for variation as a way of creating a whole range of cubicles that had different sizes, differing height tables, different height seating, different widths, so that we could accommodate many different body types in a very subtle way.

Fully Accessible Barbados (FAB) is an NGO representing 19 organizations of and for PwD through out Barbados.

Harbor View wants you to have a great vacation:

 The Harbor View line is specifically designed for individuals with physical disabilities who have the desire to experience the freedom and mobility that the RV lifestyle offers. All designs feature a barrier-free floor plan and multiple ramp and lift options. The Harbor View can be towed by many full-sized vans, trucks and SUVs and is a great alternative to larger, more expensive motor homes with similar features.

All floor plans anticipate your mobility needs, with roll-in showers, accessible cabinetry, sleeping accomodations and overall functionality for your convenience and enjoyment. Units can be custom designed and engineered to meet your special requirements.

Produced by Bridgeview Manufacturing of Elkhart, IN, it includes quality components and materials throughout, with premium options available.

Source:

http://www.harborview.mobilitycamper.com/index.html

Turismo para Todos es aprovechado por maestros jubilados de diversos municipios sonorenses

Mobi-Mat rolls over Rio de Janeiro's beaches thanks to AdaptSurf.

Dr. Antika Sawadsri has added significantly to knowledge of the application of Universal Design in Southeast Asia. Below you can read her doctoral thesis, Accessibility and Disability in the Built Environment: Negotiating the Public Realm in Thailand.

"There is a dichotomy in understanding: Many people understand this word to mean broken, deficient or limited in some way. But for those 'in the know' 'disability' celebrates the strengths and power that is built up in and through 'difference' - 'The Hidden Secret'. For them, if there is any sense of limitation attached to this use of the term, it is seen as residing in limitations in thinking. Thinking that results in the attitudinal or physical barriers which act to 'disable' their lives. For them the word 'disability' becomes a term of empowerment that frees them by bringing into consciousness those restrictions that have been shaping their experiences and identity."

There is a level at which her words could be used to renforce the "its all in your head" disability denial stance that attitude is all that matters. However, Universal Design insists on facing the reality of limits imposed when differences in functional ability meet concrete reality. UD points out that barriers are failures of imagination or "Thinking that results in the attitudinal or physical barriers which act to 'disable' [people's] lives."

Yes, but does  "inclusion" here also mean "inclusive play?" Where are the high-profile Paralympians in this press event? (Historical note: Brazilian Paralympians place better than the non-Paralympian Brazilian team)

In an international effort to promote social transformation through sports, the city of Rio de Janeiro together with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the FC Barcelona Foundation and the National Basketball Association NBA, announced today an initiative to improve the lives of underprivileged children and youth in Rio de Janeiro.

Soccer superstar Ronaldo, NBA star Leandrinho Barbosa and Ana Moser, ex-volleyball player were also present to help celebrate the first step to a better future with the "Alliance for Sport and Development."

This alliance will strengthen 18 'Vilas Olimpicas' in Rio de Janeiro by promoting social inclusion through sports activities. The initiative will draw experiences from best practices by utilizing sports as a vehicle to improve the lives of children in need and promote physical activities for conflict resolution, violence prevention, education, health, among others.

According to the City of Rio, 140,000 people from the most vulnerable areas will be able to benefit from this project.

"The program of the Olympic villages developed by the Municipality will have a prominent role in the municipality's overall policy of inclusion," said Vice Mayor Carlos Alberto Muniz. "The arrival of diverse and knowledgeable partners consolidates the Olympic Village as the center of the political legacy that we have to develop, taking advantage of this prosperous moment for the City of Rio de Janeiro."

This initiative has brought together key partners, such as the Government of Korea. The project is also aligned with long term efforts in the Favelas by the city and state of Rio de Janeiro jointly with the IDB.

If you are a regular reader of this blog I want to someday hear you singing, "Whoa, I'm going to Barbados!" 

How do we answer the music question posed here, "Where do the children play?" if we consider inclusion to be the foundation for community and the prerequisite of a healthy economy?