Rolling Rains Report:

Officials Unable to Hear the Clash of Colors in India

There are subleties to being a safe traveler. Where I live, for example, wearing the wrong colors in certain neighborhoods can get you shot, so they say.

So, do officials in Jabalpur have the reverse problem -- drive-bys taking out disabled homies who aren't wearing their blue jackets?

I've heard of the Fashion Police but this...?

Street Safety Dress Code For Deaf Pedestrians Upsets Advocates
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 26, 2005

JABALPUR, INDIA--Authorities in Jabalpur proved earlier this month that listening requires much more than the ability to hear.

District administrators decided recently to cut down on the number of traffic accidents involving deaf and hard-of-hearing pedestrians by coming up with a way for drivers to identify them and avoid running into them.

Their solution: Distribute 200 bright blue jackets -- with the word "Mook-Badhir" (meaning "deaf-mute") across the back -- to people gathered at an event last week.

The well-meaning officials didn't understand the reaction when many refused to don the new jackets.

According to the Daily Pioneer, disability rights campaigners first complained that the dress code further stigmatized people who are trying to blend in with society and avoid being alienated.

"The basic tenet of disabled care is to provide them a chance to lead as close an approximation to normal [sic] life as is allowed by their impairment," says Jamil Ahmed of the advocacy group Suno*.

Secondly, the groups were upset that the jackets were given to all of those considered to have a hearing loss, regardless of their degree of hearing ability.

Advocates said they had objected, but that administrators simply hadn't listened. [* Editor's Note: "Suno" means "listen" in Hindi. ]

Source:

Inclusion Daily Express
http://www.InclusionDaily.com

Environmentally Sustainable Design

AIBD Resolutions on Environmentally Sustainable Design
and Universal Design in Housing

The American Institute of Building Design (AIBD) board of
directors endorsed two resolutions supporting Universal
Design and Sustainable Design at their annual convention in July, 2004.

The first resolution states that AIBD 'shall encourage and
support our membership in the voluntary practice of
environmentally sustainable design and our corporate
members that provide environmentally sustainable products
and services' and commit to the following long term
objectives for environmentally sustainable design: 'Support
building design that results in resource-efficient
construction, Continue to encourage the research and use of
new technologies, materials and practices, Support market
demand for cost effective, environmentally sustainable
design, and Provide educational opportunities to our
membership about the practice of environmentally
sustainable design.'

The second resolution states that AIBD 'shall encourage and
support our membership in the voluntary practice of
universal design in housing and our corporate members that
provide products and services to the physically challenged
and commit to the following long term objectives for
universal design in housing: 'Support creative design
solutions to improve the built environment of the
physically challenged, Support market demand for cost
effective, universal design solutions that will allow our
elderly or disabled population to 'age in place,' Provide
educational opportunities to our membership about the
methods and practice of universal design in housing, and
Continue to promote the American Institute of Building
Design as the leading professional organization in the
design of residences for all people, including the
physically challenged.'

For more information and the full text of the resolutions,
please contact: Bobbi Falasco, Director of Operations,
bobbi@aibd.org, www.aibd.org

Source:

Global Universal Design Educators Online News
Volume 5 Number 6, August-September 2004

Veal Thom: Is This How to Spell "Inclusive Development" in Cambodian?

Dave Reynolds of Inclusion Daily Express writes, "Cambodian Vets Build Self-Sufficient Community."

Cambodian Vets Build Self-Sufficient Community
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 26, 2005

VEAL THOM, CAMBODIA--During the past five years, a group of Cambodians with physical disabilities -- many of whom were enemies just a few years ago -- has pulled together to create Veal Thom, a village for them and their families.

The campaign to develop the village of Veal Thom has been led by Touch Soeuly, the founder of the Amputee Salvation Association. Soeuly, who lost his leg to a landmine in 1982, is a veteran of the Khmer Rouge, which was responsible for the deaths of more than 2 million Cambodians during the country's civil war.

Because of the Khmer Rouge, along with the bombing the country experienced during the war in neighboring Vietnam, and the estimated 10 million land mines that dot the countryside, there are about 2.25 million Cambodians with physical disabilities -- representing about 16 percent of the population.

Soeuly decided to create the village because of the discrimination many have experienced, and as a way for them to take control of their lives rather than relying on others. The government pays veterans with disabilities just $20 a month.

"Even certain animals receive proper care, are kept in pens and fed," Soeuly told the Associated Press. "But many amputees have been left to simply linger."

Many in the community of 285 families live off small vegetable gardens or hire themselves out as laborers. They told the Associated Press that it's more dignified than begging for handouts or living among neighbors who consider them worthless.

Source:

Inclusion Daily Express
http://www.InclusionDaily.com

Related:

"Former enemies live together in Cambodia" (Associated Press)
http://newsobserver.com/24hour/world/story/2432768p-10730840c.html

"Cambodia: Victims of the Land Mines"
http://www.cesil.com/protected/itld0598/enschi05.htm

Excerpt from "Cambodia: Victims of the Land Mines":

'Antipersonnel landmines are devices created with a diabolic cleverness: they were not developed to kill but to physically harm people as much as possible, with the logic of forcing the enemy to undergo material sacrifices because taking care of a handicapped is more expensive than burying a dead."

---

Chicago

Travel can be exciting, renewing, inspiring or any number of other positive things. But some days it is enough just to appreciate right where you are and and let your spirit be moved.

Thanks to Constantine Zografopoulos for photos of this morning's sunrise on Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline.

15th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26, 2005

The 15th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act will be July 26, 2005. One of the best-known pieces of US legislation, in my experience, anywhere I go in the world, below are some facts about the people it protects.

15th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26, 2005
By U.S. Census Bureau
May 26, 2005, 07:51

Facts for Features

On this day in 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the
Americans with Disabilities Act, guaranteeing equal opportunity for
people with disabilities in public accommodations, commercial facilities,
employment, transportation, state and local government services and
telecommunications.
Population Distribution

37.5 million
Number of people age 5 and over in the civilian noninstitutionalized
population with at least one disability, representing 14 percent. These
individuals fit at least one of the following descriptions: they are 5
years old or older and have a sensory, physical, mental or self-care
disability; they are 16 years old or older and have difficulty going
outside the home; or they are 16 to 64 years old and have an employment
disability.

By age and sex
8% of boys and 4% of girls ages 5 to 15 have
disabilities.
12% of men and 11% of women ages 16 to 64 have
disabilities. This apparent difference is not statistically significant.
42% of women and 38% of men 65 or older have
disabilities.

42%
Percentage of working-age men (21 to 64) with disabilities who are
employed. For women, the rate is 34 percent. Altogether, 4.0 million men
and 3.5 million women with disabilities are employed.

847,000
Number of people ages 18 to 34 who have disabilities and are enrolled in
school. They comprise 5 percent of all students in this age group. The
majority of this group (567,000) attend college or graduate school.
For further information on the data appearing in the Population
Distribution section, see
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/2003acs.html.
Specific Disabilities

10.8 million
The number of people age 5 or older with a sensory disability involving
sight or hearing. This group accounts for 4.1 percent of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population age 5 or older.

23.6 million
The number of people age 5 or older with a condition limiting basic
physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting
or carrying. This group accounts for 9.0 percent of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population age 5 or older.

13.5 million
The number of people age 5 or older with a physical, mental or emotional
condition causing difficulty in learning, remembering or concentrating.
This group accounts for 5.1 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population age 5 or older.

7.0 million
Number of people age 5 or older who have a physical, mental or emotional
condition causing difficulty in dressing, bathing or moving around inside
the home. This group accounts for 2.7 percent of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population age 5 or older.

10.7 million
Number of people age 16 or older who have a condition that makes it
difficult to go outside the home to shop or visit a doctor. This group
accounts for 4.9 percent of civilian noninstitutionalized people who are
of this age.

11.8 million
Number of people ages 16 to 64 who have a condition that affects their
ability to work at a job or business. They account for 6.4 percent of
civilian noninstitutionalized people in this age group.
For further information on the data appearing in the Specific
Disabilities section, see
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/2003acs.html.

Serving Our Nation

2.5 million
Number of veterans who received compensation for service-related
disabilities as of 2003. Of these vets, 414,000 served in World War II;
164,000 in Korea; 848,000 in Vietnam; and 476,000 in the Persian Gulf
(the data cover service from Aug. 2, 1990 to Sept. 30, 2003). See Table
515 at http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-04.html.

Malaysia: A Self-Study on Destination Inclusivity

In June 2004 an informative piece of research was published by Khor Hung Teik in the Journal of the Socio Economic & Environmental Research Institute iin Panang. Malaysia. Fortunately for all of us, the volume exists in .pdf format online and can be downloaded at. It is well worth studying both for its content and methodology. More regions should undertake such work. See especially the section starting at the top of page six, Are We Ready for Elderly Tourists?:

Economic Briefing to the Penang State Government
http://www.seri.com.my/EconBrief/EconBrief2004-06.PDF

Inclusive Travel -- Brazil

With clever wordplay between "Disabled" ("Deficiente") and "Efficient" ("Eficiente"), one robust Brazilian non-profit seems poised to make a big contribution to national efforts to build industry capacity for travel that is suitable for senior and disabled tourists.

Cidadão Eficiente in São Paulo integrates tourism into its already considerable work for social inclusion. with apologies to those who don't read Portuguese (yet), I recommend the column by Julie Nakayama Hasushi "Julie Cristal," Viagems Pelo Mundo as a place to start at http://www.cidadaoeficiente.org.br/

Notice too the capacity-building workshops, lectures, installations (Hotel Eficiente) and guided experiences (Trilha Sensorial). Cidadão Eficiente can also print Braille items. Other agencies providing services to the disability community will find much to imitate in the model and offerings of Cidadão Eficiente.

EP Disability Intergroup meeting on the new EU 7th Research Programme

The Disability Intergroup will host a discussion on setting a research agenda. The site is the European Parliament, Strasbourg on Wednesday 8 June 2005.

DISABILITY INTERGROUP MEETING

DISCUSSION ON THE 7TH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME ON RESEARCH -

How to promote disability research in the structure of the new Programme

Keynote Speakers

Prof Jim Mansell, Tizard Centre University of Kent at Canterbury

With the participation of

Mr Theodius Lennon The European Commission, DG Research Head of Social Sciences & Humanities

Mr Jerzy Buzek MEP, EP Rapporteur for the 7th Framework Programme on Research

European Parliament, Strasbourg

Wednesday 8 June 2005

Room N1.2.

17h30-18h30

With Interpretation

FR-EN-ES-DE-IT-PL

RÉUNION DE L'INTERGROUPE DES PERSONNES HANDICAPÉES

Comment promouvoir la recherche sur le handicap dans la structure du nouveau Programme

Intervenants clés

Professeur Jim Mansell, Tizard Centre University de Kent à Canterbury

Avec la participation de

Mr Theodius Lennon de la Commission européenne, Directeur des Sciences humaines et sociales à la DG Recherche

Mr Jerzy Buzek MPE, Rapporteur du Parlement européen pour le 7ème Programme cadre sur la Recherche

Parlement européen, Strasbourg

Mercredi 8 juin 2005

Salle N1.2.

17h30-18h30

Interprétations:

FR-EN-ES-DE-IT-PL

For further information, contact

Sophie Beaumont
Disability Intergroup Secretariat
tel +322 282 46 02
fax +322 282 46 09
http://www.edf-feph.org/apdg/index-en.htm

Envisioning Universal Design: Creating an Inclusive Society

The conference, Envisioning Universal Design: Creating an Inclusive Society held October 2-3, 2003 produced a document that still has value today. While it only mentions Inclusive Tourism in passing, the central discussion on Universal Design is applicable throughout. Especially in light of the upcoming Australian consultation on developing a research agenda for barrier free tourism, this report still has relevance.

Envisioning Universal Design: Creating an Inclusive Society
http://www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/ud/issues_b.html

Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All

The German Study, The Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All provides both content and a methological template for those Rolling Rains Report readers who are preparing national policy on Inclusive Tourism and Inclusive Destination Development.

Chapter 1: Introduction and methodology

Economic impulses of accessible Tourism for All 1
Preliminary remarks
In November 2002 Germany's Federal Ministry
of Economics and Labour commissioned
a project group, comprising the
INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY and the
INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT SCIENCE at the
UNIVERSITY OF MÜNSTER and the consulting
firms NEUMANNCONSULT and REPPEL +
LORENZ, to conduct a study on the economic
impulses of accessible Tourism for
All. The research project was supported by
the National Coordination Agency for Tourism
for All e.V. (NatKo) and various national
disability organisations and tour operators.
The present abridged version of the study
contains a description of the methodology,
the most important results and the ensuing
recommendations.

1.1 Problems and objectives

Following a resolution of the Council of the
European Union, 2003 was declared the
European Year of People with Disabilities.
One of the core objectives of the activities
conducted over the course of the year was
to promote extensive accessibility in all
areas of society.
Besides being a socially relevant concern,
accessibility also has an economic dimension.
This study serves to analyse and
evaluate this economic dimension in relation
to the field of accessible Tourism for
All. The study hence focuses on the
economic, rather than the social, significance
of accessible Tourism for All.
It recognises the fact that in the field of
tourism, too, accessibility is often only considered
in terms of its price tag. However,
if one were to hypothesise that persons
with disabilities generally have the same
travel needs and motivations as everyone
else and are prevented from travelling only
by the presence of barriers, it can be assumed
that their travel intensity and in turn,
the demand for tourism services will increase
if these barriers to travel were removed.
This would turn persons with disabilities
into an important customer group
for the tourism industry, and the promotion
of accessible tourism facilities and
services would become a significant
economic factor (cf. EUROPEAN
COMMISSION 1996, p. 9).
Besides testing this hypothesis, this study
serves to identify the concrete economic
impulses of the implementation
of accessible Tourism for All in Germany,
particularly in terms of
• its customer potential, and
• the resulting economic impacts.
To date, no confirmed statistical data is
available for travellers with disabilities in
Germany. The same applies to their travel
behaviour and travel spending. Any available
information on their market potential in
relation to Germany tends to be based on
the 1998 study by GUGG & HANK-HAASE.
This and other studies are based above all
on estimates and a limited number of random
empirical surveys (cf. e.g. TREINEN
1998; NATKO 2002; WILKEN 2002;
MALLAS/NEUMANN/WEBER 2003).
The study also intends to produce the
first reliable data on the demand and
travel behaviour of this customer group
in Germany.

2 Economic impulses of accessible Tourism for All

On the one hand, this information will help
to identify this potential target group’s concrete
requirements and quality expectations;
on the other, fundamental statements
on the nature of accessible Tourism for All
from a tourism perspective can be produced.
In order to ensure the sustainability of economic
impulses of accessible Tourism for
All, development objectives and strategies
for accessible tourism in Germany
and concrete recommendations for action
must be produced.

Objectives of the study at a glance:

1. Conceptual definition of ‘accessible
Tourism for All’

2. Procurement of reliable data and
statements on the customers’ potential
and travel behaviour

3. Identification of economic impulses
of implementing accessible Tourism
for All

4. Production of development objectives
and strategies for accessible
Tourism for All

5. Development of action programme
including concrete recommendations
for action

1.2 Accessible Tourism for All:
Concept and target group

The idea behind accessible Tourism for All
is based on the Design for All philosophy
that was developed at European level. Design
for All is an approach towards (re-)
designing the built environment, products
and services such that all persons are enabled
to participate equitably in life in the
community (cf. EUCAN 2003, p. 22).
This planning philosophy also provides the
foundation for the concept of 'Tourism for
All': ‘Everyone – regardless of whether
they have any disabilities – should be
able to travel to the country, within the
country and to whatever place, attraction
or event they should wish to visit’
(NORDISKA HANDIKAPPOLITISKA RÅDET
2002, p. 17).
In Germany, accessibility (Barrierefreiheit)
is a civil right and its establishment is
based on the currently applicable legal provisions
and standards. The German act on
the equality of persons with disabilities
(Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz/BGG) of
1 May 2002 provides a statutory framework.
At Länder (federal state) level, acts
on equal opportunities apply that are in
development or have already been adopted
by almost all Länder, along with the respective
construction ordinances (cf. FREHE/
NEUMANN 2003). The currently applicable
DIN standards, e.g. DIN 18024 und 18025,
are also relevant to the implementation of
accessibility. While they determine the
technical standards, they have no direct
legal or factual force.
The legal force of DIN standards for the
tourism industry is defined by the respective
construction codes or other ordinances
of the Länder.

Chapter 1: Introduction and methodology

Economic impulses of accessible Tourism for All 3
The implementation of accessibility affects
all areas of society, including the
facilities and services in the tourism
industry. These comprise not just construction
projects, but also means of transport,
electronic, information and communication
systems as well as facilities and services.
1
The accessibility principle is still applied
only to one target group, that of persons
with disabilities. This is incomprehensible,
especially since reports and studies in
Germany and across Europe2 repeatedly
find that implementing accessibility is in
the interest of everyone, not just of one
particular group of persons with special
needs. For instance, it is a known fact that
an accessible built environment is a crucial
requirement for around 10% of the population,
a necessity for approx. 30 to 40% and
comfortable for 100%.
The group of persons for whom accessibility
is a crucial prerequisite for participating
in community life includes persons with
physical limitations (e.g. persons of limited
mobility or manual dexterity, wheelchair
users), sensory disabilities (e.g.
blind/visually impaired or hearingimpaired/
late-deafened persons) as well as
those with mental or learning disabilities or
chronic diseases. The group of persons for
whom an accessible built environment is
1 Cf. the definition of ‘barrier-free’ in Section 4 of the
BGG: ‘Buildings and other installations, means of
transportation, technical devices, information processing
systems, acoustic and visual sources of information
and communication devices as well as
other designed environments are deemed barrierfree
if they can be accessed and used by disabled
persons in a normal manner, without encountering
any difficulties and as a rule, without requiring help
from a third party.’
2 Cf., at European level e.g. INSTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO
DE ESTUDIOS EUROPEOS/UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE
BARCELONA 2002, EUCAN 2003, EUROPEAN
COMMISSION 2003 and COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES 2003.
necessary includes above all persons with
activity limitations3, e.g. persons who (may)
encounter difficulties in terms of mobility or
activity both in everyday situations and
while travelling. These include e.g. persons
suffering temporarily from the effects of an
accident, parents with prams or baby carriages,
travellers with heavy baggage, families
with small children or older persons.
Ultimately, the establishment of accessibility
in the tourism infrastructure enables all
persons to enjoy simple, intuitive and safe
access, thereby enhancing the level of
comfort, the attractiveness and quality of
tourism facilities and services (cf.
ZEIMETZ/NEUMANN 2000).

1.3 Methodology

The complexity of analysing the economic
significance of accessible Tourism for All
called for a combination of approaches
and methods of empirical social research.
As economic impulses were being
identified rather than directly monitored, the
study employed both direct and indirect
research methods.
A choice was made in favour of direct access
in the form of quantitative and qualitative
surveys. The quantitative collection
method, which employed written and oral
surveys among potential customers with
disabilities and service providers in the
holiday regions, proved highly effective for
recording general tendencies regarding the
3 In the 2001 World Health Organization's International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and
Health (ICF), the term ‘activity limitation’ replaces the
term 'disability’. In consequence, the term ‘people
with disabilities’ is replaced by ‘people with activity
limitations’, which is defined as follows: ‘Those people,
of all ages, who are unable to perform, independently
and without aid, basic human activities or
tasks – because of a health condition or physical/
mental/cognitive/ psychological impairment of a
permanent or temporary nature.’ (cf. WHO 2001).

Chapter 1: Introduction and methodology

3 Economic impulses of accessible Tourism for All

attitudes and requirements of travellers
with disabilities.
The qualitative interviews with tourism
service providers and decision-makers
proved particularly useful in those areas
where the collection of scientifically valuable
information is difficult due to the complexity
and intransparency of problem
situations related to accessible Tourism for
All. Tourism service providers and decision-
makers were surveyed who are particularly
familiar with the spatial and social
circumstances in the five regions selected
for this study.
In addition, written questionnaires (socalled
‘mystery mailings’) and an analysis
of Web presences were used to establish
the quality of tourism destinations’ marketing
efforts and information with regard to
accessible travelling. This investigation
covered 146 tourism regions, 46 cities and
62 spa towns.
For instance, documents and reports on
promotion programmes for accessible tourism
from 18 European countries were analysed.
Relevant minutes, files, specialist
publications, statistics and press releases
were analysed and evaluated.
The following sections discuss the characteristics
of the various surveys. The full
version of this report also illustrates the
results of the European benchmark study.
1.3.1 Survey among potential customers
The conceptual and organisational focus of
the first phase of the research project was
a survey among the potential users of accessible
tourism facilities.
The first task consisted in drawing up an
database of addresses of those persons
with disabilities who were eligible for taking
part in this survey. In this context, the cooperation
with major German disability
organisations (associations for visuallyimpaired,
blind or physically disabled persons
or persons with learning or mental
disabilities)4, the tour operator ‘mare nostrum’
and the German Automobile Club
(ADAC) proved highly effective. An address
list containing some 20,000 persons
with disabilities was thus produced. In February
2003 these persons were sent a
largely standardised, easy-to-understand
questionnaire by post. The questionnaire
was also placed on the internet at
www.tourismus-fuer-alle.de/umfrage, having
been made accessible also for blind
and visually impaired persons.
As, from experience, the rate of return was
anticipated to reach 10 to 15% at most,
some 2,000 questionnaires were expected
back.
However, these expectations were far
exceeded by the return of 4,401 completed
questionnaires which gives rise to
the assumption that accessible travel is of
strong interest to persons with disabilities.
4,062 questionnaires were considered suitable
for statistical evaluation.
Strongly representative results were not
expected prior to the survey, also due to
the voluntary nature of the study that
tended to cause only those persons to respond
who feel strongly about, or are particularly
affected by, the subject of the
questionnaire. Furthermore, when selecting
addressees for the questionnaires it was
impossible to extract a strictly representa-
4 BSK, DBS, DVBS, People First and Pro Retina (cf.
Acknowledgements).

Source:

http://www.bmwa.bund.de/Redaktion/Inhalte/Pdf/doku-526-en,property=pdf.pdf

Destination: Korea

A report on progress for people with disability in Korea.

From the article:

Go anywhere in the world and see if you can find a nation with a more dynamic activist movement. Korea has gained the greatest momentum for change in the rights of the disabled right now," said Shin Yong-ho, director of the Research Institute of the Differently Abled Persons Rights in Korea. Civil activists fighting for the rights of the disabled are themselves disabled, making them more passionate about the urgency of the issue at hand. The formation of a coalition of 68 organizations, the Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled, and government efforts to meet their demands have created an opportunity to address the injustice and discrimination that affect the disabled.

Although the government estimates there are 1.6 million disabled people in Korea and civil activist groups say there are 4.5 million, "Where are they?" is a question which many ask.

It reflects the isolation in which the disabled live. Despite the apparent invisibility of the disabled population, however, what is currently going on behind the scenes is a volatile and compelling movement for a new law to protect disabled rights.

Go anywhere in the world and see if you can find a nation with a more dynamic activist movement. Korea has gained the greatest momentum for change in the rights of the disabled right now," said Shin Yong-ho, director of the Research Institute of the Differently Abled Persons Rights in Korea. Civil activists fighting for the rights of the disabled are themselves disabled, making them more passionate about the urgency of the issue at hand. The formation of a coalition of 68 organizations, the Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled, and government efforts to meet their demands have created an opportunity to address the injustice and discrimination that affect the disabled.

On the most practical level, what Korea needs is the basic infrastructure to support the daily lives and mobility of the disabled population - an elevator in every subway station, buses with lower platforms which people in wheelchairs can easily access, buildings and bathrooms with wheelchair ramps.

Most disabled people live in isolated group facilities, or rehabilitation centers and are often preyed upon. On March 15, the discovery of an illegal housing facility called the 'Paul Missionary' brought charges of fraud and usurpation of money against the manager and the Anyang City Social Welfare director. The owner operated the facility illegally, admitting disabled people with an entrance fee and taking their welfare money and donations, using only a small portion to support the residents. Inside the facility, authorities said, incidents of physical and sexual abuse were common and the living conditions were dire. The district's social welfare director was charged with neglecting his duties of managing and directing social welfare facilities.

The residents at Paul Missionary took their chaotic environment for granted.

"After I had a stroke, my friends just abandoned me here. I just lie here all day, and drunkards come here to beat me up. These drunkards also take the girls out all the time. It's obvious what they do to them." said Kim, 59, who suffers from paralysis.

"The manager knows about this, but she doesn't do a thing. I am a recipient of government welfare, but I don't know what's being done with that money, I've never seen it. This is a lawless place; we have to follow the laws of the facility," said Ms. Hyun, 42 who has cerebral palsy, "The manager is like the president of a nation here. I am afraid of the night. Something always happens in the night. Men come into the women's room whenever they get the chance. Many girls have become victims of rape. But my parents tell me that I should live and die here."
Because there is no basic infrastructure for them in society, the disabled find it impossible to live on their own. Currently, there are about 240 facilities legally registered to house disabled, and 1,000 facilities illegally operated, according to available figures. The illegal facilities lack the basic infrastructure and money to be registered by government standards.

A movement for Independent Living presents an alternative solution to these facilities. The IL movement began in the United States in the 1960s and thinks of disability as something that can be corrected and complemented, such as poor eyesight may be improved by eyeglasses.

The basic idea is that the disabled can live independently outside of facilities because it is possible to change the environment to meet the needs of the disabled population. Rather than leaving this role to the government, IL centers are operated by the disabled, offering peer counseling, information and referral, advocacy, independent living skills training, and creating a community network in which the disabled can rely on each other to live independently. The IL centers also hire personal care attendants to help those who need assistance. For IL to be fully implemented, society needs to provide the basic infrastructure and IL centers must be available to the whole disabled population.

There are currently 400 IL centers in the United States and 133 in Japan. The IL movement in Korea began in 2001, and there are now 10 IL centers receiving government support, and 20 are self-supported. Both the United States and Japan are moving away from facilities for the disabled toward IL centers. "The expansion of IL centers goes along with the natural integration of disabled persons into local society. This means the disabled will not be thrown into facilities hidden from society, but will be living as your next door neighbor," said Park

Chan-oh, director of the Seoul Center for Independent Living. "In order to establish more IL centers, the government needs to turn the support for facilities to pension money for disabled people. In Japan, people receive a pension if they are disabled, whether they have worked or not," said Park.

The directors of legal facilities have a different perspective on IL centers. "It is impossible to achieve IL because the disabled need so many people to take care of them. One disabled person needs caretaking by three to four people. Facilities can overcome the problem of isolation by increasing contact with local community," said Kim Jeong-yeon, head of the Shin-a Rehabilitation Institute for the mentally retarded. Asked if facilities do not restrict the freedom of its residents, he answered, "They have relative freedom. They are able to wear their hair the way they want, and also wear the clothes they want," he said.

How about education? "It is possible to raise their social etiquette but impossible to increase their learning capabilities." Not all facilities are equal. Some create an environment in which residents feel happy and at home, such as the Eunpyeong Angel's Haven Disabled Children's Home, a facility for orphans and disabled persons. Established in 1959 as a facility for war orphans, it has since been operated by the government as a home for children from ages 4 to 18. The government supports the children with scholarships to go to college and to study for careers. The facility started taking in disabled children from 1980 and has established a special school in order to educate these
children.

"There are some residents who have tried IL, living in group homes outside of our facility, and they come back here asking for a place to live," said Yoon Kyung-sook, director of Angel's Haven. This is the result of the general dependency that society fosters in the disabled, the paradigm which the IL is trying to overcome. "IL has the potential to emancipate persons with disabilities from the servitude of unjust, unwanted dependency, and to initiate a quantum leap forward in the quality and productivity of their lives," said Justin Dart, a longtime advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, in 1988.

Government efforts to support the movement for disabled rights are occurring in small but incremental stages. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced an enforcement ordinance on the Disabled Person Welfare Law on May 11 to expand the policy of giving a quota to governmental and public agencies to purchase goods produced by disabled people. It is expected to increase employment opportunities for the disabled, and raise their wages. "This is just a temporary remedy on the government's part; it will not solve all the structural problems that we have," said Kim Gi-ryong, head of the Disabled Rights to Education Commission.

Also, starting next year, all private and government-run companies must reserve at least 2 percent of their total work force for the disabled. The current quota is 1 percent. These efforts come not long after the Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled pushed for a policy change, with demands across 11 areas. Top of their agenda is a Disability Discrimination Act along the lines of the U.S. ADA and the Australian and British DDA.

After the association handed their policy demands to President Roh Moo-hyun, committee leaders have been meeting with representatives from the ministries of Health and Welfare, Construction and Transportation, and Education and Human Resources Development. Jang Hyang-suk, who is Korea's only female parliamentarian with a disability and uses a wheelchair, is working to pass three laws for disabled people's rights: a pension plan for poor disabled persons who have never worked, a revision of the Disabled Employment Act and Disabled Welfare Act which includes specific proposals for more support for the Independent Living movement, a re-establishment of the grading system for disability, and the increase of political participation of disabled persons in policymaking.

There are three other lawmakers with disabilities: Jung Hwa-won, who is blind, Lee Sang-min and Shim Jae-chul, who rely on canes when walking. This is the first time in history that the Korean National Congress has had so many disabled representatives at one time.

With the active movement of disabled activists, lawmakers and the increasing awareness and support of ordinary people, a new world for disabled rights seems close at hand.

Relevant Web sites:

Korean Network for Independent Living:
http://www.knil. org.

The Seoul Center for Independent Living:
http:// www.scil.or.kr

Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled
http://www. 420.or.kr

Disability Discrimination Acts of Solidarity in Korea (committee
promoting the establishment of disability rights law):
http://www.ddask.net

Research Institute of the Differently Abled Persons Rights in Korea:
http://www.cowalk.or.kr

By Kwon Ji-young(jkwon@heraldm.com)

Further Korean Resources:

Korea Differently Abled Women United
http://www.kdawu.orgYe Ja Lee, President
leeyaja

Posted by rollingrains at 08:45 PM

Call for Papers: Best Practice in Disability Conference

An Australian National Best Practice Conference will be held in Armidale, NSW to celebrate Challenge Armidale’s 50th Anniversary. The Call for Papers is open until June 30, 2005

Challenge Armidale was founded in 1955 by a small group of concerned parents and community members who wanted services for children with a disability. The organization was one of the first to move towards community integrated housing following the introduction of the Commonwealth Disability Services Act, 1987. The organization hosted the National Forum of Ageing and Disability at the University of New England in 1994, setting the agenda for further work in this area. Challenge Armidale is currently working towards transitioning sheltered employment to a totally inclusive employment model.

Visit Chicago and Roll Into Millenium Park

From:

Architect Uhlir on a roll: Paralyzed vets honor barrier-free design of Millennium fountain

Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune
Published May 22, 2005

DOWNTOWN -- At the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, where there are no raised edges or deep water, people in wheelchairs can roll right into the reflecting pool and frolic at will.

For that touch and others that combine design with full access to all, the Paralyzed Veterans of America gave architect Ed Uhlir, the park's design director, the 2005 Barrier-Free America Award.

For the complete story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0505220259may22,1,4687484.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

New Organization on Horizon in Asia for Travel by People with Disabilities

The following appeared in the China Post on May 4, 2005.

For most of my 50 years I have been able to look out my window and watch the sun bring a close to the day and the start of a new day in Asia. It is with this same serene hopefulness that I approach the 2005 International Accessible Tourism Conference that will be held from May 5-8 in Taipei. On the horizon is something new. From this conference a new organization will arise, the Asia Pacific Accessible Tourism League (APATL).

The phenomenon of people with disabilities traveling is not new. Author Maria Antonia Lopez-Burgos del Barrio has recently completed an article on this topic that draws from the travel journals of visitors to Spain during the Industrial Revolution, which was the era when tourism as we now know it came into existence.

What is new is the response to travelers with disabilities.

At the 2005 International Accessible Tourism Conference, Ms. Etsuko Ueno will deliver a paper on the Inclusive Destination Development project in Takayama city, Japan. As the human centered principles of Universal Design become the standard measure in construction and a synonym for �good design,� it is becoming more common to discover the strategy of comprehensive planning for accessibility as a central technique in tourist sites (Inclusive Destination Development).

Japan is not the only example, the barrier-free circuit of lodgings known as "The Devil's Playground" in Tasmania is unique in combining the concept of total access to an entire island with low-cost innovative approaches to building and a private accessible transportation system.

In the U.S. Virgin Island, Estate Concordia is under development by Multi: Design for People. Estate Concordia features inclusive design rendering the hill terrain accessible while offering visitors with disabilities an eco-lodge experience. In Brazil, an Inclusive Destination project is underway through a tour operator specializing in accessible tourism, Aventura Especial. The Inclusive Cities Canada project pursues Inclusive Destination on an even larger scale and offers promising models for Asian metropolitan areas.

These examples deal with receptive tourism, an economic sector of importance throughout Asia. An agenda for accessible receptive tourism in Asia was laid out in the United Nations report (UNESCAP) subtitled, �Promotion of Barrier-free Tourism for People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region.

The Biwako Millennial Framework addressed the first need presented in the report which was Disability Rights in Asia. The Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for People with Disabilities, held at Bali in Indonesia, in September 2000 took further practical steps and mobilized persons with disabilities to speak on their own behalf. The 2005 International Accessible Tourism Conference and the Asia Pacific Accessible Tourism League (APATL) hope to consolidate the progress made to date.

But another question remains, "Where do these travelers with such a broad range of needs come from?" Is this a temporary fad or a permanent feature for the travel industry?

It is often reported that the percentage of citizens with disabilities is around 10%. The figure may be double, 20%, outside those regions.

However, a significant portion of the world�s population is aging.

In 2020, it is estimated that about 18% of population will be older than 65 in the developed countries. Here again it is Asia, Japan specifically, that is demonstrating foresight by planning for this change.

Dr. Satoshi Kose of Shizuoka University of Art and Culture in Japan is a renowned promoter of the concept of Universal Design at the level of basic social infrastructure in order to accommodate this transformation. This inversion from a larger a youth population to a larger senior population requires the combined resources of all stakeholders; governments, business, seniors, and people with disability. What is significant is that this represents a significant business opportunity for the tourism industry.

In September and October of 2002 the Open Doors Organization commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a quantitative study among Americans with disabilities (aged 18 and older) to identify the basic travel habits and patterns of adults with disabilities. Open Doors reports that, The 2002 study revealed disabled travelers take 31.7 million trips per year in the U.S., and spend US$13.6 billion annually.

Major areas of spending include US$3.3 billion on airfare, US$4.2 billion on hotel accommodations, and US$2.7 billion on food and beverage. In addition, adults with disabilities patronize restaurants about once a week, and they account for US$35 billion in annual revenue for restaurants.

These travel behaviors confirm studies done by Simon Darcy in Australia such as, "From Anxiety to Access" and by Keroul in Canada, "A Growth Market : Behaviors of Tourists with Restricted Physical Abilities in Canada," and "Best Practices in Tourism Accessibility for Travelers with Restricted Physical Ability."

And these figures may be added together with those related to senior travelers who will benefit from accessible accommodations adhering to the principles of Universal Design.

Following the Taipei Conference, the Asia Pacific Accessible Tourism League will be ready to replicate travel behavior studies on the Asian market for travelers with disabilities, promote and provide technical assistance on Universal Design and Inclusive Destination Development, and provide training � both academic and professional � throughout Asia.
　

Source:
New organization on horizon in Asia for travel by people with disabilities
2005/05/04
by Dr. Scott Rains
Resident scholar, UC Santa Cruz, USA
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/opinion/letter.htm

turismo

DubaiLand: But will it be UD?

The United Arab Emirates has a good word-of-mouth reputatiion as a barrier-free destination. With "Dubailand" on the books we will see whether or not investers in Dubailand have a systemic commitment to inclusion for people with disabilities.

Dubailand: the amazing tourist future of the Emirate
7 March 2005

Dubailand is a tourism, entertainment and leisure destination that should attract 15 million tourists to Dubai by the year 2010.

The work on Dubailand started long before its announcement date in 2003 with a complete plan to develop over 2 billion sq.ft in size with 45 mega projects and 200 sub-projects. The first phase investment from the private sector of approximately is now 5 billion euros. Six projects will finish by 2007 forming the 1st operational phase of Dubailand, with the ending phases following suit and completing in 2015-2018.

Dubailand has been sub-divided in to six zones to effectively manage the development and ensure that the growth is balanced in all of the zones. The most impressive will be:

-Attractions and Experience World – 145 million sq.ft - a world of vibrant characters, with its theme parks clustered around a landmark viewing tower and forming a “must see” attraction.
-Retail & Entertainment World – 45 million sq.ft - The development’s energy center, a vibrant destination of family entertainment and innovative retail concepts in a themed environment.
-Themed Leisure and Vacation World – 311 million sq.ft - The creation of appealing retreats for meeting the international demand for quality vacation village residences and resort hotels.
-Eco Tourism World – 806 million sq.ft – An area devoted to preserving the desert heritage of Dubai and creating a habitat for animals from the region to be showcased in their elements.
-Sports and Outdoor World - 206 million sq.ft - A stimulating arena of outdoor sports activities and mild adventure which responds to a strong and broad market interest amongst both residents and visitors.
-Downtown – 5.66 million sq.ft - A gateway to the overall development centered in Dubailand and forming the resort’s downtown, business and administrative district.

The main concept of Dubailand is one of kind in this region, however there are a few projects that have been launched that are quite interesting for this part of the world, particularly the Sunny Mountain Ski Resort project which will contain the first indoor skiing facility in the region.

Source:

http://www.mipim.com/App/homepage.cfm?moduleid=308&appname=100419&K_MAG_ID=3495&K_MT_ID=371&step=FullStory&campaignid=1292&iUserCampaignID=18824177###

Romania

My college Portuguse professor, James Algeo, spoke Romanian. It always intrigued me that a Romance language like Romanian lived so close to my Slavic-tongued ancestors.

Never having visited this land of Gothic myth, I turned to the Internet to find information on accessibility. Some interesting inititaives turned up - like SportRio and the "Towns or All" project (below) but detailed information for travelers is hard to find.

SportRio

From their web site:

"The program is basically focused on the exchange among young students in order to give them the chance to enlarge their horizon, enhance their know-how, meet and cope with new situations beyond any differences. Essentially, be ready for the present and future Europe.

Young disabled are too often either forgotten or hardly considered. Their families may even hide them because of a great sense of shame. Sharing and comparing the same experiences with other European young, meeting different cultures may turn out into a new life for them."

http://www.sportrio.org/sportrio2/partner_romania.htm

"Towns for All": The Manifesto of Accessibility

CREATING ACCESSIBILITIES

A real application of the social integration of differences, of equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities

Creating accessibilities within all the aspects of our lives – professional, social and cultural – constitutes the basic condition for the integration of persons with disabilities.

We think that the time has come to develop a culture of accessibility in Romania which includes the problems of persons with difficulties of access to information, of space and time representation, of interrelation and understanding, of being independent and of moving.

Accessibility starts with legislation meaning that all the normative deeds regarding education, social integration and culture have to mention that persons with disabilities have free access to all the component parts of life as well as to mention that every enclosures represent a contravention which is punished, and the State starts a law suit against the institution that breaks the legal provisions.

Accessibility means adapted information through: audio-visual, newspapers, magazines, books – for persons with disabilities with low capacity of understanding. As well as different symbols displayed in public locations constantly looked up, locations that persons with disabilities and not only could learn about starting with the early schooling period within the "education for all" program.

Accessibility means basic education in order to form the capacity to become „one’s own advocate" for „success".

Accessibility means adapted means for feeding, hygiene, household, transportation, entrances to public institutions, shops and stores, stadiums, swimming pools, platforms, etc. – it means to want to go out from „home", to want and to be able to set up social relationships.

Accessibility means to „engage in dialogues with decision makers", representation through vote within local bodies that make decisions, that means a socialized exercise if it is proclaimed.

Accessibility means to elaborate guides, maps, and brochures to provide information for all domains including oversimplified prospects of medicine for a large understanding and their dissemination across the whole country.

Accessibility means an integral change of the mentality of the public officer, of the „organizational culture" in order to have a „respectful dialogue" speaking simple adequate language – using images or schemes if necessary, with a body position that inspires trust, with friendly intonation, inside the office and not on the corridors or halls. etc.

„The local actors" have to be convinced to also include needs of persons with disabilities in their local and community policy regarding education, employment, housings, transportation, medical care and social services, taking into consideration all types of disabilities.

Thus, accessibility needs to put in practice a set of indicators regarding a real social integration of the differences as a strategy to change attitudes which is the responsibility of the national and local public authorities and of the civil society as well.

The European Year of People with Disabilities –2003 should be a start in the agenda of all those who deal with disability issues in Romanian and this suppose an active support through a large collaboration of all involved bodies.

Bucharest, July 11, 2003

This Manifesto was adopted by the member associations of the Association of Persons with Neuromotor Disability from Romania (AHNR) and the Association of the National Network of Information and Collaboration for the Integration in the Community of Children with Special Educative Needs from Romania (A-RENINCO-R) – partners within the project "Towns for all" and it was agreed by the International Federation of Persons with Physical Disabilities (FIMITIC), by all nongovernmental organization of persons with disabilities, specialists and experts participating in the seminar.

Source:

http://www.anph.ro/Evenimente/accesibilizarea-manifestengl.htm

Australia Wins the World Cup - The World Cup of IDD!

This just in from inclusive tourism researcher, speaker, and author, Bruce Cameron. Bruce is consulting with the Australian government on accessible tourism following the broad acceptance of his book, Easy Access Australia.
The event announcement follows.

Setting an Agenda for Disability and Tourism Research Workshop

Proudly presented by the Sustainable Tourism CRC

VENUE

NSW Trade and Investment Centre, Department of State and Regional Development, Level 44 Grosvenor Place, 225 George Street, Sydney

DATE
Tuesday 12 July 2005, 10.00am 5.00pm

OVERVIEW

The workshop will involve key researchers, industry partners, community organisations and the government authorities interested in disability and tourism. While broadly looking at dimensions, approaches and issues surrounding disability and tourism, the workshop recognises the broad context of accessible tourism initiatives, incorporation of universal design principles and the development of easy access markets (Referred to herein as accessible tourism). The workshop will examine the state of the field from the viewpoints of supply, demand and regulation/coordination research, and accessible tourism industry practice.

WORKSHOP FORMAT
The workshop format will involve interactive sessions with the objectives being to:

• Assess the state of accessible tourism in Australia
• Identify research needs and opportunities
• Establish a prioritised research agenda for accessible tourism in Australia for the STCRC.

A report will be produced that outlines the identified research needs and a prioritised research strategy.

Note: People from not for profit community organisations or the unwaged are exempt from the registration fee for the Workshop.

11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport -- TRANSED

The first official announcement of the 2007 TRANSED Conference was just released for those who wish to make a presentation. TRANSED deals with essential inclusive tourism transportation issues at an international conference held every three years.

11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and
Disabled Persons

Theme: "Benchmarking, Evaluation and Vision for the Future"

Planning for the 11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for
Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2007) is now underway.

Held every three years, the TRANSED conferences are milestone events in the
field of accessible transportation, attracting researchers, policy-makers.
transport operators, consumers and other specialists worldwide to share,
innovations and best practices.

Delegates from around the world will be meeting in Montreal to exchange
strategic and technical experience, including an exhibition showcasing the
latest technological developments on accessible transportation and universal
design.

This event is hosted by Transport Canada under the auspices of the U.S.
Transportation Research Board.

Expression of Interest form now available!

Visit the TRANSED 2007 web site www.tc.gc.ca/transed2007. Fill out the
Expression of Interest form and get updates on all conference developments.

Please help us to spread the word throughout your contact networks by:
- forwarding this message to interested parties on your contact lists;
- linking our Web site to yours;
- posting TRANSED 2007 information in your newsletters.

For more information contact:
TRANSED 2007 Secretariat
Mailing Address:
Transport Canada
Intergovernmental Affairs and Accessibility, TRANSED
Place de Ville, Tower C
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0N5
Email: transed@tc.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-800-665-6478 (Canada only) or (613) 941-0980
TTY: 1-800-823-3823 (Canada only) or (613) 998-5368
Fax: (613) 991-6422

Personal information that you provide is protected under the provisions of
the Privacy Act.

KEY DATES
Expression of Interest: May 2005
Call for Abstracts of papers/posters: June 2005
Deadline for submission of abstracts: October 2005
Notification of acceptance: February 2006
Call for Registration: September 2006
Deadline for submission of papers/posters: December 2006
Early Bird Registration deadline: April 2007
Conference: June 18 to 21, 2007
Dates are provisional at time of publication and are subject to change.

*****************************************************

PREMIÈRE ANNONCE - COMOTRED 2007
11e Conférence internationale sur la mobilité et le transport des personnes
âgées ou à mobilité réduite
Montréal, Canada, du 18 au 21 juin 2007
Thème : « Analyse comparative, évaluation et vision pour l'avenir »

L'organisation de la 11e Conférence internationale sur la mobilité et le
transport des personnes âgées ou à mobilité réduite (COMOTRED 2007) est
maintenant amorcée.

Tenues tous les trois ans, les conférences COMOTRED sont des événements
marquants dans le domaine du transport accessible, attirant des chercheurs,
des décideurs, des exploitants du secteur des transports, des consommateurs
et d'autres spécialistes du monde entier désirant partager sur les
innovations et les meilleures pratiques.

Des délégués du monde entier se rencontreront à Montréal afin de prendre
part à des échanges stratégiques et techniques. Parallèlement à cet
événement spécial se déroulera une exposition mettant en vedette les toutes
dernières innovations technologiques dans le domaine du transport
accessible et de la conception universelle.

Transports Canada sera l'hôte de cet événement tenu sous l'égide du U.S.
Transportation Research Board.

Le formulaire de Manifestation d'intérêt est maintenant disponible!

Profitez-en pour remplir le formulaire Manifestation d'intérêt et vous tenir
au courant des développements de la conférence, en consultant le site web de
COMOTRED 2007 à www.tc.gc.ca/comotred2007.

Aidez-nous à faire circuler ce message à travers vos réseaux en :
- transmettant ce message aux groupes figurant sur vos listes de
distribution pouvant être intéressés;
- établissant un lien entre votre site web et le nôtre;
- affichant de l'information sur COMOTRED 2007 dans vos bulletins.

Pour plus de renseignements contactez :
Secrétariat COMOTRED 2007
Adresse postale :

Transports Canada
Affaires intergouvernementales et Accessibilité, COMOTRED
Place de Ville, Tour C
330, rue Sparks
Ottawa (Ontario)
Canada K1A 0N5

Courriel : comotred@tc.gc.ca
Téléphone : 1-800-665-6478 (seulement au Canada) ou (613) 941-0980
ATS : 1-800-823-3823 (seulement au Canada) ou (613) 998-5368
Télécopieur : (613) 991-6422

Les renseignements personnels que vous fournirez sont protégés en vertu des
dispositions de la Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels.

DATES À RETENIR
Manifestation d'intérêt : mai 2005
Invitation à présenter des abrégés de documents/affiches : juin 2005
Date limite pour la soumission des abrégés : octobre 2005
Avis d'acceptation : février 2006
Appel pour les inscriptions : septembre 2006
Date limite pour la soumission des documents/affiches : décembre 2006
Date limite pour les préinscriptions : avril 2007
Conférence : 18 au 21 juin 2007

Au moment de la publication, les dates sont provisoires; elles pourraient
faire l'objet de changements.

Web site:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/transed2007/site_map_e.asp?IsIncrease=No

Posted by rollingrains at 01:11 AM

Access-Aware Destination Development: In Australia, of Course!

As I travel the world, most people with disabilities lament unanimously about the lack of enforcement of basic civil rights laws for people with disabilities -- where they even exist. So it is like finding a haven of sanity to have an entire continent committing itself to Inclusive Destination Development.

Australia exerts strong leadership in the world for its policies on barreir-free tourism. What is particularly noteworthy is the public, transparent manner in which it develops and disseminates that policy.

Here is an example from Queensland.
Destination Development at Tourism Queensland

Here is an example from Victoria.
Marketing Melbourne, Victoria

Inclusive Destination Development at Technorati:
inclusive destination development

Hotelexecutive.com Relaunched in State-of-the-Art Accessibility

The following press release indictates that the resource for travel and hospitality professionals, Hotelexecutive.com, has upgraded its site. When I clicked the URL they provided it went nowhere. Here's hoping you have better luck!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. May 18, 2005. Cummins Communications, the publisher of Hotel Newswire and Hotel Business Review, is delighted to announce the relaunch of its website, Hotelexecutive.com.

With 60,000 visitors each month, Hotelexecutive.com is the leading source of actionable information for hotel industry management worldwide. Its flagship service, Hotel Business Review, is a subscription-based, weekly journal of original and exclusive content, written by industry leaders for industry leaders.

With the redesign, Hotelexecutive.com has put it's best face forward, keeping focused on the information needs of senior-level management in the hotel industry. To this end, the Hospitality Forum, has been renamed 'Hotel Business Review' and Hospitality Newswire is now 'Hotel Newswire'.

The renaming of Hospitality Forum to Hotel Business Review "...best describes the content and the readership" according to Ruth Ann Barrett, Director of Marketing. "In building this model, we wanted to keep the Hotel Business Review advertising and commercial-free, as to maintain the integrity of the content" says Barrett. "We've created an environment where the information is coming directly and exclusively from the minds and pens of the industry's top professionals".

"Hotel Business Review has amassed an online library of more than 1600 informative articles for the hospitality professional," says Barrett. "We have one of the largest online libraries of original content for the hotel and resort industry".

The weekly online journal covers best practices, insights and trends in such areas as Sales & Marketing, Finance & Investment, Cultural Tourism, Technology, Law & Legal issues, Food & Beverage, Asset Management, Guest Service and other important segments.

Barrett continues: "Hotelexecutive.com's advertising-supported service, Hotel Newswire, which is distributed free to registered users, brings breaking news to their desktops with a daily summary of industry-relevant press releases. It keeps people on top of the news, without their having to search for it. We cover hotel openings and acquisitions, executive appointments, technology news, business and finance. With its focused audience, Hotel Newswire is the cleanest channel for breaking news in the industry."

Hotel Newswire allows hotels to distribute their company news through the daily newswire which is then automatically sent out the following day to individual readers. "Users can upload their news release directly to our website and we blast it out in the newswire the next day." says Barrett. "Receiving the newswire is optional for website visitors, and we're providing the choice of a daily or weekly update." she concluded.

About Hotelexecutive.com

Hotelexecutive.com is the leading source of actionable information for hotel industry management worldwide. Its flagship service, Hotel Business Review, is a subscription-based, weekly journal of original and exclusive content, written by industry leaders for industry leaders. Contributing editors include Marshall Calder, Managing Director, Leading Hotels of the World, David G. Gabri, President & CEO, Associated Luxury Hotels, John R. Cauvin, President & CEO, Windmill Inns of America, Neale Redington, National Partner Hospitality, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Marcel Escoffier, Associate Professor, FIU School of Hospitality Management, James R. Butler, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP, and Robert Mandelbaum, Director of Research Information Systems, PKF Hospitality Research.

To view the complete editorial board please visit http://hospitalitybusinessreview.com/bus_rev/editorial_board.asp

Hotelexecutive.com is a media sponsor of The America Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), The International Hotel Conference (IHC), JMBM Meet the Money, and The Lodging Conference.

For further information, please contact:
Benedict Cummins
Hotelexecutive.com
415-626-4225
editor@hotelexecutive.com
http://www.hotelexecutive.com

Inclusive Travel @ the International Institute for Peace through Tourism

The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) traditionally includes Inclusive Travel as one of its areas of interest. This year's conference continues the dialogue. One Earth One Family: Travel and Tourism – Serving a Higher Purpose is the theme of the 3rd Global Summit on Peace through Tourism being held at the award winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Pattaya, Thailand, October 2-5, 2005.

The aim of the Summit is to develop a 21st Century Agenda for Peace through Tourism that addresses key global issues of our time. Topics on which consensus will be sought include:

• A Sustained Travel Industry Response to the Social and Economic Revitalization of Tsunami Affected Countries
• The Travel and Tourism Industry Contribution to Poverty Reduction
• Healing the Wounds of Conflict through Tourism, Culture and Sports



• Promoting Cultural and International Understanding, Tolerance and Cooperation



• Ecological Enhancement and Preservation of Biodiversity

The Summit is in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the UN Millennium Development Goals. It is being organized by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT); supported by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB); and with the support of the World Tourism Organization (WTO).

In supporting the 3rd Global Summit, Khun Peerapong Oeusoonthornwattana, Director General, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau said, “We are proud that this prestigious event is being held in Thailand as it will create increased awareness within Thailand, Asia and the world – that travel and tourism is more than simply an industry with economic benefits – it is a powerful social and cultural phenomenon that helps bring the world together in realization that we are truly living in a global village – where we are all neighbors with one another.”

The 3rd Global Summit will feature world leaders and statesmen in the travel and tourism industry as keynote speakers, as well as leaders from U.N. and Donor Agencies, and the areas of Culture, Environment, Sport, and Sustainable Development.

3rd Global Summit announcement Center Stage at World Travel Market.

A series of Concurrent sessions will provide case studies of “Success Stories” and “Models of Best Practice” demonstrating leading-edge travel and tourism initiatives in areas such as:

• Pro-Poor Tourism
• Fair Trade in Tourism
• Community Capacity Building

• Sport for Peace and Development
• Youth Travel & Empowerment
• Educating for a Culture of Peace Through Tourism
• Micro-Enterprise and SME Development
• Healing the Wounds of Conflict
• Linkages of Tourism – Environment – Wildlife – and Poverty Reduction

• Community Tourism – The Thailand Experience
• Volunteer Tourism
• Parks and Protected Areas – Preserving Biodiversity
• Role of Communications in “Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism
• Linkages of Tourism, Culture, the Arts and Heritage in Building a Culture of Mutual Understanding and Peace

These sessions will also explore what more can be achieved in these areas through collaborative efforts.

Participants

PHOTO: Khun Phornsiri Manoharn, Deputy Governor for International Marketing, Tourism Authority of Thailand, announcing 3rd Global Summit on Peace through Tourism at World Travel Market.

The 3rd Global Summit will bring together senior executives from all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, public and private; U.N. agencies, donor agencies, and NGO’s; leading educators, policy analysts, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, future leaders of the industry; and senior representatives from related sectors including: Culture, Sport, Environment, and Sustainable Economic Development.

Educators Forum

An Educators Forum with leading educators from around the world is being organized by Professor Kaye Chon, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The ‘Call for Papers’ is available on our website: www.iipt.org or by contacting Professor Chung directly at Email: hmkchon@polyu.edu.hk The Forum will take place on October 2nd.

International Student and Youth Leadership Forum

An International Student and Youth Leadership Forum will also be held on October 2nd bringing together creative and energetic young leaders from countries around the world who will develop a ‘Youth Agenda for Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism.’ Future leaders of the Travel and Tourism industry may contact Nishit Charadva at email: ncharadva@yahoo.com

IIPT Scholarship Award

To further stimulate thinking among students of tourism and hospitality in advance of the Summit, IIPT will award a US $1,000 to the University student writing the best paper on “Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism.” Deadline for abstracts is May 15. Please contact Professor Kaye Chon for more information: Email: hmkchon@polyu.edu.hk or Nishit Charadva: ncharadva@yahoo.com

Other Forums

Other Forums to be held on October 2nd include a Young Professionals Forum, Community Tourism Forum, Cultural Tourism Forum, and a Forum on Inter-Faith Dialogue.

Foundations

The 3rd Global Summit on Peace through Tourism builds on the foundations of two previous Global Summits: Amman 2000; and Geneva, 2003; three global conferences: Vancouver, 1988; Montreal, 1994; and Glasgow, 1999; three African Conferences: Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, 2001; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2003; and Lusaka, Zambia, 2005 – and a series of smaller conferences and symposia in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, Israel, Jordan, Caribbean, United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. A report on the recently held Lusaka Conference can be viewed at: http://www.iipt.org/newsletter/IIPTMar2005.html

IIPT Founder and President, Louis D’Amore said, “We are honored to have the 3rd Global Summit in Thailand as a demonstration of support and solidarity with the people of South East Asia affected by the tsunami. The warm and compassionate hospitality of the Thai people, together with their reputation for high quality service, ensures that delegates to the Summit will have a rewarding and memorable experience.”

Post Summit Tours

As a further demonstration of support and solidarity with people of South East Asia affected by the Tsunami, Post Summit tours are being organized by Pacific World to Phuket, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Bali.

Official Hotel and Venue

The award winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort and Conference Center is the official hotel and venue for the Summit. Special Room Rates are available to May 28th.

Participants are invited to book directly with the Royal Cliff: Web: www.royalcliff.com; email: info@royalcliff.com; Tel: + 66.38 250.421; Fax: 66.38 250.511, 250.513.

Official Airline

Thai Airways International is the Official Airline of the Summit and will provide best market fares to delegates participating in the Summit. Please contact your local Thai Airways office mention conference code: TG0510015

Dr. Dan McDonald on Assignment with Peace Corps in Thailand

Dr. Dan McDonald, Coordinator of the IIPT Global Educators Network has been on assignment as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Northeast Thailand since January of this year. He is assisting a village and its members in the development of sustainable rural tourism development strategies. Additionally, Dr. McDonald is engaged with several Private, Public, NGO and Academic rural based projects involved with a variety of Cultural Tourism, Agra Tourism, Ecotourism, and environmentally based, sustainable, non formal educational programs and facilities.

Dr. McDonald and representatives of Thai villages plan to highlight Thailand’s Rural Community Tourism Success Stories at the October 3rd Global Summit on Peace through Tourism in Pattaya.

About IIPT

The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) is a not for profit organization dedicated to fostering travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, and poverty reduction; and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world. It is founded on a vision of the world’s largest industry, travel and tourism – becoming the world’s first global peace industry; and the belief that every traveler is potentially an “Ambassador for Peace.”

For more information:

IIPT Website: www.iipt.org; Tel. +802 253.2658, Fax: +802 253.2645;

Email: info@iipt.org

Report Card by India's UPA Government

India's UPA Government completes one year on May 21, 2005. The section of their celebratory press release below reports on services to people with disabilities -- including implementation of Universal Design and Inclusive Travel experiences.

Welfare of Persons with Disabilities

The Scheme for providing assistive devices for persons with disabilities (ADIP) witnessed an increased thrust with its extension to uncovered and inaccessible areas. During the year, 53 camps in various districts of North-eastern states viz. Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim and Mizoram were held, benefiting approximately 4,000 persons with disabilities. An exhibition “Samarthya” for distribution of Aids and Appliances and to provide rehabilitation services was organised in Patna in October 2004. Approximately, 12,000 persons visited the exhibition of which 4,721 persons were given aids/appliances immediately and 4,500 persons have been assessed for providing aids at their District Headquarters. Rs. 9.32 crore were released to hold these camps.
Children with disabilities numbering 15.93 lakh have been identified and 10.7 lakh of these children have been enrolled in regular schools. Guidelines for educational facilities to be extended to students with disabilities were issued under Section 30 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

Reservation for persons with disabilities in Indian Administrative Service has been provided. Efforts are on to provide for reservation for persons with disabilities in other organised Group A & B services.

A special camp for disabled children was organised by the Ministry in Tanzania during the President’s visit to that country. Assistive devices worth about Rs. 15 lakh were distributed. The gesture was greatly acclaimed by the Tanzanians.

The headquarters of the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) in the capital has been shifted to a fully barrier- free building, first of its kind in the country. It has been built on the principles of universal design and is accessible to all persons with disabilities including the visually impaired and the hearing impaired. RCI’s Global Websites in Hindi and English with fully accessible features have been launched. The website will be useful for persons with visual impairment and low vision to access the information around the world as per their requirement, i.e. through voice and magnified text. The service is being extended to persons with speech and hearing and other serious disabilities also.

Financial support was provided to State Governments and Union Territory Administrations for creating barrier free environment. Approval has been granted to setting up of National Institute for Persons with multiple disabilities at Chennai.

Source:
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=9276

DPI Accessible Tourism Conference - Nairobi, Kenya -September 28 - 30, 2005

Disabled People International has announced its International Conference on Accessible for Nairobi, Kenya -September 28 - 30, 2005

The Kenya Disabled Development Society will host an International Conference on Accessible Tourism, which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on September 28 - 30, 2005. All interested parties from other parts of the world are invited to attend.

Currently, the Call for Papers is open. eadline for the call for papers is May 30, 2005.

Topics for the conference will be:

• Accessible Tourism (Inclusive Tourism)
  
• Accessible environnent
  
• Accessible Accommodation
  
• Universal Design
  
• Accessibility as a Human Right
  
• Travel Agents for Special Adapted Trips
  

EU Research on Access to the Built Environment: Contact Simon Prideaux

Simon Prideaux requests the assistance of Rolling Rains Report readers. Note that, while his study is on accessiblity in EU member states, his interest extends to the impact beyond those states.

In other words, if you have a physical or visual disability and have ever traveled to Europe -- or NOT traveled to Europe because you heard it was inaccessible -- you are the just the person Leeds University wants to hear from.

Carpe Diem! This may be your only chance to impact EU policy on disability simply by being a (non)tourist.

Here at the Centre for Disability Studies in Leeds, we are conducting
EU research on access to the built environment. In particular, the report
aims to provide an understanding of the legislative and structural
manifestations of discrimination and disability in the context of the
built environment within specific member states of the EU and beyond.For the purposes of this report, the focus of the study is concerned
only with issues relating to physical or visual impairment or a
combination of the two.

Through comparisons of the policy implementations and recommendations
of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Italy and France with those from
Malta, one of the new member states, and the non-member countries of
Australia and United States, it is intended that the report will
provide the platform upon which an agenda of good practice can be formulated
and initiated. In this respect, a primary objective is to define the
parameters of what each country is doing in terms of making buildings
more accessible for disabled people and what is deemed to be
'reasonable' in terms of adjustments that are required to be made to
make this so. Finally we are investigating what enforcement procedures
(if any) have been set in place by the Member States concerned.

If you have any useful contacts or information on the subject please
contact Simon Prideaux at S.J.Prideaux@leeds.ac.uk or telephone
0113-3434423.

Posted by rollingrains at 10:06 PM

Accessible Tourism in the Post-Tsunami Region

A key outcome of the 2005 International Conference on Accessible Tourism was the creation of the Working Group on Inclusive Destination Development (WG - IDD). The puropose of the group is to implement the Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism in the tsunami-affected region.

You may contact Dr. Scott Rains (srains@oco.net) if you wish to contribute to this work. Below is a letter of introduction from our lead contact in Indonesia:

I have been working since early February with UN-Habitat to coordinate the delivery of housing and infrastructure grants and technical assistance to the communities affected by the disaster in Aceh. This program is a part of a larger UNDP's Emergency Response and Transitional Recovery Programme. In addition to that, I am also assisting the central government in the preparation of housing and settlement guidelines that can be used by all agencies involved in the provision of shelter in the earthquake and tsunami-affected areas of Aceh and Northern Sumatra. It is with this additional assignment that my input might reach larger audiences, i.e.other donors and NGOs working in those provinces.

Scott is right: to be able to manage this huge assignment and put the interest of less-able people high in the agenda I certainly need a network I can rely on for technical assistance.

At this stage what I need most is information on best practices from all over the world on universal design for housing, community infrastructure, and micro-spatial planning; and examples of campaign materials that can be used at various levels of audiences, from laymen to policy makers.

Dr. Erwin Fahmi

Correspondence to the Working Group may be addressed to Dr. Scott Rains -- srains@oco.net The Working Group currently liaisons with Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka.

Another concrete outcome of the 2005 International Conference on Accessible Tourism is planning for the 2007 Accessible Tourism. It will take place in Pattaya City, Thailand.

Posted by rollingrains at 08:20 PM

The Bunun Aboriginal People - Taitung, Taiwan

As my hosts in Taipei continuosly rhapsodized about the singing and dancing abilities of the island's aboriginal Bunun people I had this growing discomfort. Had I stumbled into an Asian ante-bellum South? Was I going to find little plaster jockey analogues standing outside people's driveways? Cigar shops with wooden Indians?

Then I heard a confident, vocally disciplined 12 year old girl hold her audience in two languages at the Taitung Prehistory Museum. Later, a festival of circle dances culminated in the eight-part harmony of a Bunun ritual. I knew why the fame of these people was celebrated not only across Taiwan but around the world.

A tour through the resort revealed that it was also an outdoor art garden with works ranging from bass relief argolite panels and restaurant tables, hand-carved chairs, caligraphied obelisks -- and massive pieces of modern art.

Even more surprising was to discover that the founder and president of the Bunun Aboriginal Foundation draws from his own post-polio experience to make their hotels, hot springs, theater, and shops accessible. The end result is not 100% independent access -- but the effort is comprehensive and uncommonly welcoming.

Here is Reverend White, founder of the Bunun Aboriginal Foundation posing with me following a presentation by the young people who he encourages to go out for an education but return to their homeland. From all appearances, he is quite successful.

Back in Northern California

Back home again, the team at Shared Adventures in Santa Cruz, California continues to amaze me. You can find more photos for their first annual Day in the Sky with Challenge Air at: http://www.dayinthesky.org/photogallery/

By the time you get through the all it will be time for their 13th annual Day on the Beach. Less than one month later they co-sponsor the first annual country-wide baseline study of Universal Design

Northern California is getting a feel for Inclusive Destination Development.

Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism

The Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism has just been released.

We, the participants of the International Accessible Tourism Conference, held at Taipei from 5 to 6 May 2005:

Recognizing that tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Asia and the Pacific, and that people with disabilities and older persons are beginning to enjoy newly found opportunities for travel, sports, cultural, educational and entertainment activities;

Recalling that, to implement the extended Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Person, 2003-2012, the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, held at Otsu, Shiga, Japan, in October 2002, adopted the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asian and the Pacific;

Recalling also the recommendations and Bali Declaration on Barrier-free Tourism for People with Disabilities emerged from the Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for People with Disabilities, Bali, Indonesia, in September 2000, and endorsed by the Committee on Transport, Communications, Tourism and Infrastructure Development, held in Bangkok in November 2000;

Recognizing that people with disabilities have equal right of access to all tourist infrastructure, products and services, including employment opportunities and benefits that the tourism industries can provide, and that people with disabilities should be provided with the same choices for all consumers, to ensure their full participation and protection of the individual’s right to travel with dignity;

Appreciating that the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and the Asian and Pacific Disability Forum have taken the initiative to organize the above Conference to discuss the major issues relating to accessible tourism for people with disabilities, with a view to formulating action plan to promote barrier-free tourism in the Asian and Pacific region;

Noting that, while the inclusion of universal design in tourism development can create environments, products and services that are useable by a wide spectrum of consumers, irrespective of their experience, knowledge, skills, age, gender, as well as their physical, sensory, communication and cognitive abilities, most tourism service providers do not yet recognize the importance of this issue, in the absence of explicit government policies and strategies, as well as a lack of training for tourism personnel on the rights and needs of tourists with disabilities and a shortage of tourism programs that are accessible by people with disabilities;

Observing that, Inclusive Destination Development facilitates the social participation of people with disabilities and enables barrier-free economic development by systematically applying the principles of universal design to the creation of tourist destinations;

1. Affirm our commitment to promoting accessible tourism for people with disabilities in countries in the Asian and Pacific region;

2. Develop and implement our empowerment programs, focusing on advocacy, facilitation and negotiation to work more effectively with the tourism industry, government agencies and regional and international organizations to improve existing practices relating to accessibility and to support the tourism industry in introducing universal design principle to tourism for all;

3. Assist in: (a) development of training materials on disability awareness in tourism education and training for use by the tourism industries and related fields, and (b) education and dispatch of experienced trainers with disabilities to training sessions on accessible tourism organized by the tourism industries and government agencies;

4. Ensure that information on accessible tourism be obtainable in accessible formats, including print materials such as brochures and pamphlets, as well as audio and digital medium such as Internet websites, by information and communication disadvantaged groups including older people, and people with hearing and visual impairments.

5. Cooperate internationally in the area of accessible tourism, building upon existing cooperation among countries in the Asian and Pacific region, especially through information and technology sharing to enhance barrier-free environments and transportation, as well as access to information;

6. Initiate collaborative efforts with governments, non-governmental organizations, as well as regional and international organizations concerning traveling and tourism, including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the World Tourism Organization (WTO), UNESCO, International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Pacific-Asia Travel Association (PATA) and other institutions relevant to tourism, to include disability concerns into mainstream tourism activities;

7. Advocate that upcoming regional and international cultural, sports, entertainment and educational events, programs and sites be fully accessible by people with disabilities, including Hong Kong Disneyland to be open in 2005, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympics Games;

8. Form a regional network of concerned individuals, associations, organizations and agencies concerning accessible tourism to exchange ideas and personnel, share information among all the stakeholders and promote study on barrier-free tourism to improve the quality of life through accessible tourism, with a view to achieving world peace;

9. Organize regularly a regional conference on accessible tourism for people with disabilities and older persons every two years, beginning with a Tsunami affected country, to ensure continuity of our efforts to promote accessible and universal tourism.

The Korber Foundation: "Transitions in Life" Grants

Consider entering your best Universal Design ideas in the Korber Foundation USable grant competition The theme "Transitions in Life" is broad enough to accommodate many of the remarkable projects and ideas you have shared with me.

For more information:
http://www.stiftung.koerber.de/wettbewerbe/usable/english/participation/index.html

Breakthrough GPS Navigation Uses TV Band

Many people use GPS systems for navigation. As they have improved GPS systems have become increasingly beneficial to those who are blind but indoor navigation is difficult when satelite signals are blocked.

Researchers at Stanford University have come up with a promising new carrier for GPS signals -- TV signals.

The next logical step seems to me to be integrating RF band in a handheld that reads RFiD chips thus creating a navigation device for those with visual impairments that works indoors and outdoors and can identify specific objects (via RFid chips).

For more information see:

R.U.R. - Rosum's Universal Reconnaissance
http://glikglik.blogspot.com/2005/05/rur-rosums-universal-reconnaissance.html

Rosum TV-GPS
http://www.rosum.com/

Rebuilding Post-Tsunami Tourism

For several weeks before the Accessible Tourism Conference people sent in responses to the questions discussed in the Breakout sessions. Many are posted as comments at the suite 101 article, the First International Conference on Accessible Tourism - Taipei, Taiwan

At the conference itself, these two photos were part of the presentation on the rebuilding of Indonesia's Aceh Province given by Maulani A Rotinsulu and Erwin Fahmi of the Indonesian Disabled Peoples’ Association.

Analysis of Tourism & Social Inclusion: Salvador da Bahia, Brasil

The following may also be found on the blog, "Disability in the Brazilian Context" which is an excellent live commentary and audit on the inclusive destination situation in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Author Jared Goyette is in Brazil as an exchange student and provides researchers and advocates outside the country with observation and analysis that is then utilized in various parts of the world. Here he places the economic argument for Inclusive Destinatioin Development in the contxt of the global aging of the Boomer generation from developed nations wishing to spend their tourism cash in places like Brazil's very popular Salvador da Bahia.

Falou, Jared!

"Porque Turismo, Porque Agora: Estratégia para Acessibilidade em Salvador (Parte 1)"

publicado Thursday May 5, 2005 em:
http://bahiadisabilitystudy.blogspot.com/

Quando comecei a analisar a situação de acessibilidade em Salvador, fique decepcionado! O trânsito de pessoas usuárias de cadeiras de rodas e com deficiência visual é extremamente difícil. Esta situação pode ser observada em qualquer parte da cidade, os bairros mais modernos, o centro histórico, as instituições públicas, shoppings, etc. Minha própria Faculdade, A Escola de Educação da UFBA, fala muito de "Educação Inclusiva" e inclusive tem uma rampa de acesso para usuários de cadeira de roda que chega ao andar térreo, daí em diante não tem elevadores nem rampas, ou seja, acabou a inclusão.

Isso não ocorre por falta de pessoas tentando mudar a situação. Há mais de 20 anos a "Associação Baiana de Pessoas com Deficiência" (ABADEF), está envolvida nestes assuntos, e desde 1999 a "Comissão Civil para Acessibilidade" (um conjunto de várias ONGS), também entrou nesta luta por uma cidade mais acessível. O próprio diretor da Faculdade de Educação já mostrou estar consciente do problema, porém não pode fazer as mudanças necessárias por falta de verba do governo.

No entanto, como costuma dizer o Presidente da Republica, "As coisas não mudam de noite para dia". Mas será que as coisas estão mudando? De uma certa forma sim, devido ao trabalho das ONGS, o governo municipal e federal tem demonstrado boa vontade para criar um cidade mais acessível. Um exemplo, foi a escolha de Zenira Rebouças como chefe da Coordenadoria Municipal das Pessoas com Deficiência, o que é um avanço já que Zenira há 20 anos é uma militante pelos direitos dos Pessoas com defiecieia.

Enquanto no campo políticos as coisas estão melhorando, o ambiente econômico não parece tão otimista. No dia 28 de abril, uma manchete do principal jornal de Salvado, o Jornal Atarde, declarou "Salvador está empobrecendo". O corpo do artigo indicou que o PIB de Salvador, ou a produção econômica, caiu 11.7% em três anos, desde 1999 a 2002. Respondendo às estatísticas, o Secretaria Municipal da Fazenda falou em um tom de alarme, "O empresariado, sobretudo, precisa estar consciente de que o pagamento do tributo em Salvador hoje é uma questão de justiça social, porque senão estará entregando a cidade ao caos".

Enquanto que a economia da cidade diminui, também cai a renda que o governo recebe em impostos. Não adianta nada o governo ter boas intenções se não há recursos. A mesma situação também ocorre no setor privado, uma empresa que não está tendo lucro, por exemplo, não vai investir em um software necessário para que um cego possa trabalhar no computador. Isso é lamentável, pois os direitos das pessoas com deficiência devem ser respeitados pelos serviços público e privado independente de qualquer variação da economia. A questão é como, dentro deste ambiente socioeconômico , podemos fazer com que estes direitos sejam respeitados? Quais ferramentas estão presentes neste contexto que podemos usar para construir esta realidade?

Não é todo a economia soteropolitano que está em más condições; como sempre, alguns setores vão melhor do que outros. As empresas que vão bem devem receber mais atenção pelos que lutam por acessibilidade, porque estas empresas estarão mais dispostas a participar em projetos de acessibilidade, e estes projetos podem servir como exemplos para o resto da cidade.

Em Salvador, umas das industriais que mais cresceu nos últimos dez anos foi o turismo. Em questões de acessibilidade, o turismo é interessante porque deve tornar-se mais acessível não somente para “respeitar os direitos da pessoa com deficiência” mas também para ganhar mais lucro.

A tendência é que o numero de turistas que tem deficiência vai aumentar, e isso representar uma oportunidade que as empresas de turismo devem aproveitar. A razão disso é que nos paises “desenvolvidos” da América de Norte, Oeste da Europa, e Ásia, a percentagem da população que está acima de 65 anos está aumentando. Infelizmente, com o passar do tempo, os efeitos da idade começam a aparecer, e alguém que tem mais de 65 anos tem uma maior chance de ter uma deficiência física. Mas o fato de que alguém já passou 65 aniversários e que tem uma deficiência não quer dizer que esta pessoa quer desistir da vida,. Pelo contrario, estas pessoas vão querer aproveitar do dinheiro acumulado com anos de trabalho. Vão querer viajar, conhecer novos lugares, lugares como o Brasil, e sua segunda maior atração turística, Salvador da Bahia.

Opening Keynote Presentation

Below is the text of my opening keynote presentation at the 2005 International Conference on Accessible Tourism in Taipei, Taiwan.

In March of this year Steve Fossett made history when he took off from Salina, Kansas in the USA and flew his airplane, the GlobalFlyer, for 67 hours nonstop in a solo around-the-world flight. I have only one half hour to take you all the way around the world and tell you about accessible tourism. Fasten your seatbelts. This will be a very quick flight!

The story of accessible tourism as a growing part of the tourism industry could begin at many different points. Soon the first history of accessible tourism will be published in the Review of Disability Studies. The authors Laurel van Horn and Jose Isola explain how improvements in medicine have allowed disabled people to live longer; improvements in equipment such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, or computers that speak for us allow us to be more active; entrepreneurs and other risk-takers with disabilities have started travel agencies, sports leagues, and outdoor expeditions expanding our imaginations and challenging us to ever larger goals.

And always, there is the fact that year-by-year the Baby Boomers – who love to travel – become older and more become disabled. They will become the main characters in the next chapter of the history of accessible travel. Even before that, even now, this story about how we got to where we are today is full of enough heroes and villains for me to entertain you for a long time.

But we are taking the quick tour. I will let you read the article for yourselves when we publish it.

For today, let’s start this tour of accessible tourism by looking a moment more at commercial aviation.

The airline industry now has mature airplane technology, well-tested airport design and a very large and growing customer base. It was not always that way.

Taiwan has 2 international airports served by numerous airlines and receiving thousands of passengers annually. Air links to the world are essential to Taiwan’s economic health. For many people, air travel has become as common as travel by bus, subway, or taxi. This is because the transition from propeller to jet engine airplanes made it possible for these large numbers of people to move across great distances rapidly and in comfort. Comfort may include pressurized cabins with oxygenated air for someone with compromised lungs, attendants to assist with boarding for those unstable on their legs, and space for equipment like a wheelchair or a companion animal for someone who is blind. Unfortunately, sometimes, the airlines are tempted to define comfort so that it serves only the few.

How does an industry innovate to survive once it becomes as large and taken for granted as the airlines? It looks ways to increase income from its current customers and looks to attract new ones.

When businesses realized that they must compete for our business or lose us – that is when the story got interesting to me.

I believe that the travel industry, not governments or social entrepreneurial agencies will make the next revolutionary contribution to the rights of people with disabilities.

The travel industry will become promoters of our human rights because we have spent more than 30 years tirelessly forcing governments to treat us as real human beings and have created social and non-profit agencies to work for us. These laws and educational resources make it possible for something new to happen. The travel industry will find partners in government because tourism by people with disabilities can partially pay for the infrastructure changes needed to treat disabled citizens justly – and meet the coming challenge of our aging populations. The travel industry will do this – and is already doing this – because it can profit from us.

As air travel expanded in the last 15 – 20 years there were also strong movements for the rights of people with disabilities around the world. You probably have all heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA. It protects the civil rights of people with disabilities in the USA and allows them to participate freely in society. In the air however it is the Air Carrier Access Act, the ACAA, that regulates the industry and makes accessible tourism possible. In the airport and in hotels it is the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG). These regulations are made concrete through the work of designers like Coco Raynes and researchers like Kate Hunter-Zaworski who evaluates airline seating or Harry Wolfe who advises airport managers on the needs of older travelers. These pioneers use a design philosophy called Universal Design that seeks to include people with the broadest range of capacities and abilities in everything that it built.

So, what history teaches us when we start the story of accessible tourism from the airline industry, is that at a certain point the industry needed new customers. It was pressured by law to allow people with disabilities to become customers and it found technically competent individuals who understood the physical needs of people with disabilities. These technically competent individuals used Universal Design to make human rights real in our day-to-day life. They opened up new parts of the world to travelers with disabilities. Finally, we became treated as customers not patients or obstacles.

Today excellent studies exist on the tourism potential of people with disabilities. Some studies were done by the United Nations UNESCAP, by Keroul of Canada, and by the European Union but it was pioneers like Simon Darcy in Australia and Eric Lipp in the USA who gave tourism professionals the business tools they could use to act – and to make money.

I encourage you to read “From Anxiety to Access” by Simon and the “Travel Behavior Surveys” by Eric. In fact, I would even suggest that someone here today take on the task of translating them into Chinese. I say this, not only because they are historic documents that launched the current phase of accessible tourism, but because we would all like to see similar studies on Taiwan shape the future of accessible travel in the Asia Pacific region.

Eric’s study found that:

The 42 million disabled travelers in the USA take 31.7 million trips per year, and spend $13.6 billion annually. Major areas of spending include $3.3 billion on airfare, $4.2 billion on hotel accommodations, and $2.7 billion on food and beverage. In addition, adults with disabilities patronize restaurants about once a week, and they account for $35 billion in annual revenue for restaurants.

Simon’s study found that:

On average 80-90% of all travel by people with a physical
disability is with a partner/caregiver, family or friends who do not
have a disability. Of those who undertook travel with other
people with a disability most traveled with 1-2 other people with
a disability.

That is a lot of people with a lot of money to spend – and those are only consumer numbers from the USA.

It was the ocean cruise ship industry, not the airlines, who first learned how to turn those words into profit. When they created their successful business models they made accessible tourism sustainable. Part of their success came from understanding a simple concept that people with mobility difficulties know as “the path of travel.”

Cruise ships are compact universes. If you can conveniently locate a tourist’s necessities – and guarantee that the tourist can get to them with minimal effort – then you have a formula for success. In other words, do not just make a table in a restaurant accessible. Make a destination, like a restaurant, accessible from every possible starting point in the ship, or resort, or city. Create an accessible “path of travel” to an accessible destination and then you have an accessible product not just one special accessible item. You have a reason for tourists not only to pass through but to stay.

Today, whole regions, states, and countries are learning these simple facts. I want to tell you about some on our quick trip around the world. I hope that you will tell me about many more while we are together here.

To the south of us, Australia takes accessible tourism quite seriously for both domestic and international tourists. The Convention Bureau there in Perth, Western Australia has a program called “Beyond Accessibility.” It requires the hotels to use from 10% to 15% of the profit they make from the conventions brought to them by the Convention Bureau for upgrading the hotel’s accerssibility.

In Australia’s state of Tasmania, the Devil’s Playground does something unique in the entire world with the concept of “paths of travel.” Kerry & Jane Winberg have purchased several properties throughout the seven tourist regions of the island. Each location is fully wheelchair accessible. In addition, they have purchased their own bus with a lift. Thus, any place in the entire state can be visited in a comfortable day trip. As a result, the entire island is open to travelers with disabilities. I traveled around Tasmania as one of their first guests last September. We taught shopkeepers and tourist site managers about the potential of this market and what they could do to improve their appeal to travelers with disabilities. Now, my colleague Neil Robinson is doing an economic feasibility study to see if this model can be applied in Western Australia.

In the Atlantic Ocean, one of the Canary Islands known as Tenerife lies sixty miles off the coast of North Africa. There lives one of the pioneers of the European Tourism for All movement, Jose Ignacio Delgado. His work has strengthened the legal rights of Europeans with disabilities. He has promoted the civil rights and improved access to services for Canary Island residents with disabilities. He consults with the tourism industry and his accessibility directory for Tenerife is a model sophisticated online resource offering tourism information for travelers with disabilities.

Farther north in the Atlantic, the United Kingdom is developing accessible tourism very rapidly since their anti- discrimination act has come into force. One especially well-done project is the online travel agency and accessible destination datable known as the “Good Access Guide” by Richard Thompson. Richard is one of the 92 colleagues from around the world who I asked to help me research this talk and who have contributed to the online discussions we have going in Brazil, Canada, and the United States on the five themes we will discuss in our Breakout Sessions at this conference.

Also at this conference, we will learn about Japan’s leadership in accessible travel. Takayama city is only one example of the way Japan is teaching the rest of the world how to live with a spirit of inclusion. Their unique contribution is to recognize that older citizens benefit from the accessibility that makes a place livable and attractive to tourists with disabilities.

Architects, and their students, from the Rhode Island School of Design take a different approach. They are linking environmentally sensitive -“green” – construction methods and building materials with accessibility. They are creating an accessible eco-lodge at St. John’s in the US Virgin Islands This resort, known as Concordia Estates, allows people with disabilities close access to unspoiled nature.

The tourist hotels in Hawai’i have gone beyond simple compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. They can provide guests with comfortable accessible rooms, advise them on accessible places for food and entertainment, or arrange for things such as a specialized beach wheelchair to rent that will set mobility disabled visitors loose on the beach.

All these tourist destinations have learned the cruise ship secret of success. Disabled tourists will come when they find variety, value, service, and accessibility woven together seamlessly. They are learning to include people with disabilities as free and equal participants in leisure activities.

Now, notice something about these examples. Hawai’i, St. John’s, Japan, te United Kingdom, Tenerife, and Tasmania are all islands. It seems that innovation in accessible tourism, at this point in history, is flourishing in places that are manageably small and administratively unified. Is it possible that an island like Taiwan will become a world-class example of accessible tourism? The fact that we are all gathered here for this conference makes me think that Taiwan plans to become just such a leader.

We have a name for the model that is developing in the areas that I just mentioned. We call it “Inclusive Destination Development.” The phrase combines two other phrases “Inclusive Development” from economic development practice and “Destination Development” from the tourism industry.

The World Bank promotes “Inclusive Development” as economic and regional development that allows for full social participation of people with disabilities.

“Destination Development” is the phrase used by the tourism industry to describe the strategic application of planning, development, and marketing resources to enhance a location as a desired destination for travelers. Inclusive Destination Development uses the word “Inclusive”, in the sense it is used by the World Bank, to mean “allowing for the full social participation of people with disabilities.”

Thus, Inclusive Destination Development is “the systematic and strategic application of resources to make a location become a destination of choice for persons with disabilities.” The goal of Inclusive Tourism is to accommodate the broadest range of tourists possible without stigma or the need for special accommodation. Inclusive Destination Development is the primary means of establishing Inclusive, or as we will be calling it at this conference, “Accessible” Tourism.

Inclusive Tourism is one important means through which persons with disabilities participate in society at a distance from their homes. At the same time, the presence of these tourists provides a model - and source of funding - for the inclusive practices and infrastructure necessary for these human rights to be extended to local residents. Inclusive Tourism partially funds Inclusive Destination Development. Inclusive Tourism is an example of democratization and the dissemination of human rights through a market-driven mechanism.

Earlier I mentioned the concept “path of travel.” When we design places so that people with disabilities can enter, participate in, and leave freely we also allow access for economic resources and the very concept of freedom.

At this conference we commit ourselves to building the Asian portion of this path. I look forward to building it with you. So do the millions of people around the world who will also come here to travel it.

Celebrity Wheeler in Taiwan

Time magazine did a cover story in April, 2003 on "Asian Heroes." Wu Shu-chen was featured as First Lady in Taiwan. Her own disability has meant visibility for people with disabilities:

http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/wu_shuchen.html

Here is a bit about her husband Chen Shui-bian:
http://www.answers.com/topic/chen-shui-bian

Taiwan Conference on Inclusive Tourism: Takayama City, Japan

Quietly, "A town comfortable to live in is a town comfortable to travel in" has been the ideology leavening a new phase of Inclusive Destination Development.

During the Accessible Tourism Conference, Ms. Etsuko Ueno will deliver a report by Mr. Makoto Yamamoto on the town of Takayama City, Japan. (It has the geographic footprint of Tokyo and the charm of a village - what is the right word for it?).

In the central region of Japan with mountains, traditional crafts, and an imposing castle, Takayama presents a fascinating multi-use case study on Universal Design in city and regional planning. Here we have living examples of solutions that preserve cultural integrity; facilitate aging-in-place; manifest environmental sensitivity; and promote inclusive tourism.

See for yourself at:

http://www.hida.jp/english/climate_and_history.htm

inclusive destination development

White Paper on Disability for Antigua and Barbuda

By this point, before most lecture trips, I am well settled on what I will say and begining to anticipate the relaxation phase that comes after delivering the presentation. Perhaps because I will do both an opening and a closing bit or perhaps because I am anticipating the launch of an Asian Pacific network on inclusive travel, I am still quite involved in the research phase.

Reviewing the history of the "Inclusive Development" component of "Inclusive Destination Development," I came across a document from Antigua and Barbuda written in 2001. It is instructive to review the care with which this "White Paper on Disability for Antigua and Barbuda" lays out a national agenda.

I found sections three and four to be especially helpful:

DISABILITY

Disability has traditionally been viewed as either a medical or a social issue. As a medical issue the community’s response has traditionally been to address the immediate issue associated with or causing disability by medical intervention either in the short or long term.

Upon the sufficient application of medical procedures to the immediate or apparent cause of disability, the community’s response to the disabled person was a social, or welfare response, often involving institutional or other care, as a benevolent response which resulted in separation of a disabled person from the general life of the community.

While the medical response is essential, and the social or welfare response desirable to a certain extent, to another extent these responses are in fact so limited that they have resulted in exclusion and segregation, the typical responses to disability issues. The traditional community response has been based on a balance of convenience which often does not take into consideration the rights of the disabled person to full participation in the society to the extent of his ability.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISABILITY AS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE

Today, due to the efforts particularly of the United Nations and of core groups all over the world and the initiative of some countries, disability is no longer seen as a purely medical issue, neither is the focus on the social or welfare aspect of disability requiring a benevolent response. Disability issues are now classified as human rights issues with reform in disability laws focusing on providing equal opportunities for persons with disabilities so that they can reasonably address the disadvantages of exclusion, institutionalization and segregation which are the traditional and typical forms of discrimination practiced against person with disabilities.

The United States has been a front runner in the world in encouraging this shift in focus and the Americans with Disabilities Act that was signed into law on July 26, 1990 is a key example of civil rights legislation for disabled persons. This Act has been very effective in replacing the focus on disability issues from welfare law to civil rights law.

Disability law, viewed from the perspective of the civil rights movement, has led naturally and gradually to the recognition of the human rights of disabled people, a matter that is being increasingly embraced by governments the world over.

It is therefore timely and appropriate for the State of Antigua & Barbuda in addressing Constitutional Reform to embrace disability issues as human rights issues, the appropriate starting point being our Constitution, the supreme law of our land.

I am wondering if there is a special signifcance then, a sort of self-conscious identity realignment, implied as a charitable organization such as the Eden Social Welfare Foundation rises to take the leadership in creating an organization to promote social participation from a human rights basis and further evolve the scope of Inclusive [Destination] Development.

Further Reading:

Disability & Development at the World Bank
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALPROTECTION/EXTDISABILITY/0,,menuPK:282704~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:282699,00.html

The Biwako Millenium Framework - Disability Rights in Asia
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000442.html

Brazilian Disability Law
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000464.html

Getting the Design Right: Inclusive Destination Development
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000440.html

Inclusion and Disability in Development
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000433.html

Ethics and Tourism
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000427.html

inclusive destination development

Rosemary Musachio @ Audacity Magazine

As I fly from San Francisco to Taiwan for the first international conference on Accessible Tourism I am very pleased with the timing of the staff at Audacity Magazine. I will work Rosemary Musachio's article into our discussion sessions as we launch the Asia Pacific Accesible Travel League:

Airline Accessibility Keeps Us Grounded
http://www.audacitymagazine.com/audacity.php?op=article&y=&v=&i=25&a=310

Historical Documents on Asian Accessible Tourism

Several historical documents prepared the way for the upcoming 2005 International Conference on Accesssible Tourism and the launch of the asia Pacific Tourism League. Below are a few.

Bali Declaration:
http://www.disabilityworld.org/10-12_00/news/bali.htm

Report of the Committee on Transport, Communications, Tourism and ...
http://www.unescap.org/57/e/e1212e.pdf

High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002
25-28 October 2002, Otsu City, Shiga, Japan

http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/disability/decade/otsujapan2002/paper2.asp

pdf report:
http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/disability/decade/otsujapan2002/doc/apddp_2.pdf

inclusive destination development

Inclusive Tourism: Some Definitions

There has been a flurry of trans-oceanic digital communication at the Rolling Rains Report in preparation for the launch of the Asia Pacific Accessible Travel League. "Inclusive Tourism: Some Definitions" is one result. It was published today at Suite 101.com:

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/18423/114773

inclusive destination development