Rolling Rains Report:

From Darren Hill's Get Around Guide

Catch up on a regional conference about accessible tourism at Darren Hill's blog -- Cyprus Hosts Accessible Tourism Conference

Valencia Continues Progress on Universal Design (Spanish)

El Ayuntamiento [de Valencia] se ha comprometido a mejorar la accesibilidad de las calles de la ciudad para facilitar la movilidad de las personas con minusvalía.

“El equipo de Gobierno está comprometido en mejorar la accesibilidad en toda la ciudad. Estamos trabajando desde hace años con el objetivo irrenunciable de garantizar un diseño universal, haciendo una ciudad más habitable”, señaló la alcaldesa Rita Barberá.

El compromiso municipal surgió durante los actos de celebración de la festividad de Santa Lucía, patrona de los invidentes. Acompañada de la concejala de Bienestar Social, Barberá acudió al almuerzo organizado por la ONCE, al que acudieron casi 900 personas. Entre las medidas adoptadas por el equipo de Gobierno, destaca la ordenanza de accesibilidad en el medio urbano, ya aprobada en el pleno.

Tour Beat Street Brooklyn with Victor Andrews

Meera Subramanian profiles Brooklyn resident Victor Andrews as he gets mobility training and prepares to take on the world in the article, Sight Unseen.

Inclusive Destination Development: Ontario-Style

Ontario, Canada is practicing Inclusive Destination Development through its EnAbling Change business/government partnership:

Improving accessibility for people with disabilities in employment,
customer service and universal design is the driving force behind the projects
funded under the Ontario government's EnAbling Change partnership program.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) developed a customer service
standard for people with disabilities with the help of a grant under the
EnAbling Change partnership program. The standard was voluntary, and was
accompanied by tools and resources to help businesses of all sizes improve
customer service to people with disabilities.

McGuinty Government Builds Better Access for People with Disabilities

Partnership Project Promotes the Shaw Festival to More Tourists and
Theatre-goers

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ON, May 30 /CNW/ - The Ontario government, Shaw
Festival and the Canadian Standards Association are changing the way patrons
with disabilities are being served when they go to the theatre.

Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister
Responsible for Ontarians with Disabilities, Madeleine Meilleur, today joined
Shaw Festival Executive Director Colleen Blake to celebrate the results of the
Shaw Festival's participation in the Building Champions program. Through this
program, the Canadian Standards Association worked with seven "champion"
businesses and organizations to develop and test new customer service training
for businesses to use when serving customers with disabilities.

"Better accessibility can mean more customers, a larger pool of potential
employees and long-term growth for Ontario businesses," said Meilleur. "Our
goal is to make Ontario an accessible province by 2025, but businesses like
the Shaw Festival are showing us that improved accessibility is something we
can achieve right now."

The "champion" companies tested customer service training for people with
disabilities with support from the Canadian Standards Association and the
Province. The goal was to demonstrate how this form of customer service
training would work in their sector and the gains businesses could make
through improved accessibility for their customers.

"The Shaw prides itself on providing the best experience possible for our
patrons from the time they order their tickets to the moment they applaud a
stunning production. The Building Champions program ensures our patrons that
their entire experience is comfortable, respectful and enjoyable," said Blake.

As part of the Canadian Standards Association's Building Champions
program, the Shaw Festival trained employees on how to better serve customers
with a disability. The training included such diverse elements as how to guide
a person with a visual impairment, simple ways to make the premises more
accessible for people with physical disabilities and how to provide service to
someone with a mental health illness.

The Building Champions initiative is one of the innovative projects
funded by the Ontario government under the EnAbling Change partnership
program. It is just one of the ways in which the McGuinty government is
working to break down barriers to help people with disabilities participate
more fully in Ontario's communities. Since 2003, the government has:

<<
- Provided $28.2 million to help universities and colleges provide
services for students with disabilities to help them succeed.
- Improved the Disabled Parking Permit program - now called the
Accessible Parking Permit program
- Committed nearly $276 million in new funding to strengthen community
supports for adults with a developmental disability.
>>

"We're on the side of Ontarians with disabilities. That's why we're
supporting businesses, whether big or small, to improve access for their
patrons with disabilities," Meilleur said. "This is part of our plan to build
a more prosperous Ontario that benefits from the contributions of all our
citizens."

<<
Disponible en français

www.mcss.gov.on.ca/accessibility/index.html

Backgrounder
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

BUILDING ACCESSIBILITY CHAMPIONS
>>

Improving accessibility for people with disabilities in employment,
customer service and universal design is the driving force behind the projects
funded under the Ontario government's EnAbling Change partnership program.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) developed a customer service
standard for people with disabilities with the help of a grant under the
EnAbling Change partnership program. The standard was voluntary, and was
accompanied by tools and resources to help businesses of all sizes improve
customer service to people with disabilities.

CSA has recently finished piloting customer service training for serving
customers with disabilities with seven business "champions" through its
Building Champions program. The inaugural "champions" include small, medium
and large businesses that collectively serve hundreds of thousands of
Ontarians every day and share a commitment to improving customer service and
access for people with disabilities. They include:

<<
- The Shaw Festival
- Eatertainment (including Toronto's Panorama Restaurant and
Bloor Street Diner)
- Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto
- Cineplex Galaxy Theatres
- Sears Canada
- Wal-Mart
- Wendy's Restaurants Canada
>>

EnAbling Change

The EnAbling Change partnership program provides funding for strategic
projects that will make a significant impact on improving accessibility for
people with disabilities throughout an industry or sector, or across several
sectors.
EnAbling Change partnerships are selected based on their capacity to
promote change and the extent to which they improve access for people with
disabilities. Projects have a broad range of benefits that will positively
impact people and organizations beyond the immediate project participants.
The Ontario government invests $500,000 annually in EnAbling Change
projects and targets partners who have the expertise to be catalysts for
change.
The focus of EnAbling Change is to improve accessibility for people with
disabilities in three core areas:

<<
- Employment: To improve access to employment for people with
disabilities by increasing the awareness of employers of the benefits
of hiring and retaining employees with disabilities
- Customer Service: To develop and promote voluntary codes of practice
or voluntary standards to improve access to customer oriented
services for people with disabilities
- Universal Design: To promote the benefits of applying new design
principles to create universally accessible products, designs and
environments that everyone can use and enjoy.

Disponible en français

www.mcss.gov.on.ca/accessibility/index.html
>>

For further information: Carole Drouin, Minister's Office, (416)
325-5219; Paul Doig, Communications and Marketing Branch, Ministry of
Community and Social Services, (416) 325-5187

Source:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2006/30/c8447.html

REHABITAT: A True Christmas Spirit

Cynthia Leibrock is an architect with a calling. The day after Christmas seems an appropriate time to profile the faith-inspired Universal Design work she undertakes including:

REHABITAT, INC. provides training in universal design, friendship evangelism, resource development, and needs assessment. We offer seed money and technical support for the retrofitting including a home assessment survey. Upon completion, the survey is analyzed by computer software. A customized report is then prepared for each client recommending building modifications for their home.

Further information:
http://www.agingbeautifully.org/volunteers.html

Call for Candidates: Create International Disability Rights Fund

Now here's some news to launch the new year!

Do you have the "right stuff" to set up a global fund that will make the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) a reality? Can you pull your credentials together to make a convincing presentation by January 15, 2007. If so, read on and write to the Fund for Global Human Rights.

Request for Services: Consultant to create international disability rights fund

I. Introduction
The drafting and adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has spurred the maturation and globalization of the disability rights field. Disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) from all over the world have strengthened their advocacy efforts and infused their work with a human rights framework. The Convention, which could enter into force as early as 2007, offers unique opportunities and challenges, as the disability rights field seeks to build human rights capacity around state ratification, implementation and monitoring of the treaty. The birth of a new core UN human rights treaty (the first in a decade and the first this century) presents an opportune moment for funders to support a burgeoning and energized human rights constituency, and the advancement of the UN’s institutional framework for human rights standards.
To leverage this opportunity, several funders would like to explore the establishment of a funding mechanism to support country-level disability organizations using rights-based approaches to implement the principles embodied in the CRPD. The initiative would be a vehicle for funders interested in supporting international disability rights as part of their larger human rights or disability portfolios. The fund would be a unique opportunity, limited in scope and duration, to support a rights constituency advocating for the implementation of a UN human rights treaty. Such efforts may include explicit work to ratify, monitor and implement the CRPD and may also include more general awareness raising and empowerment projects. The ultimate goal would be to build the human rights capacity of DPOs around the world to support the rights articulated in the CRPD.
To establish such a fund, critical institutional decisions around grantmaking strategy, governance, and process must take place prior to the initiation of targeted donor investments.
II. Consultant position overview
To make such an initiative a reality, a consultant is needed to undertake three critical activities:

1) Investigate trends in the disability rights field and grantmaking community
Thorough research is needed to design the overarching funding strategies including regional foci. A consultant will investigate the leading trends in the disability rights field around the Convention, the challenges, opportunities and needs of organizations, and the role that private funders can best play. The consultant may begin to meet with disability organizations and experts in the field to understand the work within regions and organizations and their potential match with the fund’s objectives. Such research may require international travel. Concurrently, the individual will consult with potential donors to the fund on their grantmaking interests and priorities. The consultant will integrate this research into a donor strategy to identify grantmaking priorities that match donors’ interest and address the critical needs of the disability rights field around the implementation of the Convention.

2) Assess donor interest and market a potential fund
The consultant will reach out to international human rights funders as well as disability funders who may be interested in this international endeavor. Over the last several years, the Disability Rights Working Group of the International Human Rights Funders Group has held semi-annual meetings, helping to educate donors on the issue. Several donors have expressed interest in the idea of a fund and look forward to seeing the outcomes and structures that the consultant would develop. However, a dedicated individual is needed to educate funders about the potential of such a fund, address questions and concerns and incorporate potential funders’ ideas into the structure of the fund.

3) Design the fund’s operational structure, including identification of an institutional home
Simultaneous to the marketing of the fund, the consultant will determine the primary operational details of the Fund. The consultant will be asked to identify and assess potential institutional homes. While the Fund for Global Human Rights will serve as the home for this initial phase, it will not necessarily serve as the permanent home. Working with interested donors, the consultant will coordinate the decision making process around determining the fund’s structure such as the minimum subscription level for launch (possibly $3 million-$5 million), duration of the initiative, details of governance, funding guidelines, grantmaking process and grants management.

III. Statement of qualifications:
The ideal candidate should demonstrate the following qualifications:
· Passion and commitment to advancing the human rights of people with disabilities;
· Familiarity with the community of DPOs and the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
· Knowledge of UN human rights systems and international human rights norms;
· Strategic vision for the development of a vibrant movement for the advancement the rights of persons with disabilities, including tackling multiple discrimination;
· Ability to drive and facilitate collaborative group decision-making processes;
· Experience in the field of grantmaking and/or demonstrated fundraising ability to attract donors to the fund;
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Other language proficiencies a plus;
· Ability to travel internationally, but based in the United States; and
· Self-directed with the ability to keep the project moving forward.

Compensation: Competitive, commensurate with experience.

Duration of assignment: Seeking full to half-time consultant for five to nine months (depending on time allocation) with the possibility of full-time employment if the fund is launched.

People with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

IV. Submission requirements:
· Cover letter expressing interest
· Resume of qualifications

V. Submission deadline: January 15, 2007

Please email or mail your materials to:
Fund for Global Human Rights
Attn: Jerusha Burnham
1634 “I” Street NW, Suite 1001
Washington, D.C. 20006
info@globalhumanrights.org (no phone calls please)

We have tried to make this document accessible for persons with disabilities. If you would like this document in rich text format or Braille, please let us know.

Pick Up Some Tips on UD from Japan (Spanish)

Perfil.com of Argentina covers the Matsushita Eco House in Tokyo. Matsushita has a good track record with Universal design. Here they demonstrate a full-lifecycle home incorporating high technology and Universal Design in a smart home.

Recursos Sobre Eco House:

Diario de Yucatan

La Prensa Latina - Cuba

Universal Design for Learning at NSBA

Instructional Design blog reported from the National School Boards Association Teaching & Learning Conference on Universal Design for Learning.

Coach Firm Wins Disabled Vote in UK

A Coventry bus and coach operator has won a national award for making travel easier for disabled people.

Travel de Courcey beat off competition from firms all over the UK to win the accessible coach operator of the year title at the operator excellence awards 2006, run by industry magazine Route One.

Judges were impressed by Travel de Courcey's fleet of accessible buses, including its range of LIFT coaches which include an access lift suitable for wheelchairs.

The company's drivers also go to care homes to find the best way of helping elderly and infirm customers to travel.

Travel de Courcey has also invested more than £½million in tripling the amount of wheelchair accessible coaches in its fleet.

Source:

Coventry Telegraph

Dec 14 2006

By Stephen Hallmark

Good Bytes is One Good Reason to Visit San Antonio

Goodwill is wired in San Antonio at the Good Bytes Internet Cafe.

Here Universal Design and IT work together here according to the blog at Life Done Right. It looks like a place worth checking out - and checking your email at. Check out the menu here.

UNGA adopts convention protecting rights of world’s disabled

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (APP) - The UN General Assembly has adopted a landmark disability convention, the first human rights treaty of the 21st century that is aimed at protecting the rights of the 650 million disabled people around the world.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the approval of the convention by the 192-member Assembly, saying it represents the “dawn of a new era” for the people living with disabilities. Annan, along with Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa and other UN officials, as well as members of civil society that lobbied for the pact, urged all member states to quickly ratify the convention, which covers rights to education, health, work and a raft of other protective measures for people with disabilities.

“Today promises to be the dawn of a new era an era in which disabled people will no longer have to endure the discriminatory practices and attitudes that have been permitted to prevail for all too long.

This Convention is a remarkable and forward-looking document,” Annan said in a speech read out by Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown.

The Assembly adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities in a vote by consensus.

“In three short years, the Convention became a landmark several times over: it is the first human rights treaty to be adopted in the twenty-first century; the most rapidly negotiated human rights treaty in the history of international law; and the first to emerge from lobbying conducted extensively through the Internet I urge all governments to start by ratifying, and then implementing it, without delay,” the secretary-general said.

Sheikha Haya echoed this call, adding that by adopting the Convention, Member States were sending a “clear message of solidarity” by reaffirming the dignity of all humankind and recognizing that “all societies stand to benefit from empowering this important community.”

“I look forward to the full implementation of the convention by Member States, with the involvement of all concerned parties. In particular, the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and civil society groups whose energy, compassion and willingness to work in the spirit of cooperation greatly contributed to the final agreement.”

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour added her voice to calls for ratification, with her office (OHCHR) noting that the agreement which comprises 50 articles fills a major gap in international human rights law.

“The convention… marks a historic step in ensuring that persons with disabilities enjoy full participation in society and can contribute to the community to their full potential. Speedy ratification… will end the protection vacuum that has, in practice, affected persons with disabilities,” Ms. Arbour said.

The convention provides that States which ratify it should enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights, and also abolish legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities. It will be open for signature and ratification on 30 March 2007, and will enter into force after it has been ratified by 20 countries, the OHCHR said.

Speaking at a press conference after the Assembly session, Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand, chairman of the committee that negotiated the convention, described Wednesday’s adoption as “an historic event,” adding that those involved in the process “can I think be pleased with the convention that we have. It is in effect an extraordinarily far-reaching convention.”

Representatives from the International Disability Caucus (IDC) also welcomed the document, stressing its all-inclusive nature, while at the same time urging states to urgently ratify the deal and also raising several concerns.

“We celebrate and welcome the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities which recognizes that disability is a human rights issue,” Pamela Molina Toledo, one of the IDC leaders, told reporters, speaking in Spanish and also using sign language.

“This convention is an example of unity and cooperation…for the benefit of all,” she said, while urging its speedy ratification, a point also made by Tina Minkowitz, another of the IDC leaders.

“The International Disability Caucus urges governments to ratify and implement the convention within national legislation policies and legal structures and to change those legislation and policies when that is necessary,” she said, adding that a particular concern was the need for governments to recognize sign language and other alternative methods of communication in all situations of information, education and employment.

http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=338&Itemid=2

Provided by Aqeel Qureshi

It's Wheelie Santa!

Dada Moreira decks out the Aventura Especial accessible travel logo for the season.

Isabela Vistue has her eyes open for the beautiful, memorable, and humorous things of life.

Here's a link to a photo she captured of a politically correct Santa Claus (Papai Noel) in a wheelchair. Thanks Isabela for generously sharing your photo at the Flickr site Travel With a Disability.

Imtiaz Muqbil on Tourism & Disability

Imtiaz Muqbul publishes Travel Impact Newswire. His recent lead story celebrates the new UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities:

The implications [of the UN convention] for travel & tourism are significant across the board. Trade shows, conferences and seminars will emerge for buyers and sellers of holidays and travel opportunities for PwDs, along with new publications and marketing campaigns directed at them. Special awards are sure to be created. Opportunities for training and education also abound in what will clearly be a highly specialised field of travel. If legal issues emerge, the lawyers are waiting.

Directly relevant to travel & tourism industry is Article 30 of the Convention which covers “Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport”. It requires countries to take all appropriate measures to ensure that PwDs “enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism serv

Another one, Article 20 guarantees their rights to personal mobility in the manner and at the time of their choice, and at affordable cost, with all the requisite “mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and intermediaries”. Especially important are articles underwriting their rights to education, work and employment.

Source:

TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE -- Edition 77 -- Tuesday, 19 December 2006
===================

ABOUT TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE

Set up in August 1998, Travel Impact Newswire is the Asia-Pacific’s first email travel industry news feature and analysis service. Mission Statement: Dedicated to reporting with Integrity, Trust, Accuracy and Respect the issues that impact on the Asia-Pacific Travel & Tourism industry. Distributed every week to senior industry executives, consultants, academics and media globally.

Interested in sponsoring future editions of Newswire, the region’s only no-holds-barred travel industry information service? Please contact me at 24 Soi Chidlom, Bangkok, Thailand 10330. T: (66-2) 2551480, 2537590. Fax: 02 2544316. Email: imtiaz@travel-impact-newswire.com

Report from the Ministry of Railways India

In India the legislation pertaining to the rights of persons with disabilities includes the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995. Recently the Ministry of Railways issued a statement chronicling its compliance.

FACILITIES TO DISABLED, Ministry of Railways India

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Honourable Delhi High Court wherein Ministry of Railways is one of the respondents.

In pursuance of implementation of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995,
Railways have provided the following seven short-term facilities at 300
stations comprising all 'A' category stations and few 'B' category
stations. These facilities have been planned for remaining 'B' category
stations also.

1. Standard ramp for Barrier free entry,

2. Earmarking parking lots for vehicles used by Disabled Persons,

3. Non-slippery walkway,

4. Signage,

5. Toilets,

6. Water taps suitable for needs of handicapped person,

7. "May I Help You" Booth,

Besides, wheel chairs have been provided at important stations.

Regarding inter platform connectivity, trolley paths have been
provided at the end of the platforms of important stations which have been
authorized for use by handicapped persons on wheel chairs with escorts.

Concessions in fares are granted to four categories of
disabilities.

(1) Orthopaedically Handicapped/Paraplegic

(2) Mentally Retarded

(3) Blind persons - completely blind.

(4) Totally Deaf and Dumb and both afflictions together.

In addition to the above concession in single journey 50% concession in
first and second class season ticket fare is also admissible to above
categories of disabled people.

A Reservation quota of two sleeper class berths has been earmarked in all
trains running on non-suburban sections for handicapped persons performing
their journey on handicapped concessional ticket. The persons accompanying
the handicapped person as escort are also allotted the berth out of this
quota.

Indian Railways are manufacturing certain passenger coaches, which have a
separate compartment specially designed for wheel chair borne passengers.
These compartments have facilities like wider door-way, aisle and knee space
to permit easy movement of wheel chair, wider berths, toilet adapted to
needs of such passengers, arrangements for securing wheel chairs during the
journey etc.

The Railways are working to provide at least one non-AC Passenger Coach
which will have a separate compartment for wheel chair borne passengers in
every Mail/Express Trains within a period of two years.

The following 19 Major Stations all over Indian Railways will be developed
into world class stations which will be provided with lift/Escalators for
facilitating inter-platform transfer :-

1 Pune 2 Carnac Bunder, Mumbai 3
Howrah

4 Lucknow 5 Anand Vihar, Delhi
6 Bijwasan, Delhi

7 Amritsar 8 Chandigarh
9 New Delhi

10 Varanasi 11 Chennai
12 Patna

13 Secunderabad 14 Thiruvanthpuram 15
Ahmedabad

16 Bhubneshwar 17 Mathura
18 Bangalore

19 Bhopal

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=23354

Tocando as Rodas by Beto Sporkens

A new documentary, Tocando as Rodas (literally: Touching the Wheels), is making a debut in Brazil thanks to Movimento SuperAção.

The film follows the radio personaily, Luka, around São Paulo for a week as he experiences life as a wheelchair user (cadeirante.) The producers note the irony of the prevalence of laws supporting those with disabilities and the absence of follow through in Brazil.

Beto Sporkens dirige documentário sobre cadeirantes

As calçadas desniveladas, esburacadas e a falta de rampas e elevadores em São Paulo revelaram a controvérsia de estarmos em um país onde há mais leis que defendem o direito da pessoa com deficiência, mas que ironicamente, é também o país que menos as cumpre. Foi assim, com uma única câmera mini DV, que o cineasta e documentarista Beto Sporkens registrou as dificuldades e surpresas que um cadeirante enfrenta no seu dia-a-dia.

Durante uma semana, a radialista Luka, locutora da Rádio 89FM, andou pela cidade de São Paulo como cadeirante. Lugares como Avenida Paulista, Bernardino de Campos, Brigadeiro Luiz Antônio, Inácio Pereira da Rocha (Vila Madalena), algumas ruas do Jabaquara, Vila Boim, estádio do Pacaembu, Hopi Hari, Shopping Paulista, estações do metrô (Paraíso, Sé e República), estações de metrô (Paraíso, Sé e República) e caixas eletrônicos foram palco para a constatação de que vivemos numa cidade despreparada para oferecer o direito básico de qualquer cidadão - o direito de ir e vir.

A experiência documentada gerou o curta-metragem Tocando as Rodas, de 20 minutos, e teve como objetivo foi chamar a atenção das autoridades sobre o problema da acessibilidade de pessoas com mobilidade reduzida e que utilizam a cadeira de rodas para se locomover por toda a cidade.

Super_Ação - Por uma cidade acessível a todos

O documentário Tocando as Rodas é uma das ações que fazem parte do Movimento Super_Ação, encabeçado por jovens portadores de deficiência, profissionais de comunicação e militantes de ONGs.

O objetivo é exigir a continuidade dos ganhos conquistados até hoje com a implantação de uma política pública para garantir acessibilidade em toda a cidade. Um dos caminhos para isso é a discussão social e o intercâmbio de idéias.

http://www.institutocrescer.org.br/noticias.asp?idNoticia=7

Voyages Accessibles au Canada (French)

The site Handirect offered a brief piece on Canadian travel Voyages Accessibles au Canada although the cited link should be www.accesstotravel.gc.ca/

A little deeper into Handidirect you will find an archive of articles and inclusive travel guides. See Tourisme et Loisirs:

Accessible Canal Tours: The Willow Trust, UK

Over at Travel With a Disability photographer who contributes as Lumpen Heap has shared a find:

The Willow Trust is a charity that offers freedom for the disabled on the water by providing days out for children and adults with learning and physical disabilities and those who are seriously ill.

The Trust has two boats based at Saul Junction, and guests can enjoy the excitement of adventure and the therapy of tranquility in beautiful surroundings - all travelling totally free of charge.

For more on the Willow Trust see:

http://www.gloucesterdocks.me.uk/studies/willowtrust.htm

Catch a Kenguru

The New York Times recently caught up with the wheelchair accessible Kenguru designed by Zsolt Varga.

Most handicapped-accessible automobiles are designed for the general public and only later adapted for wheelchairs, resulting in awkward compromises, like the notoriously sluggish wheelchair lifts seen on public buses. But now there¹s the Kenguru, a snazzy mini-hatchback designed to give total independence to wheelchair users on the go.

The Kenguru¹s hatchback flips open so a wheelchair can roll right in and lock into place, which means the driver doesn¹t have to climb into a driver¹s seat. Because the steering column is a joystick, paraplegics and those with limited arm range can steer. The car is powered by a rechargeable battery and has a peak speed of 25 miles per hour.

Source:
New York Times

Am I the only one seeing a pattern here or is there some sort of meta-message here? Rear entry: Vexel Quovis, Kengaru, Nextide shoe.

Maybe, "Good design is sneaking up from behind."

Further Reading:

Jalopnik

Medgadget

CoolBusinessIdeas

Gaylord, Michigan: Universal Design and a Master Plan

Gaylord, Michigan asked the question, "What makes a community elder-friendly?" In the process they discovered Universal Design.

According to the Michigan "Community for a Lifetime" program these 10 categories of assets play a role in creating elder-friendly communities:

· Walkability
· Supportive community systems
· Access to healthcare
· Safety and Security
· Housing: Availability and Affordability
· Housing: Modification and Maintenance
· Transportation
· Commerce
· Enrichment
· Inclusion

Source:
http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2006/11/28/news/local_news/local_news01.txt

Shod: Universal Design for People Who Use Shoes

I have blogged on accessible trails, railways, ships, and trips - but never shoes!

There's always a first time. Thank you Jeff Staples and Shinji Sudo.

Nextide is moving into barrier-free fashion - Universal Design meets wearable style.

I would like to introduce our project NEXTIDEVOLUTION. This is the project which breaks the barrier in the mind for ordinary people and those with disabilities by using the creativity of an artist.

Usually Nextide makes graphics for T-shirts to express this message, but now the famous Japanese stores United-Arrows and Ships sell NEXTIDE items such as tee shirts, caps, bags and sneakers. We donate profits to UNIFA which is a non-profit organization for popularizing barrier-free fashion.

We have released two prototype sneakers. One is for 2006, the other is for 2007, but both are made by ASICS with NEXTIDE designs, and they are selling at the ONITSUKA TIGER SHOP.

They will also be selling at URBAN OUTFITTERS in New York next spring as well.

#1. Conceptual graphics: Aiko Nakagawa (FAILE in NY)
Notice the double zip the on back heel? This is so that people are able to put them on and off without using laces. It is very difficult for disabled persons to tie up their shoes, so they were forced to use velcro instead. The point of this item is that we propose this idea to ordinary people and prompt them to think about those with disabilities...

This project concept was created with Shinji Sudo, who is the general producer of NEXTIDE in Japan. He feels the difference between both disability persons and ordinary people since 1995, when his son was born with a disability.
Finally, he discovered the way to express his message with artists and fashion in 2003. Jeff Staple was creative director for three years and introduced designers all over the globe who made new standards of fashion and culture. From next year, Aiko of FAILE will join NEXTIDE as creative director and we hope more designers and creators will also become involved with this project.

www.nextide.net

Source:
http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/article.php?id=837

Take a Vacation with David and His (Recently Deceased) Permobil!

David is on an adventure over at Life With a Disability. Follow him through his travelogue, My Wheelchair's Vacation Story.

The Rio Declaration & Independent Luxury Homes

Independent Luxury Homes gets the message about Green UD and has the social entrepreneurial spirit as well. What they are doing is in line with what we envisioned, a continent to the south and a few years earlier, in the Rio Declaration on Universal Design for Sustainable and Inclusive Develoopment.

For more on this worthwhile project see:

http://www.independentluxuryhomes.com/

The Korean Wave - Samsung Defines Design

As Universal Design diffuses it localizes. In Korea it has meant a reassesment at Samsung where the Tao of balance plays a part.

Samsung's instinct was to develop a design language that grew out of Korean culture.

Samsung's in-house school gave its designers the tools and confidence to risk thinking differently. But there remained an equally vexing challenge: The company lacked a universal design ethos* --a measurable, clearly defined set of principles that its designers could replicate and its customers could intuitively understand. Samsung's instinct was to develop a design language that grew out of Korean culture. But that proved equally hard to define. China's Han, Ming, and Tung dynasties, as well as the Mongols, Russians, Japanese, and even American missionaries had all left elements of their cultures on the peninsula. Unearthing a true Korean character proved difficult, but Samsung discovered it in the Tae Kuk--the yin-yang symbol found on the South Korean flag that represents the simultaneous unity and duality of all things. From the Tae Kuk, Samsung developed its touchstone: "Balance of Reason and Feeling."

"Reason and feeling are opposites, but they are essential to each other," says Sangyeon Lee, who heads Samsung's San Francisco design studio. "In design terms, 'reason' is rational, sharp-edged, and very geometric. 'Feeling' is soft and organic--it makes an emotional connection with the user. Taken together, reason and feeling give us a way to frame our design identity, which is always evolving."

A task force spent a year developing and perfecting a scale, with reason at one end and feeling on the other, which is now used to ensure that every single product design hews to Samsung's brand positioning. That generally falls near the scale's center--thereby striking a balance. Samsung did the same with two other key words: "simplicity" and "complexity."

* Note that this usage, "universal design ethos," does not refer to the seven principles of Universal Design but rather refers to an "integrated design approach" or "school of design" which Universal Design is decidedly not.

See:
The Seoul of Design
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/101/samsung.html

The Smithsonian is History: Losing to the Playbook of Wii

Ask any travel agent. The three keys to qualifying a travel customer are determining if they have the 1) desire, 2) money, 3) time.

You can generally presume that desire is present when the customer seeks you out to initiate the sale as I recently did with Smithsonian Journeys. Qualifications two and three - money and time - are adequately documented in Eric Lipp's regular surveys of the travel behavior of people with disabilities, Simon Darcy's seminal study that put this market on the map. A casual observation of the passengers on your cruise ship should give any doubter a hint that there is an underserved travel market among people with disabilities. Something major has shifted in the travel industry.

History will excavate the telltale remains of institutions that played possum through this transition.

To illustrate the power of this moment let me use a case outside travel & hospitality where Universal Design is literally "beating opponents to a pulp."

First, an underserved market was identified. It not only had no desire for the product but was typically scornful of it and professed to have no time for it whatsoever. What it did have was money.

And now Nintendo has a whole lot of that money instead.

Fergus Sheppard writes in the Scotsman.com, "Maxine got her first taste of Wii - the name is Japanese for "everybody" - in the Gamestation store in Princes Street, as the much-hyped console went on sale in the UK."

OK, nice start. Give the product an inclusive name. (Unfortunately, the author is incorrect. The word is a transliteration of the English word "we" and not Japanese. Nihongo-o hanashi imasen - but I know at least that much Japanese.)

The article continues:

She is typical of the kind of customer the Japanese games giant wants to attract. Nintendo has purposefully designed the game to be tactile, spatial and social - qualities it believes will appeal to women. It has advertised the Wii across women's titles including Prima, Glamour, New Woman, Closer and Heat as a communal fun activity - a world away, it suggests, from the closeted world of the PlayStation or Xbox fanatic.

Good next steps: identify the target market; isolate their characteristics & preferences.

The games it comes with - tennis, baseball, golf, bowling and boxing - involve standing and moving rather than the classic couch-potato position.

Classic strategy. Differentiate yourself from the competition.

Rob Lowe, Nintendo's UK product manager for home consoles, said: "The large majority of women don't play games at the moment, so we designed the controller so anyone can pick it up and play it; they don't have to learn 12 different button combinations and spend ten hours trying to immerse themselves in the game. We think women will play the Wii for shorter bursts of time and feel they have exercised a bit."

Hmmm, something from the Universal Design juggernaut here? A controller designed "so anyone can pick it up and play."

It's a bold marketing play to build a product for a customer who 1) doesn't want it and 2) doesn't have time for it.

It's a no brainer to build a travel product for a growing customer demographic that has all three - and actively communicates that it would buy more if not for an artificial shortage of product.

There are precedents that would allow Smithsonian Journeys to succeed - and an eager pool of candidates to fill one of their staff positions who have participated in Mobility International USA travel and leadership training.

Source:
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1828952006

Novelist Nick Hornby on Disability

To The Best of our Knowledge is a weekly radio program produced by Wisconsin Public Radio. Nick Hornby is a novelist, father of a son with autism, and author of the book, "A Long Way Down."

In this program he is interviewed about the book. He notes

Korea and Bangalore: Tracking the Diffusion of Universal Design

For years now Tom Rickert of Access Exchange International in San Francisco has been the driving force behind the adoption of inclusive transportation systems worldwide. He is an incarnated point of diffusion for the seven principles of Universal Design. Reading the article about Bangalore deciding to mimic new Dehli Metro is just the tip of the iceberg revelation of all that you an discover firsthand by reading the newsletter of Access Exchange International.

While Universal Design makes its impact on public transportation in South Asia it continues to spread in the Asia Pacific region. Recently we see it merging with the "Korean Wave" as in this article, New Designs Focus on Easy Use, in Digital Chosunibo.

Note the factual error attributed to Lim Young-mo, senior researcher with Samsung Economic Research Institute that Universal Design is a "concept that first appeared in the U.S in the early nineties." They say it takes a good 20 to 30 years for an idea or tecnnology to diffuse. Here we see the diffusion and miscommunicatiion process operating hand-in-hand. On themore positive side, during the early years the fact that Ron Mace and others with disabilities were so strongly associated with their concept, Universal Design, meant that it was stigmatized and shunted to the margins in the same manner as the community which brought this transformative tool to the world.

Disabled people of Bangalore have indicated the city's metro system and other services connected to it should be easy for them to access.

Over the years they have been complaining that government buildings are not easily accessible to them.

For example ramps meant for disabled people are not designed for access by wheelchair.

"In house we will transmit whatever we have learnt to our engineers and consultants who are in the process of designing our subways, our elevated rail systems as well as elevated platforms," said Jitender Nag, the chief of corporate communications for Bangalore Metro.

Programme Manager for Actionaid John Cordeira said, "universal design simply means that whatever u produce, manufacture, or design should be in a way that all people can use it so the objective of this training is to make the environment barrier free".

The aim is to ensure that Bangalore Metro systems are friendly for the disabled like the Metro in Delhi.

Source:
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=Disabled-friendly+Metro+for+Bangalore&id=97299

On the Internet No One Knows You are a...

This graphic appears in an early German study on disability, identity, and the Internet here.

Home Depot Escalates Universal Design to "Code Orange"

Home Depot is on message with Universal Design.

You better believe this is a hard-headed business decision and not a soft-hearted pity ploy when it comes from a company with as much to risk (and gain) as Home Depot.

Atlanta-based Home Depot (NYSE: HD) said its Home Hero brand is the first product line to come from its new "Orange Works" innovation and design venture with Arnell Group. Orange Works is tasked with working with vendors on proprietary innovation within Home Depot to meet the needs of emerging lifestyle and product trends.

And Universal Design is the right tool for the job:

"The cornerstone of The Home Depot is delivering distinctive merchandise at an attractive price," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president and CEO of Home Depot. "Orange Works will drive unique product design and accelerate the speed to market with products that are best in class across the store. Knowing Peter Arnell and his expertise in innovation and design, I am confident that this unique venture will ensure we work closely with our vendor partners to develop and design unique and proprietary products to make living easier and more enjoyable for our customers."

Two more Orange Works innovations under development focus on universal design, Home Depot said. Easy Reach Storage enables a consumer to raise or lower cabinet shelving units with one hand, eliminating the need to stoop or stretch. The second item is a decorative chair rail molding system that doubles as a handrail, designed for consumers who need the support but do not want unattractive handrails in their homes.

BlindConfidential Takes on the "Cool Quotient" and Other Orthodoxies

This blog is on a roll - and it's one worth tuning in on.

You have read here about the distinction between sterile (accessible without attention to the integrity of design) and style (successful application of Universal Design.) The December 2, 2006 post at BlindConfidential explores the roots of "cool", disability rights, and the current doldrum in Web design offering sage advice:

Other products that seem superfluously inaccessible because of an attempt by their authors to create a "cool" interface include spam filters, virus protection products and other security related programs. The only time a person with or without a disability cares to interact with such software is when they're installing it and when something has gone terribly wrong. Lots of flashy graphics, animations and other user interface elements intended to make the product look "cool" has nothing to do with the purpose of such products whose users rarely interact with them and, when they do, they may be in a total panic.

Of course, even the programs with the highest potential "cool quotient" with the most extremely nonstandard interface can be made accessible with a minimal amount of extra effort on behalf of its developers. When it comes to these programs I'm frankly quite sick and tired of hearing mainstream developers first say, "for our audience it has to be very, very cool..." and, even worse, "we'll build a separate, text only version for your people." Returning to Thurgood Marshall, "separate but equal isn't," so my advice to the mainstream developers of the world is to make your software or website as cool as you want but, follow the well-established accessibility standards and guidelines and learn principles of universal design and you can make super cool programs and websites that can be enjoyed by everyone -- with or without a disability.

Universal Design: Edward Fuller & BlindConfidential on the Same Trajectory

Gordon Fuller is using his blog, Fullervision, to advocate for inclusion in communication and technology. HIs December 2, 2006 post and the recent BlindConfidential post are mutually reinforcing. See Hall of Shame

Architectradure: Cati Vaucelle's Blog on Architecture and Design

Cati Vaucelle has an engaging blog on Universal Design. Take a look at her November 29 coverage of designer Michael Graves in Michael Graves and Universal Design

The Impact of Ageing on Aviation

Professional colleague and personal friend Harry Wolfe presented at the Airneth Conference, The Impact of Ageing on Aviation, held at the Hague, Netherlands on November 23.

Presentations are downloadable here.

Meeting the Needs of Older and Disabled Air Travellers
by Anne Frye
http://www.airneth.nl/documents/AnnFryefinal.pdf

Ageing and Air Transportation
by Harry Wolfe
http://www.airneth.nl/documents/HarryWolfefinal.pdf

Ageing and Travel Behaviour in the 21st Century
by Ton van Egmond
http://www.airneth.nl/documents/VanEgmondfinal.pdf

Ageing at Work in the Netherlands
by Rob Gründemann
http://www.airneth.nl/documents/Grundemann.pdf

Upcoming Airneth event:

Optimal Use of Airport Capacity: April 11-13, 2007
http://www.airneth.nl/activity.php?page=24

Transylvania via Wizz Air

I'm no Goth. Scarey movies aren't my genre. After seeing a few as a youngster quoth this less-than-brave-one, "Nevermore!"

But I have written here more than once that Transylvania holds some appeal and fuels a quest for reliable information on its accessibility. Robert Reid provided no new insights on inclusion in that part of the world but his recent report does reaffirm its appeal:

Most travelers heading to Transylvania envisioning wing-flapping vampires first think of Brasov, the cobbled Saxon town near the so-called Dracula Castle at Bran. Or Sighisoara, where the real Dracula (Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler) cut his teeth in the 15th century.

But lesser-known Targu Mures is Transylvania's new big gateway and up-and-coming highlight. Budget airline Wizz Air started direct Budapest-Targu Mures service in July (currently $22 each way), making the cool hub of Transylvania more accessible to all of Europe.

Targu Mures' location couldn't be better.

For the full article see:
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/158559

For an update on the Romanian trekker, Vasi Stoica, see:
http://www.govasigo.ro/press.html

Reflections on Rambling the Globe: International Day of Disabled Persons 2006

It is a well-published secret that I travel a lot. After 35 years doing so in a wheelchair has become so second nature that sometimes it takes running headlong into an obstacle to remember how "special" simply living one's life can seem to those designing travel products.

This Fall marks one of those metalic milestone wedding anniversaries for my spouse and I. Not surprisingly, we want to celebrate it with "The Grand Tour." Transitioning from the dreaming to the planning stage I recently discovered that we won't be spending the happy occassion on a Smithsonian tour. Specifically, we won't be there for the Vanishing Cultures Around the World: An Epic Journey by Private Jet because Smithsonian Journeys tours are quite explicit:

Physical and Medical Considerations

Please note that these tours require that participants be in good physical condition: you must be capable, without assistance, of walking a minimum of one mile over uneven terrain and of climbing stairs that may not have handrails. Participants should have sufficient stamina to keep pace with an active group of travelers on long days of touring. If you have any questions about your ability to participate in a tour, please call us at 1-877-338-8687.

Some tours require medical certification from your doctor. This requirement is noted on the individual itineraries. On these tours, a medical form will be sent to you.

Source:
http://smithsonianjourneys.org//International/intl-info.htm#physical

Certainly not all itineraries are suitable for slow walkers or wheelchair users. I have no quibble with the realities of topography. I can accept the historic construction patterns of other communities. Medical technologies have become more successful in prolonging the lives all. With a larger disabled population there is simply more demand for inclusion in society and the built environment. Older buildings and infrastructure reflect earlier demographics. Older attitudes served as blinders to imaginative solutions.

What seems unimaginable to me is that a contemporary American institution as prominent as the Smthsonian would make no attempt at inclusion substituting instead a Jim Crow blanket policy.

We chuckle at the absurd phrase, "You can't get there from here" because, of course you can! You may have to backtrack, you may have to use alternate means, you may have to do what differently-abled people 24/7/365 -- adapt.

There is no reason why Smithsonian Journeys should not have a product line that is inclusive of slow walkers and people with disabilities. Not all itineraries may be accessible but the destinations themselves may be. Sometimes (not always) what is lacking is imagination. The itinerary can be changed to accommodate an alternate way to enjoy the same destination.

To quote Michael Graves in the current issue of Metropolis magazine:

"People who become disabled have to radically redesign their outlook about the physical world," Graves says, remembering the first days after he was out of danger and learning to live with paralysis. "They redesign their sense of privacy and their sense of independence. Yet in the products they have to use, design has abandoned them."

To clarify, if this tour, which sounds spectacular, is truly and irreconcilably inaccessible then so be it.

My point is that an attitude, instutionalized by a policy, that excludes travelers with disabilities from the outset is an insurmountable handicap that deadens the imaginations of those who plan travel package itineraries -- and, yes the recurring Rolling Rains argument -- a shortsighted business decision when the market of travelers with disabilities consistently reports that it would travel more if options were available and surveys show it has the three-part prerequisite to travel: time, desire, and disposable income.

In the case of Smithsonian Journey's policy-behind-the-itinerary we have an excellent business school or disability studies department case study validating the insights of the Social Theory of Disability. The Smithsonian has manufactured handicaps that burden people with disabilities.

To emphasize the irony of it all, it is the Smithsonian National Museum of American History that hosts the Disability Rights Movement Exhibition.

Further Reading on the Demand for Inclusive Travel:

Toward a Global History of Inclusive Travel
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/001093.html

The Open Doors Organization Disabled Traveler Market Report 2006
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000936.html
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000599.html

The Seven Principles of Universal Design
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/001011.html

Rick Steves on Accessible European Travel
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000204.html

Theories of Disability
http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/demographics-identity/dkaplanpaper.htm

2005 International Conference on Accessible Tourism in Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000480.htm

lnclusive Tourism: Some Definitions
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/18423/114773

Travel With a Disability
http://www.flickr.com/groups/rollingrains/

Phuket, Thailand: Beautiful Sand Resort

Phuket is a popular vacation destination. Fortunately, inclusion has made progress there. Read about Beautiful Sand Resort.

Accessible Hotels - It's Not Rocket Science!


Phuket, Thailand, 1st December 2006 - A British man has swapped his job as a designer of rocket and satellite systems to concentrate on more down-to-earth challenges - building a hotel on the paradise island of Phuket which is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

Simon Luttrell, who emigrated to Thailand several years ago, spent most of his previous career within the ultraclean environments of satellite assembly laboratories. But a downturn in demand for 'rocket scientists' encouraged him to seek new opportunities in Asia.

'Unfortunately, there were no vacancies for rocket scientists in Thailand either' quipped Luttrell, 'but I enjoyed the climate and relaxed lifestyle so much that it was hard to return to the UK.'

Unlike many expat men in Thailand, who spend their declining years drinking excessively and frequenting the gogo bars of Patpong and Pattaya, Luttrell sought out new business opportunities.

A chance incident in a Bangkok hotel set him on his new career path. 'I watched a chap in a wheelchair trying to negotiate the steps leading up to the hotel. It was an impossible task and he had to be physically lifted by the staff. Having finally accomplished this, it then became clear that the entrance door leading to the toilets was simply too narrow for his wheelchair. The man was obviously upset and left soon afterwards'.

Luttrell immediately recognised a business opportunity in building an accessible hotel for both able-bodied and wheelchair guests. 'It struck me that wheelchair users were being denied the opportunity to visit this beautiful country, simply because they were unable to find suitable accomodation.'

Although Thailand has leglislation requiring hotels to provide accessible accomodation, these rules are not enforced. Major hotel chains do provide accessible rooms, but complete access to all hotel facilities is rare, if not unknown.

In Spring of 2006, Luttrell and his Thai wife acquired a suitable building plot, adjacent to Phuket International Airport. 'We needed a site that was absolutely flat, and near to the airport and beaches' Luttrell commented. 'No-one enjoys long transfers from airport to hotel, least of all wheelchair users.'

To ensure that the new hotel met international accessibility regulations, Luttrell followed the reccomendations of the American Disability Association (ADA). Their comprehensive guidelines covered all aspects of hotel construction, from specifying maximum step heights through to specific layouts and dimensions for accessible bathrooms.

'Initially, the large number of regulations that we had to comply with seemed rather daunting, but once we started the actual building construction, these regulations just seemed like commonsense.'

Luttrell personally supervised the local Thai labourers, explaining to them in fluent Thai why it was not allowed, for example, to use steps outside of the guest rooms to stop monsoon rainwater flooding the bedrooms. 'The monsoon rain problem was a challenge in itself' says Luttrell, 'but we overcame it by incorporating a slight slope on the external sandwash footpaths and using sunken flowerbeds to funnel the water away from the rooms.'

After 8 months of hard work, the Beautiful Sand Resort opened just in time for the Phuket high season. Wheelchair guests are able to use all of the hotel rooms and facilities. Luttrell tested accessibility using a friend's wheelchair. 'I trundled from my bathroom, through the bedroom and out onto my sandwash terrace. Then I scooted around the accessible swimming pool and into the restaurant. After a quick drink at the bar, (where includes a low-height section for wheelchair users), I wheeled myself out of the hotel and down to the nearby beach.'

Luttrell is understandably proud of his achievement, but his rapid success in building an accessible hotel begs the question 'why don't all hotels consider wheelchair users at the construction stage?'

ABOUT Simon Luttrell

Simon Luttrell graduated from University College London in 1986 with a Master's degree in Microwaves & Modern Optics. He worked as a senior consultant for companies such as Marconi, Alcatel, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless and several others. In 1998, he established Fonedata - an SMS text messaging company which he later sold to Psion plc. Simon emigrated to Thailand in 2002 and now lives and works on the island of Phuket.

Source:

Beautiful Sands Resort press release

Oba! Outra Razao para Viajar pro Brasil (Another Reason to Travel to Brazil)

Bill Hinchberger is owner of Brazilmax.com. The site lives up to its monicker as "the Hip Guide to Brazil." What also continues to impress me is Bill's committment, consistent with the Brazilian Tourism Agency Embratur's policy, to promote inclusion in travel and hospitality.

For some reason southern Brazil's Gaucho territory is making it into the news often recently with items of interest to travelers with disabilities. How about dancing along with this Escola de Samba (Samba School) during carnival this year? Here's some disability pride in action!

Read Bill Hinchberger's travel planning guide here.

For more photos of see.

US Travelers: Grab Your Passports

Get those passports ready!

Starting January 23 all travellers entering the US, including US citizens, must have a passport if coming in by air.

The Department of Homeland Security issued its formal announcement the necessity of having a passport to enter the US by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere will begin on January 23, 2007. Secretary Michael Chertoff said "The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist to carry out an attack. We cannot continue to allow loopholes that could facilitate access to the United States through false claims of citizenship or fake identities. This initiative strengthens our border security by designing verifiable secure documents that may be used at our air ports of entry." He also said this date was the final one. The final date for having to have a passport to enter the country by land or sea remains at June 1, 2008, however that date could be moved up to January 1, 2008.

The US government will charge $28 annually to process background checks on each airline passenger who joins a private registered traveler program that could help him/her to get through airport security more quickly. The fee is to cover the cost of performing the checks and overseeing the program. The program is aimed mostly at frequent fliers which include business travellers on major airlines at busier airports. Those who sign up for the program agree to submit personal information for background checks and fingerprints or other biometric information to be embedded on an identity card. Verified Identity Pass plans to expand the service to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, San Jose and BA's terminal at JFK by the end of the year. Its first program is in Orlando where about 30,000 fliers participate. the fee will be part of the cost of joining the program.

Disability Nation Podcast

Disability Nation is an audio magazine by Larry Wanger. Available as a podcast and text transcription the magazine covers a variety of topics as it grows.

DN16: Adaptive Sports Association and Disability News.

DisabilityNation episode 16 is now available. Visit the DisabilityNation site to learn more.

The mission of the Adaptive Sports Association (ASA) is to enhance the self-esteem and physical well-being of people with disabilities through participation in sports and outdoor recreational experiences regardless of individual financial limitations. The Adaptive Sports Association has been in service for over 20 years helping people with physical, cognitive and learning disabilities to enjoy sports and outdoor recreational experiences. The staff is experienced in the use of adaptive equipment and training techniques.

Day-long adventures in alpine skiing, snowboarding, whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, fishing, and canoeing are available with reservations and are open to all persons with disabilities. Through the use of state-of-the-art equipment, ASA is able to offer its services to individuals with every type of disability. Over 50 ASA ski and snowboard instructors are nationally certified through Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI). ASA is also a member of Disabled Sports USA. Quality instruction and safety are primary concerns of ASA.

Check out the show to learn more about the history of ASA, available recreational opportunities and how you can get involved as a participant or volunteer. ASA seeks to make their programs affordable to all and, in some cases, scholarship assistance may be available. Click here to watch ASA's program and promotional videos.

This week’s show also features the latest news from the disability community with Dave Reynolds of Inclusion Daily Express.

Music from the Podsafe Music Network: Howard Jones, Building Our Own Future. Click here for tour info. Also, be sure to visit Howard's site by clicking here.

To contact DisabilityNation, you can send email to contact@disabilitynation.nett or phone 206-338-6225.

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