Recently in Leadership Category

It was just brought to my attention that I never actually published a post about the wonderful work of Shaka Surf Camp in Costa Rica:

On Friday the 12th March, Tourism for All UK participated in a two hour workshop at the largest tourism trade exhibition of its kind - ITB Berlin.

In front of an audience of visitors to the trade show, the session investigated the experience of the panellists as to how Europe was meeting the needs of disabled visitors, which was followed by an in-depth Q&A session hosted by SAT 1 TV presenter Bettina Cramer.

Principally this session was about good practice and how the requirements of disabled people are being met in Europe, the barriers to tourism for disabled people and how these might be overcome.

Participants included:

Dirk Janczewski, Founder of Barrier-Free-Tourism.eu (www.barrierfree-tourism.com/);

Lillian Muller, President of ENAT - the European Network for Accessible Tourism (www.accessibletourism.org/);

Mohammed Al-Tarawneh Vice-Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (www.ohchr.org/);

Dr Rudiger Leidner - President of the Coordination Board on Tourism of the German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (http://natko.de/);

Angel David Herrera González - Counsellor of Tourism for Arona in Tenerife (www.arona.org/)

Brian Seaman of TFA.

Source:

http://www.tourismforall.org.uk/ITB-Berlin-Accessible-Tourism-Market-Potential-and-Best-Practices-BusinessNews.htm

Introduce Unversal Design thinking a your local pechaha:

Implementing disability-inclusive development in the Pacific and Asia:
Reviewing progress, planning the future

An international conference and action planning roundtable

15-17 September 2010

Darwin Convention Centre, Australia

FIRST NOTICE

Participate in reviews and discussion about practical actions being taken in the Pacific and Asia to ensure that local, national and international development includes people with disability. Review progress with the Australian Government's disability strategy "Development for All", and network with individuals, community groups, local, national and international organizations and government representatives involved in disability-inclusive development. You will be encouraged to contribute your experience and learn from that of others.

The two-day conference and one-day action-based roundtable seek practical ways for people with disabilities in the Asia Pacific region and Australian Aboriginal communities to best fulfil their human rights.

Join people with disability, disability practitioners, development workers, representatives of disabled people's organizations, community leaders, policy makers, politicians, aid donors, development contractors, academics, government and non government organisations from the Pacific, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Europe in an informed discussion of improving inclusion for persons with disability. The conference will be structured around presentation of papers, discussion, short case studies, workshop sessions on key themes and an opportunity to participate in a one-day roundtable.    

THE PROGRAM

The conference will explore: 

·         Progress in implementing disability-inclusive programs, with practical experience from the region   - capacity building, vocational training, community involvement, education, health, livelihoods, gender.

·         Best practice in implementing disability-inclusive development - how DPOs and people with disabilities are working to improve inclusion and equity.

·         Experience in addressing disability in Australian indigenous communities.

·         The economic impact of disability inclusive development.

·         Disability research needs.

·         The impact of policies, legislation and international conventions on action.

The roundtable will allow in-depth discussion on:

·         Key experiences in implementing disability-inclusive development.

·         Developing effective partnerships and networks.

·         Expanding partnerships for research, advocacy, service delivery and capacity building.

·         Measuring success and sharing information.

·         Planning for the future.

THE SPEAKERS

The conference, workshops and roundtable will include international, regional, national and community-based speakers and discussants.  They will provide a wide range of hands on experience in implementing disability-inclusive development.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Discuss, network, build capacity, learn, contribute, meet old friends and make new ones in Darwin, September 15-17, 2010.

Please email your interest in attending and any special needs you may have.  We will notify you as soon as registration is available.

Christine Walton,  ADDC, 

cwalton@cbm.org.au

Dr Pamela Thomas, Australian National University, Pamela.thomas@anu.edu.au

REGISTRATION FEES

Registration fees are:

Two-day conference

Government/Institutions/Companies              $660 per person

Individuals and members of NGOs                $550 per person

People with disabilities and students               $330 per person

Roundtable (optional)

All participants                                                 $165 per person

Conference Dinner with Ted Egan

 (Darwin Sailing Club)                                     $  75 (optional)

Inclusions: Registration fees include morning and afternoon teas, lunch, welcome reception and drinks at Parliament House, Darwin (14^th), cocktails and tour of Crocosaurus Cove (15^th); farewell drinks (16^th); cocktails after Roundtable (17^th).

Accommodation: Special accommodation rates are currently being negotiated.  There are excellent hotels with fully disability-accessible rooms.

Collaboration: The conference is organized by the ADDC and ANU in close collaboration with ACFID, NDS and the Darwin-based organisations Integrated Disability Action and Sommerville Community Services Inc.

Sandra Rhodda at Access Tourism new Zealand notes:

VisitDenmark has recognized that for people with disabilities to have successful holidays, there must be good physical accessibility to transportation, accommodation, restaurants, museums, and entertainment.  There also must be access to good reliable information about accessibility so that the people can plan holidays appropriate to them.  Therefore, VisitDenmark has, in co-operation with the Danish disability organisations and the tourism industry set up the association "Accessibility for All" with the purpose of running a new tourism labelling scheme for accessibility.

Full story:

http://www.accesstourismnz.org.nz/2010/02/denmark-access-tourism-labelling-scheme/

In 2011 a conference on Inclusive Tourism is planned for Brazil. Public announcement will not be until after the March 1-3, 2010 GPDD regional seminar on Inclusive Tourism in southern Africa. In the meantime awareness of Brazil's leadership in adapted adventure sports continues to trickle through the Portuguese/English language barrier.

While Eduardo Camara's excellent multi-author blog :Mao na Roda (Hand on the Wheel) is in Portuguese his recent post of videos on adventure sports breaks the language barrier and continues to open the eyes of traveler and travel supplier alike.

See the post SBT Repórter - Turismo de aventura

 

Patricia Ribeiro at her About.com site Brazil Travel breaks a wonderful Geotourism story in English:

The famous coral pools of Pajuçara, in Maceió, are about to become more accessible to travelers with disabilities. A wheelchair-accessible jangada - the typical sailboat of the Brazilian Northeast - is to be launched at the end of January.

Designer Jorge Luiz Silva and supporters hope to collect funds to build three more jangadas. I'll be posting the bank account as soon as I have it. Read more about the accessible jangada.

Photo courtesy of Prefeitura Municipal de Maceió

Follow the story at:

Está em fase de produção mais uma peça gráfica do Programa Aventura Segura.

O conteúdo do Manual de Orientações para Acessibilidade em Turismo de Aventura está em fase de elaboração, sendo que um dos capítulos que o compõe trará dados sobre uma pesquisa básica do consumidor deficiente ou com mobilidade reduzida. As informações para esta parte do conteúdo do manual estão sendo coletadas com base em uma pesquisa disponível no link abaixo ...

http://www.encuestafacil.com/RespWeb/Qn.aspx?EID=639021.

Participe e conte sua experiência!

O Manual de Orientações para Acessibilidade no Turismo de Aventura trará informações sobre empresas e profissionais que oferecem serviços de Ecoturismo e Turismo de Aventura referentes ao atendimento de clientes com deficiência ou com mobilidade reduzida, estimulando a implementação de recursos para a acessibilidade dessas atividades no Brasil.

 O manual servirá também como ferramenta para orientar a adaptação dos recursos e serviços das atividades de aventura, com base na Norma Técnica "ABNT NBR 15331 - Turismo de aventura - Sistema de gestão da segurança - Requisitos".

O Manual será disponibilizado na íntegra para download no site Aventura Segura (www.aventurasegura.org.br) e a versão impressa será distribuída nos principais eventos do segmento a partir deste ano.

Let's see if we can implant Universal Design thinking into the practice of those rebuilding the poorest country in the Americas. First the immediate response needs our support:


Visit Haiti Disability Disaster Response Community

Rudy has a great resource going online at Disability Resource Exchange (DRE). Read about him at Accessible Portugal magazine:

Making difference on-line
By João Durão da Silva

Social networks are truly implanted among internet users' habits today. People use them to chat, share ideas and experiences or even for marketing purposes. Disability Resource Exchange however has something more

Disability Resource Exchange (DRE) is a social network created by Rudy Sims, a 31-year-old man from Teaneck, New Jersey, who was born with cerebral palsy. You can find it at www.disabilityresourceexchange.com and its name says it all. As one may find in its home page, "Disability resource exchange is a place to discuss disability issues and exchange resources ideas and support".

For that, Rudy intends "to bring together all those interested in disability issues, both people with and without disabilities", as well as "organizations within the disability community", making this network "a place with a supportive atmosphere, where we can all learn from each other". He explains his goal: "I want the community to be a very supportive and positive place. I am trying to foster an environment that encourages understanding and knowledge exchange, even from people with very differing opinions."

From Disability New Asia:

Jan 14: Three US universities have agreed not to use Amazon's e-book reader the Kindle until it is easily usable by blind people. A fourth settled a complaint from blind people's advocacy groups by saying that it will strive to use accessible devices in future.

Though the Kindle DX reader can read out text, making it potentially useful to blind people or those with low vision, it offers no way to navigate its controls and menus that is accessible to blind users.

Full story:

http://www.disabilitynewsasia.com/html/news10jan11.html

Project goal

The main goal of the ATHENA project is the creation of conditions and tools for human resources development and employment in the accessible tourism sector in the Czech Republic.

This will be achieved by transnational cooperation with ENAT and exchange of experience and good practice with European countries.

The knowledge gained on the transnational level will be further disseminated to promote and to enhance awareness about accessible tourism among target groups in Moravian Silesian, Southern Bohemian and Hradec Králové Region and the Capital City of Prague via project partners.

Project partners:

KAZUIST, spol. s r.o., Regional Consulting and Information Centre, Třinec (project coordinator)
www.kazuist.cz

OS TRIANON civil association (NGO) , Český Těšín
www.ostrianon.cz

TRIANON - ČECHY civil association (NGO) , Vimperk
www.trianoncechy.cz

• Regions, municipalities and their organizations
• Public service authorities and appropriate organizations involved in tourism and social integration
• Non-profit organizations and employers of disabled people
• Educational institutions
• Job centres and institutions providing employment services
• Disabled people
• General public

• Exchange and sharing of experience, tools and methods in the field of education (staff training), motivation of tourist service providers, engagement of local government, accessibility standards etc.
• Comparison of information systems/databases providing information about accessible offers, destinations, events etc. 
• Publication of a brochure promoting accessible tourism and its importance.
• Creation of methodology for development of the national information system about accessible tourism.
• Motivation of people with special needs to share their travel experience and validate information about destination accessibility.  
• Organization of workshops for NGOs and employers of disabled people focused on (social) entrepreneurial and employment opportunities in the accessible tourism service chain.    
• Dissemination of project results and experience within the conference, round tables, project presentation and publicity.

• Brochure about accessible tourism
• Methodology for development of information system in accessible tourism (accessibility information standard)
• E-library (collection of European towns and regions travel guides and information systems )
• Compendium of European good practices from the field of education, staff training, accessible tourism services etc. 
• Workshop methodology

Links / Contact

Project Office
KAZUIST, spol. s r.o.
Družstevní 294, 739 61, Třinec, Czech republic
Tel: +420 558 335 479
E-mail: kazuist@kazuist.cz

Contact person:
Ms. Ilona Ostruszková
E-mail: ostruszkova@kazuist.cz

MTur lança cartilha de acessibilidade O objetivo é adequar destinos e equipamentos turísticos para turistas com deficiência ou mobilidade reduzida Para o ministro Luiz Barretto, "acessibilidade no turismo precisa ser integral".

O Ministério do Turismo (MTur) lançou nesta segunda-feira (07), durante o 2º Encontro Nacional de Segmentação, em Brasília, a cartilha "Turismo Acessível". Em quatro volumes, o manual reúne informações sobre a legislação e direitos da pessoa com deficiência e, além de normas técnicas e orientações para promoção da acessibilidade em estabelecimentos turísticos.

A cartilha é destinada a gestores públicos e iniciativa privada. O objetivo é adequar destinos, roteiros e equipamentos turísticos para turistas com deficiência ou mobilidade reduzida. Os livros são resultado de um projeto piloto desenvolvido pelo MTur em parceria com a Prefeitura Municipal de Socorro, município paulista que está sendo estruturado para se tornar destino referência no segmento de Aventura Especial.

O secretário Nacional de Políticas do Turismo, Airton Pereira, ressalta que esse é um mercado que pode e deve crescer. "São milhões de pessoas que querem viajar, tem poder aquisitivo para isso, mas não encontram produtos turísticos preparados para recebê-los", enfatizou.

De acordo com o Censo 2000, do IBGE, o Brasil possui cerca de 24,5 milhões de pessoas com algum tipo de deficiência, com rendimentos médios entre R$ 506,00 e R$ 700,00. Desse total, cerca 2,5 milhões tem carteira assinada, 2,1 são trabalhadores informais, 481 mil são funcionários públicos e outros 2,75 milhões trabalham por conta própria.

Para o ministro do Turismo, Luiz Barretto, o setor turístico é um importante meio de inclusão: "É fundamental que a gente tenha acessibilidade de forma integral. O turismo é universal, por isso estamos trabalhando com os municípios para que eles tenham acessibilidade nos atrativos turísticos. É um direito de todo brasileiro".

Assessoria de Comunicação do MTur
imprensa@turismo.gov.br
              (61) 2023 7055         (61) 2023 7055
Siga o turismo no Twitter: www.twitter.com/MTurismo

The UK has a website to orient businesses on their obligations regarding tourism and the travelers-with-disabilities market.

This ought to be common practice for all nations now that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been ratfied.

See:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/TravelHolidaysAndBreaks/TravelAndHolidaysInTheUk/DG_4019030