[Fwd: IL Newsletter 1/2000]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: IL Newsletter 1/2000
Resent-Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2000 08:56:01 +0100
Resent-From: il@lists.canit.se
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2000 08:42:52 +0100
From: "K. Walmsley" <k.walmsley@swipnet.se>
To: Institute on Independent Living members <il@lists.canit.se>

INSTITUTE ON INDEPENDENT LIVING NEWSLETTER 1/2000
==================================================

Universal Design for Human Rights, Diversity, Enrichment and
Independent
Living
---------------------------------------------

Contents
    Editorial
    This month¹s columnist
    New in the Library
    Other Universal Design resources
    Upcoming events
    Introducing the Institute's new web-editor
    Other services offered by the Institute
    Subscribe/unsubscribe info
    

Editorial

Access to the built environment, to information, culture and to all
aspects
of our communities is a basic human right. Access allows us to
contribute to
society's diversity. Access enriches everyone.

The best way of ensuring access is through Universal Design, that is,
planning, building and maintaining our environment for the needs of
all
citizens, thus making them feel welcome as integral parts of the whole
and
encouraging them to participate in all of society on equal terms.

Universal Design minimizes the dependency of people with disability on
others - a dependency that is not inherent in the nature of their
disability
but imposed on them by the cumulative countless actions and omissions
of
generations of policymakers, planners, builders and designers.
Universal
Design is a prerequisite for Independent Living, for living in the
community
with equal opportunities, self-determination and self-respect.

The Institute on Independent Living is committed to compiling a
collection
of key documents on Universal Design as part of its full-text online
library. Below, we draw your attention to resources which you might
find
useful in your work.  But we also need to ask you for your help.
Please,
assist us with your expertise in this area and tell us which documents
would
improve the usefulness of our collection.

Adolf D. Ratzka, Ph.D.
Director, Institute on Independent Living

[note: long URLs may have to be copied and pasted into your browser's
address (location) bar.]


**************************************************
This Month's Columnist
http://www.independentliving.org/column
**************************************************

Regular visitors to the website will have noticed our latest feature:
a
monthly columnist.  We will present a number of internationally
renowned
leaders in the disability movement, who will write engaging articles
for the
Institute.  Karen Stone introduced this feature and the millennium
with her
retrospective of the past century from a disability perspective
(http://www.independentliving.org/column/stone1_99.html)

Steven E. Brown follows our theme of universal design with his
article, What
Happened To Architectural Accessibility?
(http://www.independentliving.org/column/brown1_00.html)

All columns will be archived at:
http://www.independentliving.org/column


**************************************************
Independent Living Virtual Library - Universal Design
http://www.independentliving.org/Library/Library_Contents1.html
**************************************************

Under the sub-heading "Universal Design" in our on-line Library,
you'll find
hundreds of texts on Accessibility Resources, Country Profiles,
Economics of
Access, Guidelines, Housing, Legislation, and Transportation.

Here are just a few titles:

Mobility for All
http://www.independentliving.org/Mobility/index.html
While access for people with disabilities is poor in most
industrialized
countries, it is even worse in developing contries. This publication
presents simple and cost-effective design solutions for our public
transport and access needs around the world: busses, cabs, bus stops,
streets and pathways including a list of organizations and resources
for
accessible transportation.
The Institute is proud to be the only website granted permission to
re-print
this publication.  The Spanish translation is forthcoming.

Toolbox: A guide for making a disability program in your local
community
http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/advocacy/konkkol1.html
In many parts of the world laws and regulations have been drafted to
improve
the life of disabled people. However, in all societies the situation
of
disabled people is still worse than that of non-disabled people.  The
Toolbox assists you in identifying your community's shortcomings and
in
advocating for change using international documents, political support
and
the strength that comes from organizing
the disability community.  Translations in Russian, Slovakian and
Swedish
are forthcoming.

Do "assistive devices" really assist disabled people?
http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/AssistiveDev.html
Assistive devices are to ensure that people with disabilities are
active in
society. But what prevents them from assisting disabled people to be
independent?  This article discusses: availability, appropriateness,
affordability, and maintenance.

A basic guide to the EU bus and coach directive
http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/eubus.html
On March 7th the European Union member states will meet to discuss the
technical details of the forthcoming buses directive.  While the
article
provides background on the current battle for accessible buses and
coaches
in Europe, the arguments of the disability lobby can be of interest to
groups
and agencies also outside of Europe.

United Nations Standard Rules: Accessibility
http://www.independentliving.org/STANDARDRULES/StandardRules2.html#anchor137
0198
Although the United Nations Standard Rules imply no legally binding
responsibility, it has become an important instrument in the hands of
the
disability community to demand full access as a human right.  Read
Rule
number 5 on Accessibility as a target area for equal participation.

Portuguese Parliament promotes Web Accessibility
http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/portweb.html
Portugal became the fourth country in the world to officially promote
web
accessibility for people with disabilities, after the United States,
Australia and Canada. These measures are included in the
implementation plan
for the National Initiative for Citizens with Special Needs in the
Information Society.

For more information about web accessibility, visit the World Wide Web
- Web
Accessibility Initiative (W3C-WAI) at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/

We publish texts about your organization, its mission and activities,
achievements, needs and plans in our full-text virtual Library. To
have
something published on our site, free of charge, contact
http://www.independentliving.org/Publish.html


**************************************************
Other Universal Design resources
**************************************************
Disabled People's Direct Action Network (DAN)
http://www.independentliving.org/LibArt/transnews.html#anchorDAN2
For those who do not want to leave it up to the government to bring
about
change. To learn how to forcefully and effectively bring about changes
in
your community, visit DAN
(http://www.disabilitynet.co.uk/groups/dan/).

Global Universal Design Educator Online News
Elaine Ostroff, Adaptive Environments Center, Boston, USA, produces
this
informative monthly on-line magazine. Previous issues are available
online
at the Adaptive Environments website at
http://www.adaptenv.org in the Universal Design section.


**************************************************
Conferences related to Universal Design
**************************************************
Designing for the 21st Century II
This International Conference on Universal Design will be in
Providence,
Rhode Island (USA), June 14-18, 2000
The conference highlights practice, education and research in the
universal
design of places, information and products, featuring worldwide
leaders from
18 countries. Speakers include: Chairman William Kennard of the
Federal
Communications Commission, U.S.A.; Roger Coleman, DesignAge/Royal
College of
Art, UK; Natascha Drabbe, Cultural Connections, Netherlands; William
H.
Hudnut, III, The Urban Land Institute, USA.; Satoshi Kose, Ministry of
Construction, Japan; Patricia Moore, Guynes Design, USA.; Bruce
Nussbaum,
Design Editor, Business Week, USA.; Adolf Ratzka, Institute for
Independent
Living, Sweden; Jim Sandhu, University of Northumbria, UK; Leslie
Weisman,
New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA.
Sponsored by the Adaptive Environments Center in collaboration with
leading
national and international organizations.
Contact: Elaine Ostroff elaineos@ici.net, Adaptive Environments Center
--------------------------------------

UKIID 2000 Inclusive Design
United Kingdom Institute for Inclusive Design announces their
conference
beginning on Friday, June 2nd with workshops taking place in the
afternoon
of June 3rd. On Sunday, June 4th, delegates will tour practical
examples, in
and around London, to see how inclusive design is making facilities
accessible.
UKIID is part of the European Institute for Design and Disability
(EIDD)
network that includes 14 countries. Details available from Liz Irwin
AT:
e.irwin@gsa.ac.uk, Glasgow School of Art 167 Renfrew Street Glasgow 3
6RQ or
Tel 0141 353 4645.
--------------------------------------

World Congress - Inclusion by Design - Planning the Barrier-Free World
Hosted by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work from June
1-5,
2001 in Montréal (Québec, Canada).
There are three major themes:
1.    Inclusive Employment;
2.    Inclusive Communities;
3.    Universal Access.

They are inviting all interested people to participate in this unique
event
by either presenting your work and contribution in support of
inclusive
employment, inclusive communities & universal access or attending the
Congress to listen to others and develop future policies.
Visit their website at: http://www.ccrw.org
Abstracts must be received by April 7, 2000.
Email Karina Toupin at ktoupin@ccrw.org


**************************************************
Introducing the Institute's new web-editor
**************************************************
As the Institute on Independent Living expands its range of on-line
services, and the volume of texts and documentation in the Library, we
are
happy to announce that we are also increasing our staff to include
Marc
Krizack as web-editor.

Marc lives in Berkeley, California USA, where he has been actively
involved
with the disability community in a variety of roles. Since 1983, he
has
collaborated with wheelchair designer Ralf Hotchkiss on a number of
international wheelchair projects.

Marc has worked closely with the disability community in Novosibirsk,
Russia, leading to the country¹s first CIL.  He also recently
co-founded a
new non-profit organization, The Disability Policy and Planning
Institute
(DPPI).  

Krizack is the webmaster for Whirlwind Wheelchair International
(http://whirlwind.sfsu.edu) and is the technology reporter for a new
disability webzine, DisabilityWorld (http://www.disabilityworld.org).


**************************************************
Books on Universal Design
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=independentliv05&keywo
rd=universal+design&mode=books
**************************************************
Through our new affiliate, Amazon.com, the Institute's Bookstore
offers a
selection of books directly related to Universal Design.

If you've recently read a book you think is relevant to the Institute
and
would like to offer a short review, please contact our web-editor.


**************************************************
The previous newsletter
-----------------------------
Our previous newsletter on Personal Assistance is archived at:
http://www.independentliving.org/newsletter/4_99.html


Coming issues of the newsletter
--------------------------------------
In our next newsletter we take up the theme of Advocacy. Send your
articles,
references to useful source of information, reviews, etc. to
ratzka@independentliving.org


**************************************************
Don't forget to visit our other on-line services
**************************************************

Discussion Forums
http://www.independentliving.org/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/indliv/forum/bbs_entrance.c
gi

Current threads under the Access/Universal Design Forum are:

- looking for suggestions of books, articles, or interior design
ideas,
relating to Cognitive Disability.
- invitation to join the accessibuilt mailing list hosted by mailbase
and
run by the SURFACE research team at Salford university.
- help needed working on a project to build a Universal Design
apartment
complex in Tokyo, Japan..

Themes range from human rights,  personal assistance, sexuality &
family,
universal design and a couple of dozens more issues. Regardless of
your
interests, you'll find a forum that allows you direct contact with the
thousands of visitors to our site each month.

Accessible Vacation Home Exchange
http://www.independentliving.org/VacationHomeSwap.html
Swap your home during your next vacation with somebody in such
destinations
as France, Egypt, the UK or Canada. We have over 100 attractive offers
waiting for you! Our base of participants lists the accessibility
features
of
their homes and dates they wish to travel.


Assistant Referral Service
http://www.independentliving.org/assex/index.html
Many persons with extensive disabilities use employed workers for such
daily
tasks as getting bathed and dressed, shopping, driving their car or
anything
else which they cannot do by themselves.

Our ambition with the Assistant Referral Service is to match
assistance
users and assistants in their hometown, within their country or in
other
parts of the world.


Global Networking
http://www.independentliving.org/donet/index.html
Global Networking now has over 240 organizations from around the world
offering information about themselves, their mission and activities
for the
purpose of finding partner organizations for joint projects, events,
sharing
resource persons for lectures, training or technical assistance, for
study
visits, internships or other cooperation including funding.  Add your
organization now.


Get published
http://www.independentliving.org/Publish.html
Expose your articles, reports, training manuals or other resources to
disabled people, researchers, service providers, government officials
and
policymakers all over the world. The site has currently an average of
4300
unique visitors a week.

==================================================
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--------------------------------------
© 2000 Institute on Independent Living
http://www.independentliving.org

Dr. Adolf Ratzka, Director
ratzka@independentliving.org

Terry Skehan, Administrator
skehan@algonet.se

Marc Krizack, Web-editor
krizack@sfsu.edu

Kris Walmsley, Webmaster
k.walmsley@swipnet.se

Received on Tuesday, 7 March 2000 08:39:30 UTC