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Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments |
What's New at GAATES
2010 Archive
GAATES Attends the General Day of Discussion on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
On October 7th, 2010 the UN hosted a Day of General Discussion on "The Right to Accessibility" for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The purpose for the UN Day of General Discussion surrounding the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is to cultivate a deeper understanding of the contents and implications of CRPD as they relate to specific articles and topics. Representatives from governments and non-government organizations, United Nations human rights mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, several national human rights institutions as well as individual experts all took part in the discussion.
This year's Day of General Discussion provided more inclusive guidance for the States and other involved participants, in addition to their commitment to promote and protect the right to Accessibility as outlines in Article 9 and other relevant articles of the Convention.
The Day of General Discussion was broken down into three separate sessions; first primarily focused on the right to access on an equal basis to the physical environment and transportation. The second session concentrated on the access to virtual and material information and communication. The last session was the discussion of the best practices on the implementation and promotion of the Rights of Accessibility. All three sessions throughout the day were intended to cultivate the discussion and views between participants and Committee members.
GAATES took part in the Day of General Discussion and submitted a paper to the organizers to further facilitate discussion. The paper included highlights on universal design and the importance of the universal design principles in shaping all aspects of our lives from technical specifications of building codes and standards, to the construction of built elements, landscape, transportation, environment and how we utilize and implement technology.
The GAATES submission outlined five suggestions for action. The first focused on an international awareness campaign about the Convention and the population of people currently living with disabilities - which could be developed and promoted internationally. Secondly, the need to effectively monitor accessibility provisions related to building codes, standards and legislations and requirement for states parties and monitoring models developed by the Committee. The third suggestion outlined the need to generate a targeted campaign focused on the benefits of designing accessible mainstream technologies to ensure the provisions of universal accessible information and communication. The fourth, recommended a uniform benchmarking for accessibility; which should not be targeted primarily to codes and standards but rather be transparent with efficient control and tools making it easier to link assessments in the stages of planning, designing and building a facility and/or technology. GAATES recommended in their fourth suggestion that a CRPD assistance group be created to benchmark, create information campaigns and consult on a worldwide basis instead. The fifth and final suggestion in GAATES paper proposed that CRPD support the bi-annual publishing of best practices in accessibility for both the built environment and information/communication technologies.
Please follow the link for full the full document on GAATES' Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Day of General Discussion on "The Right to Accessibility" (Microsoft Word format ~ 750KB).
Each year the committee holds a Day of General Discussion, refer to UN - Office of the High Commission for Human Rights for more information on how you can register and participate.
GAATES Award of Recognition to Mr. Tom Rickert
From left, Bob Topping, Betty Dion, Tom Rickert and Mukhtar Shibani at TRANSED
A GAATES Award of Recognition was presented to Mr. Tom Rickert, in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the field of accessible transportation. He has demonstrated great leadership, perseverance, and determination in the development of accessible transportation procurement, design and training and have impacted many thousand if not millions of lives of people with disabilities around the world.
The award was presented on June 11, 2010 in conjunction with the TRANSED conference in Hong Long, in celebration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Tom Rickert is the founder and Executive Director of Access Exchange International (AEI), an NGO with twenty years of experience in promoting accessible public transit for persons with disabilities and seniors in less-wealthy countries around the world. Prior to founding AEI, he was Manager of Accessible Services for San Francisco's bus and light rail systems as well as coordinator of San Francisco's door-to-door van and taxi services for disabled passengers. He has provided workshops and presentations in twenty-five countries and has carried out accessible transport projects sponsored by the UK's Department for International Development and USAID. He serves as a consultant to the World Bank responsible for compilation of its Bus Rapid Transit Accessibility Guidelines and Transit Access Training Toolkit. Rickert is a member of the Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility of the USA's Transportation Research Board and is Co-chair of its International Subcommittee.
GAATES places in TOP 16
GAATES was one of the Top 16 Finalists for the 2010 Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa UN-Habitat Award, based on the publication International Best Practices in Universal Design: A Global Review.
UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki Moon presenting the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour to HH Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman AI Khalifa
The Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman AI Khalifa Habitat Award was established jointly with UN-HABITAT, in order to promote the ideals and principles of good governance in the context of housing and urban development with a focus on equity. The Award is conferred biennially on the occasion of the World Urban Forum, a global meeting convened by UN-HABITAT on behalf of the United Nations General Assembly.
The purpose of the Award is to a) Recognize outstanding efforts by individuals, organizations and institutions in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and the attainment of human settlements related Millennium Development Goals; and to b) Promote international and South-South cooperation through the exchange and transfer of lessons learned from experience.
GAATES is extremely pleased and excited to announce that this illustrious publication that has been distributed to over 5000 people worldwide compares accessibility codes and standards from around the world and is available in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Serbian and the alternate DAISY format.
For further information on the 2010 Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa UN-Habitat Award, please follow the link.
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