Disaboom srains Blog

Conference on Tourism, Disability, and Development

srains — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:32:00 GMT

I am leading a World Bank-funded conference in Maputo, Mozambique March 1-3, 2010 on tourism as a means of national development benefiting people with disabilities. Below is a description:

The Global Partnership for Disability and Development (GPDD) is organizing a Regional Seminar on Accessibility of the Environment, Universal Design, Tourism and Development in support of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The meeting will be held in Maputo as part of the Learning and Capacity Building and Dissemination Events of the GPDD Demonstration Project in Mozambique, “Including People with Disabilities in Poverty Reduction and Social and Economic Growth and Development Strategies” The Seminar will take place in late February 2010. The report of the meeting will be widely distributed and will serve as a significant contribution to the implementation process of the CRPD.

Seminar Themes

The three-day seminar will include expert presentations and discussions on different thematic areas as listed below.

A. Disability Inclusive Tourism as a tool to promote development: This section will focus on the benefits of inclusive tourism in boosting poverty reduction and development efforts. Presentations and discussions will focus on the barriers and facilitators to inclusive tourism in the region, and practical strategies to mainstream disability in all tourism efforts.

B. Accessibility of the built-environment: The seminar will explore the key concepts of providing barrier-free physical environments. It will include discussions on their costs and benefits to people with disabilities, governments, businesses and society in general, social and cultural dimensions of accessibility, training personnel involved in construction, and the key elements needed to ensure accessibility in tourism.

C. Universal design: The principles of Universal Design (UD) will be presented, along with the benefits of using universal design to ensure tourism access for all individuals. Experts will also discuss whether UD environments will be inherently accessible or how construction efforts can combine UD principles with current best practices in accessible designs.

D. Legislation, policies, and standards: This section will discuss both national and international mandates for environmental accessibility (including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)), national policies to ensure accessibility of the built environment, and strategies for implementation. The seminar will also look at the existence or lack of international, regional, and national standards for environmental accessibility, especially as it pertains to the different areas involved in tourism.

E. Monitoring and evaluation: Experts will discuss strategies and methods to strengthen evaluation and monitoring of environmental accessibility legislation, policies, and standards by governments as well as Disabled People’s Organizations and Civil Society Organizations.

F. Experiences from different countries and case study: Experts from countries in Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe), Asia, South America (Brazil), and the United States will be invited to share their professional experiences. Mozambique will be taken as case study to highlight opportunities and challenges for environmental accessibility and inclusive tourism and engage in a discussion to identify the most promising practices and strategies to ensure accessibility and inclusive tourism within the African region.

In preparation for the seminar, the GPDD will conduct a brief survey with participants to gather information on good practices, field experiences, and relevant case studies that may be used to generate seminar dissemination materials.

Contribute Your Story to the UN

srains — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:50:00 GMT

UNESCAP is currently working on an accessibility handbook that will be used to raise awareness and for capacity building on accessibility. We would like to include true stories of the experiences persons with disabilities face in trying to gain access to public services including physical infrastructures, transportation and information, communication and technology. These stories will be used to illustrate the difficulty many people have with accessing public services and the need for universal design allowing everyone to enjoy the same services.

      We are looking for specific instances where persons with disabilities have faced barriers in gaining access to public services. For example, we know of one man who was denied access to board a plane because he was blind and traveling alone. We would like to use these stories to educate policy makers on the reality of the situation of persons with disabilities so that they understand the importance and impact of universally designed systems.

      We ask that you submit your experiences in English and limit your words to one page. Unfortunately, we will not be able to include all submissions in the manual. We will inform you if your submission is selected. We hope to publish the handbook sometime in the next year,2010. In the handbook, we will acknowledge the people whose submission we include.

      Please send your submissions to Mr. Jonathan Foret at jv4a@yahoo.com Include your full name and country in your email. The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2009.

Thrown From the Holiday Train

srains — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:49:00 GMT

Enjoy this wonderful testimony to the power of compassion-infused imagination on the part of a single member of the Disability Community - Oregonian Arwen Bird - as she reflects on the core value of our community -- interdependence.

WheelchairTraveling.com by Ashley Lyn Olson

srains — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:16:00 GMT

Ashley Lyn Olson is a new name in the area of Inclusive Tourism but she is positioning herself to make a big impact. Check out her site WheelchairTraveling.com and welcome her to the community promoting inclusion in travel!

From her press release:

WheelchairTraveling.com gives travel tips and information from the unique perspective of someone in a wheelchair, with the goal of making travel accessible to other wheelchair users, and creating a vibrant online community where wheelchair travelers can share tips and ideas. This groundbreaking site is now expanding to include international destinations.

With reviews for more than 20 wheelchair-friendly destinations within the U.S., WheelchairTraveling.com is excited to announce its first international destination - Berlin, Germany. Germany's largest and capital city, Berlin is a fascinating metropolis where the scars of a tumultuous history still show through its energetic modern facelift.

Berlin's wealth of cultural treasures has something to interest most everyone, and is largely accessible to the wheelchair traveler. Its excellent and easy-to-use public transportation system makes it easy to reach the city's highlights. For history buffs, highlights include the iconic Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, and Checkpoint Charlie. Art lovers will delight in the 153 museums of Berlin, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Museum Island, a "district dedicated to art and antiquities." For those looking to partake in Berlin's famed nightlife, the rumors are true, but your best bet is to consult a local magazine, or better yet a local person, because the scene changes so rapidly, any tips given here will be "so last week."

Wheelchair friendly sites visited and reviewed include the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Aus der Sammlung Berggruen art museum, the Bundestag Allemand, the Berliner Dom protestant church, the world famous Berlin Zoo, and of course, the Berlin Wall.

For accessible lodging, the Domicil Hotel stood out as exceptionally wheelchair friendly, complete with a roll-in shower with a hand-held nozzle. Located near the local train station and the S Bahn and U Bahn metro lines (at the Zoological Gardens stop), it provided convenient access to Berlin's wonderful public transportation. The great customer service and delicious complimentary German breakfast didn't hurt either.

WheelchairTraveling.com Founder, Ashley Olson, says the site, "plans to continue to expand its international destination reviews, increasing the number of destinations that wheelchair travelers can feel confident in exploring."

Contact Info:

Ashley Lyn Olson
wheelchairtravleing@yahoo.com
318 South Overlook Drive
San Ramon, CA 94582

Phone: 925-872-4265

Website: http://www.wheelchairtraveling.com

Contribute to Improving Travel for People with Disabilities: University of Surrey Survey

srains — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:22:00 GMT

I share the following with those who would like to participate:

Dear Mr Scott Rains,

We are writing to request your assistance with regards to a research carried out and funded by the University of Surrey, UK, regarding on-line accessible destination information. The purpose of the study is to investigate the type of information people with disabilities expect to find on-line, and how this information should be presented.

We would kindly request to forward the survey link .

The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and the responses will be treated in strictest confidence. The study has been reviewed and was given a favourable ethical opinion by the University of Surrey Ethics Committee.

We hope that you are willing and able to cooperate and to express our gratitude we will be happy to send you a report of the findings at the end of the project. We would be more than happy to provide any additional information.

Kind Regards,

Elina Michopoulou

SURVEY LINK: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=A_2bCBBXr4OHAvQ9mR5dBybA_3d_3d

Elina Michopoulou PhD Candidate University of Surrey School of Management, GU27XH

E-mail: Eleni.Michopoulou@surrey.ac.uk

Dr. Graham Miller Senior Lecturer in Management University of Surrey School of Management, GU27XH E-mail: G.Miller@surrey.ac.uk

What We Always Suspected When Our Wheelchairs Came Back Broken

srains — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:20:00 GMT

How many times have you been sure this happens! (Even before your wheelchair came back broken!)

Titled United Breaks Guitars, the country-flavored ditty features actors posing as baggage handlers indiscriminately flinging guitar cases around an airport tarmac while Carroll strums his broken guitar. Two more songs and videos are planned.

Let's hope one of them is about gold medal-winning Paralympist Christine Wolf's prosthetic legs. Or maybe Katrina Segundo-Casino's non-trip.

Dave, we have enough material for an entire album.

Want to do a song on Rajiv Rajan, Rami Rabby, Sminu Jindal, Adele Price, Lori Mango, or Margaret Quirk? Here are a few more sources of lyrics for the air travel blues.

We can even have it interpreted into American Sign Language for you:

Read the full story behind the song here on Nova Scotia-based musician Dave Carroll's web site. For guitars or adaptive equipment follow Bob Taylor's wise advice - know your rights and carry a printed copy of the policy with you when you travel.

News on Signing of the CRPD at the UN July 31

srains — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:41:00 GMT

William & Mary Law Professor Michael A. Stein, an expert on domestic and international disability law, was on hand at the White House on July 24 for the Obama administration's announcement that the United States will sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) later this month. Stein, who also serves as Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, was among the few American members of the Ad Hoc Committee that drafted and negotiated the treaty, which was adopted by the U.N. in 2006 and has been signed by 139 nations and ratified by 58. Stein will attend the signing at the U.N. on July 31.

The CRPD guarantees and protects the rights of the approximately 650 million people with disabilities worldwide.

Stein said that while the U.S. led the way internationally in disability rights, as evidenced by the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Bush administration had been "disengaged" with the development and adoption of the treaty.

In an on-line commentary, published July 9 in "Foreign Policy in Focus", Stein and his co-author Janet E. Lord argue that the signing of the treaty and its submission to the Senate for ratification provide the current administration an opportunity for "reaffirming the commitment of the United States rejoining the global community generally, and to continuing American leadership in the area of disability law and policy."

Stein has provided counsel to international lawmakers on disability law and policies and has worked on implementing the CRPD in a number of countries. In addition, he serves as a legal counsel to several organizations, among them Rehabilitation International and Special Olympics. His numerous articles have been published in leading law journals and he is a co-author of a book about the treaty, which will be published by Cambridge University Press. Stein joined the William & Mary faculty in 2000 and also has taught at Harvard, New York University and Stanford law schools.

Making Tough Wheelchairs in the Third World

srains — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:31:00 GMT

Dear Colleagues,

The U.N. Standard for the Equalization of opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the World Health Assembly Resolution WHA58.23 all point to the importance of wheelchairs and other assistive devices for those in need in the developing world. In light of the realities of the developing world, however, few of those who need wheelchairs have one and many who do have one have an inappropriate one; insufficient production facilities exist, and too often wheelchairs are donated without necessary related services.

Since 1980, Whirlwind Wheelchair International has been designing good wheelchairs for active use in rough urban and rural areas in developing countries. These chairs are built in the countries themselves with local materials, and training is provided to local people in the manufacture and maintenance of the chairs, thus creating both business and employment opportunities in the community. Whirlwind Wheelchair International was a key contributor to the recently published WHO guidelines on the provision of manual wheelchairs in less resourced settings to assist WHO member states in creating and developing a local wheelchair provision system, thereby implementing Article 4, 20, and 26 of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD).

Whirlwind currently has franchise establishments in Vietnam, South Africa and Mexico and is now building certified âRoughRidersâ¢â in those countries. Turkey, the Philippines, and India should be certified by the end of 2009. Brazil is in the works, as well. A manufacturer that is part of the franchise network is entitled to the following:

Â· Rough Rider design

Â· 2D and 3D SolidWorks drawings

Â· Jig and fixtures

Â· Technology transfer and training

Â· Facility development

Â· Remote quality control

Â· Formal quality certification

Â· Free design updates

Â· Right of first refusal on new designs

Â· Marketing assistance and wheelchair orders generated by Whirlwind

Another important part of Whirlwindâs ongoing efforts is the development of training materials and support for local infrastructures to ensure that each person in need gets the most appropriate and well-fitted chair. For more information on how to qualify to become a Whirlwind francisee or to purchase RoughRider wheelchairs, please contact Marc Krizack, Executive Director, by email at marc@whirlwindwheelchair.org

Tapan Banerjee,Ph.D.
Senior Advisor to Whirlwind Wheelchair International
Phone: 703-981-3478 Fax: 703-847-1327

Email: tapan@whirlwindwheelchair.org

Tapan Banerjee,Ph.D.
Senior Advisor
Whirlwind Wheelchair International
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue, SCI 251
San Francisco, CA 94132
Phone: 703-981-3478
Fax: 703-847-1327
Whirlwind Phone: 415-338-6277
E-mail:tapan@whirlwindwheelchair.org
Web: www.whirlwindwheelchair.org

Obama to Sign CRPD and Solidify Disability Rights

srains — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:19:00 GMT

Although the official White House press release is not in circulation yet President Obama plans to sign the CRPD making our rights to travel under Article 30 explicit and thus educating the US travel industry. ...(read more)

It's Green - but Can I Use it?: Travel & Disability

srains — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:34:00 GMT

To date I have held off applying to this year's Geotourism Challenge because the sponsors (Ashoka Foundation and National Geographic) have asked me to serve as a Featured Commentator.

The following is a set of questions I have prepared for the applicants to help them create travel products that serve our community. The application process is still open. Consider nominating projects that you think are both environmentally sustainble and inclusive. Feel free to suggest questions for applicants to me in addition to the following:

Questions for Geotourism 2009 Nominees

An estimated 10% of those traveling at any point in time have a disability. Many more of those disabilities affect sight and hearing than is apparent with the easily identified wheelchair or cane user. Many disabilities are virtually invisible to the observer - yet they profoundly impact the travel behavior of those who experience them.
To be considered ecologically sustainable a project must be socially sustainable. That is, it must be realistic in accounting for the human needs and cultural variation among those it impacts. The following questions are meant to stimulate your thinking about how successful you have been in accommodating the diversity of capacities of travelers to make an earth-sensitive project open to all.

•   Do you provide information in various formats so that it can be independently accessed by users who may or may not be sighted, hearing, English-speaking, literate?

•   Do you follow best online practices in Universal Design such as W3C WAI or Section 508 (a US web accessibility law) standards?

•   Does the information you provide include the sort of information that is essential for someone who, for example, uses a wheelchair, travels with a companion animal, or is short of stature? If not, has that information been collected and made readily accessible for when a traveler requests it from you?

•   Does your knowledge of place and local culture include explicit knowledge of the local cultures of disability ( i.e Local sign language dialects, crafts or professional niches traditionally held by persons with disabilities, historical figures of note who had disabilities?)

•   Does the marketing material you provide portray people with disabilities respectfully? (Does it portray them at all?)

•   Have you made an attempt to employ persons with disabilities? To seek them out as consultants in product development, marketing, and evaluation? Employ them on an ongoing basis?

•   If you provide a service to someone without a disability have you designed that service so that it is accessible to all or created an alternate system to accomplish an equivalent result?

•   If such service requires additional or modified equipment have you attempted to limit the environmental impact of the accommodation (i.e Does your wheelchair lift-equipped vehicle operate on biodiesel?)

•   Are you aware that the Responsible Tourism Movement specifies accessibility for all as central to its definition of responsible tourism?

Readings on the Responsible Tourism Movement:
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002134.html

• Did you know that participation in sports, leisure activities, and tourism is a right guaranteed in the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD; see Article 30)? Do you know if the country or countries you operate in are signatories of the CRPD or have similar national legislation and what your legal obligations are under each?

Readings on CRPD Article 30:
http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Scott-Rains/tourism-in-the-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-crpd.html
http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Scott-Rains/tag/crpd

• If your project involves access to the water have you familiarized yourself with the Waypoint/Backstrom Principles on accessibility of maritime environments?

Readings on the Waypoint/Backstrom Principles:
http://www.waypointcharter.com/Waypoint-BackstromPrinciples-Sept2008.htm

•   Have you reviewed your program using the seven principles of Universal Design
(http://www.adaptiveenvironments.org/index.php?option=Content&Itemid=25):

   1.      Equitable Use: The design does not disadvantage or stigmatize any group of users.
   2.      Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
   3.      Simple, Intuitive Use: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
   4.      Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.
   5.      Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
   6.      Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue.
   7.      Size and Space for Approach & Use: Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility.

Spain's 2016 Paralympics Makes a Promise

srains — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:23:00 GMT

At the Rolling Rains Report I keep up a drumbeat for the application of Universal Design in tourism (Inclusive Tourism and Inclusive Destination Development.) The Spanish 2016 Paralympic Committee is promising extraordinary levels of design integration -- a "best practices" village for all the world to see and emulate.

But we know from experience around the world - as well as documentation in Simon Darcy's groundbreaking work in Benchmark Games - that careful monitoring at every stage is essential.

If these are to be the "game changer" Paralympics that will set the benchmark for inclusion then why not make its legacy be training of a new generation in sports management?

Could the Spanish 2016 Paralympics successfully include a cadre of students, professionals, and stakeholders who intimately observe (and critique) every step of the process? Understudies? Apprentices? Service Learning?

Let's begin recruiting stakeholders from the disability community who have distinguished themselves through work on the Beijing Games, Vancouver & London, South Africa and Brazil's FIFA games, India's Commonealth Games.

Let's see to it that Spain's quest to raise the bar allocates the financial resources to document, from today going forward, what it takes to make real the vision. I for one would not mind showing off their success on my coffee table with a celebratory "Benchmark Games II." In the meantime, sign me up to lead the Game's Service Learning Corps!

From GamesBids.com:

Miguel Carballeda, President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE), told the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Evaluation Commission that with Madrid hosting the 2016 Games "we would be able to celebrate the greatest Paralympic Games ever". He also outlined how Madrid was projecting the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a unique 60-day event, beginning with the day the Olympic Village opens and ending the day it closes.

According to the presentation, the Paralympic Games project would use a transversal concept in design and build. The installations, accommodation and transport have been designed for mass use and enjoyment - including spectators and athletes, those with and without disabilities alike - to bring life to the slogan "the Games with the Human Touch".
The "design for all" concept has been worked up by the CPE in association with Madrid 2016 to ensure complete integration into the whole bid and alongside the Madrid 2016 Foundation.
Source:
http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/olympic_bids/madrid_2016/1216134350.html

Travel as Rehab -- Talking to Doctors about Getting Real After SCI

srains — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:27:00 GMT

The wisecracks have already begun, "You mean I can ask my doctor to prescribe me a vacation?"

Sure, why not?

Dr Scott Rains will speak at Neurology in the Third Millennium: From Disability to Social Reinsertion held by the Carlo Besta Neurology Institute in Milan. His presentation Inclusive Tourism – Participant/Observer Notes on the Global Paradigm Shift Toward Solutions on April 17 will be followed by his participation in the Round Table on Policy and Travelers' Experience on April 18.

From the press release:

The continued increase in longevity and greater chronicization of many illnesses in the third millennium is being accompanied by increasing numbers of disabled persons. Disability as a result of neurological illness forms a distinct and substantial part of disability that is characterized by high social costs and heavy impact on quality of life.

Although considerable improvements in medicine and surgery – including the development of technologically advanced treatments, will occur, they are expected to have a limited impact on global indicators of disability in the near future. Conversely, rehabilitation interventions are expected to make a much more substantial contribution to alleviating disability in the coming years. But in order to have a maximal effect on quality of life, rehabilitation must go beyond traditional interventions and expand into leisure-time activities. And in this context accessible tourism can make an important contribution.

This congress starts from socio-economic and health considerations to explore the vast perspectives and possibilities now opening up in the area of leisure time rehabilitation for those disabled as a result of neurological disease.

Also attending from the USA are Dr Shu Cole author of ongoing research on the impact of travel on the quality of life of those with mobility impairments and Ms Sherri Backstrom Director of Waypoint Yacht Charter Services and expert on accessible boating.

Following the congress Backstrom and Rains will inspect accessible venues and activities starting with the wheelchair accessible sailboat lo Spritio di Stella ((web site in Italian).

A travelogue covering the conference and destination discovery tour will be posted in the Travelogue section of RollingRains.com - http://www.rollingrains.com/travelogues/

Press Release: Settlement in Case on Accessible Hotel Booking Online

srains — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:32:00 GMT

SETTLEMENT REACHED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO HOTELS.COM AND EXPEDIA RESERVATION SERVICES FOR DISABLED TRAVELERS

OAKLAND, Calif. – Under a settlement announced today, Hotels.com and Expedia.com, two of the world’s leading online travel companies, have agreed to add features to their online travel reservation systems so that millions of travelers with disabilities can use their online services to search for and reserve hotel rooms that have the accommodations they need.

Plaintiffs in the California lawsuit Smith v. Hotels.com L.P. were represented by the public interest law firms of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Public Justice, and a leading class action law firm in Mill Valley, Calif., Chavez & Gertler LLP.

As part of the settlement, Hotels.com and Expedia.com will gather information about hotels’ accessibility features, and will then incorporate that information into their websites so that travelers can both search for hotels with rooms that offer the particular accommodations they need, and make special requests online to book those accessible rooms. Each special request will be given individual attention by a trained customer service representative, who will work with the customer to accommodate his or her needs. These new features will be rolled out later this year.

“For years, travelers with disabilities have been unable to take advantage of the convenience and low cost options of booking hotel rooms online,” said plaintiff Bonnie Lewkowicz. “Now, for the first time, I will be able to reserve a hotel room online that meets my needs, just like anyone else.”

Lewkowicz and co-plaintiff Judith Smith are members of AXIS Dance Company, a not-for-profit company of professional dancers with and without disabilities based in Oakland, Calif. Ms. Smith and Ms. Lewkowicz both rely on wheelchairs for mobility.

“By adding website features to meet the needs of disabled consumers, Hotels.com and Expedia are showing that they are true leaders in the hospitality industry” added Victoria Ni , a staff attorney at Public Justice, a public interest law firm specializing in cutting-edge litigation nationwide. “We hope and believe that other online travel agencies will follow their lead.”

In 2006, American online consumer travel sales generated $79 billion. For American travelers, the Internet is an indispensable resource for planning trips and booking lodgings and transportation.

Adults with disabilities spend over $10 billion annually on travel, and almost half of them consult the Internet to support their travel needs.

Wheelchair users need wide doorways and grab bars and accessible bathrooms. People with visual or hearing impairments also need accessible features, such as Braille signage or a text telephone.

“This settlement ushers in a new era in the online travel industry. A wheelchair user who reserves a hotel room online will no longer have to worry that she or he literally might not be able to enter the room after they arrive,” said Kevin Knestrick, an attorney with DRA, a non-profit law center based in Berkeley, Calif., that specializes in high-impact lawsuits on behalf of people with disabilities.

No damages were sought in the case, which was filed in the California Superior Court for Alameda County.

For more information about the lawsuit and settlement, please go to Public Justice's website, at www.publicjustice.net, or to DRA's website, at www.dralegal.org.

###

Public Justice is America’s public interest law firm, supported by – and calling on -- a nationwide network of more than 3,000 of the nation’s top lawyers to pursue precedent-setting and socially significant litigation. It has a wide-ranging litigation docket in the areas of consumer rights, worker safety, civil rights and liberties, toxic torts, environmental protection, and access to the courts. Public Justice is the principal project of the Public Justice Foundation, a not-for-profit membership organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with a West Coast office in Oakland, California. The Public Justice web site address is www.publicjustice.net.

Disability Rights Advocates is a non-profit law firm based in Berkeley, California, whose mission is to protect and advance the civil rights of people with disabilities through high-impact litigation, advocacy and education. Disability Rights Advocates is a national leader in protecting the rights of people with all types of disabilities, including mobility, sensory, mental health and learning disabilities.

Accessible Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities

srains — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:10:00 GMT

The Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) has recently produced a new publication Accessible Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities.

This is a FREE resource available here: http://www.crctourism.com.au/BookShop/BookDetail.aspx?d=632

From the book:

“American adults with disabilities or reduced mobility currently spend an average of $13.6 billion a year on travel. Creating accessible cruise ships, accessible ship terminals, accessible ground transportation, and accessible tourism destinations is not charity. It is just good business.”

Dr Scott Rains, a US expert on disability issues

This publication provides an easy-to-read summary of four key research pieces into accessible tourism, including:

* Setting a Research Agenda for Accessible Tourism

* Developing Business Case Studies for Accessible Tourism

* Tourist Experiences of Individuals with Vision Impairment

* Visitor Accessibility in Urban Centres

The research can be used to assist in better planning for and addressing the needs of visitors with disability and other access issues.

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

About STCRC Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) was established under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres program in 1997, and has grown to be the largest dedicated tourism research organisation in the world. STCRC has more than 300 tourism research reports available for free download at www.crctourism.com.au/bookshop

Contact: Amber Brown General Manager, Communications and Industry Extension Sustainable Tourism CRC Gold Coast Campus Griffith University QLD 4222

Ph: (07) 5552 8116 Mob: (0434) 622 466

Fax: (07) 5552 8171

Email: amber.brown@crctourism.com.au

Website: www.crctourism.com.au

Write to the President's Disability Policy Team

srains — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:04:00 GMT

On November 4, 2008, millions of people with disabilities across the
United States and around the world joined our non-disabled peers in
watching the United States election results. Barack Obama supporters cheered
or wept to learn that the next US president would be Obama. Then we
cheered or wept again when Obama mentioned people with disabilities in
his acceptance speech. History was made–not only for America, not only
for Black people, not only for Kenya and all of Africa, not only for
Indigenous peoples, but also for people with disabilities.

But we cannot afford to allow the moment to end here. Whether we
supported Obama, McCain, or another candidate, we all know there is far
too much work ahead before we can say, “Yes, we have made real change
for people with disabilities.”

It is time for people with disabilities, our loved ones, our neighbors,
and colleagues to join together, across ideological divides, to reach
out to Obama. We should all send an email to Kareem Dale, Obama’s
National Disability Vote Director (at kdale@barackobama.com), WITH
COPIES TO Anne Hayes, a volunteer on the Obama Disability Policy
Committee (at ahayesku@hotmail.com).

First, we should thank Obama — and also Kareem Dale — for mentioning
people with disabilities in Obama’s acceptance speech on November 4.
Ensure that they understand how much it matters simply for us to be
included. How did you feel when Obama mentioned us? Share your story.

Second, we should tell Obama and Kareem Dale that we are aware of
Obama’s disability platform. He promised Americans with disabilities that he would:

Increase educational opportunities
End discrimination
Increase employment opportunities
Support independent, community-based living

And he promised to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the first international, legally-binding human rights treaty for people with disabilities. Article 30 of the CRPD is the section that all my focus is on – tourism and disability.

Tell Obama and Kareem Dale that we are ready to call the President to account if he
fails us. But more importantly, we are ready to work with him for change for people with disabilities.

It is important to send your disability-related emails to BOTH Kareem Dale AND Anne Hayes (kdale@barackobama.com AND ahayesku@hotmail.com) between now and inauguration day. Kareem Dale’s email address may change between now and January 20, 2009. Anne Hayes can help ensure
that emails sent to Kareem Dale are not lost during this time of transition.

Both Kareem Dale and others who have worked on disability issues within the Obama campaign are ready to receive YOUR emails on disability-related issues for US President-elect Obama. Emails are
welcome from across the United States and around the world. If you are a US citizen, then please say so in your email.

Learn more about Obama’s plan for people with disabilities at:
http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/

Yes, the video is captioned. And if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you can download Obama’s Full Plan for people with disabilities in PDF format (62 Kb).

Read Obama’s acceptance speech at:
http://www.barackobama.com/2008/11/04/remarks_of_presidentelect_bara.php

Want to read someone else’s letter to Obama before you write your own?
Come to:
http://reunifygally.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/
thank_you_obama_disabilities/

Learn more about the CRPD at http://ratifynow.org/ratifynow-faq/

For a break out CRPD Article 30 see http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Scott-Rains/tourism-in-the-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-crpd.html

If you wish to contact Obama’s staff on some topic other than
disability, then you can send an email via his web page at
http://www.change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople

Please circulate this email freely, or post this at your own blog or
web site.

This text was first posted at
http://wecando.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/disabilities-email-
obamadisabilities-email-obama/ The most updated version will be there,
so please consult before cross-posting.

“It is the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat
and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay,
straight, DISABLED and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to
the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue
States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

~ President-Elect Barack Obama
Acceptance speech, November 4, 2008; emphasis added