Project Director's Report
As Disability is Emerging Globally, So Is Advocacy for Full Participation of People with Disabilities
As disability emerges globally, we are also beginning to witness a rise in political, economic, social and environmental advocacy by and for people with disabilities internationally.
The 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States was a watershed event for civil rights, setting the stage for changes internationally. Unlike previous civil rights laws enacted for other historically disadvantaged groups, ADA and other disability-related civil rights laws link the notion that disability-based discrimination is tied to the inaccessible design of facilities. This law recognized that discrimination against people with disabilities in the form of purposeful unequal treatment and historical patterns of segregation and isolation were the major problem confronting people with disabilities and not their individual impairment.
In addition to the United States, a number of nations adopted legislation in the 1990's prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities. Great Britain passed the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, later adopted by Australia as well. The constitutions of such diverse countries as Germany, Austria, Finland, Brazil, South Africa, Malawi, Uganda and the Philippines have been amended to outlaw discrimination on the basis of disability. These actions are representative of a flurry of legislative activity on a worldwide basis to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
The number of people with disabilities in 175 nations of the world today was recently estimated to range between 235-549 million. Worldwide, disability will be on the rise for many decades to come, fueled by an aging population, technology environmental degradation & destruction, and violence. Both developing and developed nations endure an oppressive relationship between disability and poverty. Even in the most economically developed nations of the world today, unemployment rates for people with disabilities approach the 80% mark.
This month's issue is filled with stories regarding the rise of political advocacy by and for people with disabilities internationally. In this issue's feature story, The Growing International Appetite for Information About Accessibility and Universal Design, you will read about the role Adaptive Environments is playing in opening an international dialogue between the developing and developed worlds concerning design in social justice, see The Growing International Appetite for Information About Accessibility and Universal Design. In International News, An International Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities highlights the United Nations' work towards requiring its 191 member nations to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. Also in International News, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a new policy to ensure access in construction projects it funds around the globe (see: USAID Issues New Access Policy for Overseas Projects).
Sometimes we're determined to make a change, other times we're given a nudge.
Best Wishes,
Oce
