Global Universal Design EducatorsOnline News

Produced and distributed by ElaineOstroff, through contracts with the Center for Universal Design and theAdaptive Environments Center, in cooperation with the National Instituteon Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Volume5 Number 3.5, February - March 2004

Contents

• Calendar
• Adding yourinformation, questions to the Online News

CALENDAR

March 15-20, 2004: 19th Annual InternationalConference "Technology and Persons with Disabilities", at Hilton Los AngelesAirport and Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotels, Los Angeles, CA sponsoredby California State University Northridge. The longest-running and largestannual university sponsored conference on technology and persons with disabilities.This annual conference serves as a major training venue for professionalsaround the world involved in the field of disability and technology. Conferencewebsite includes proceeding from previous conferences. 

See: http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.htm

March 16-17, 2004: HEAT 2004 (The Homeand Electronic Assistive Technology). University of York, UK.  ElectronicAssistive Technology (EAT) can support people with disabilities and theelderly to increase their independence and quality of life, but to do soit must be dependable. The HEAT workshop provides a forum for discussionand debate on issues of dependability as they apply to the different typesof EAT in the home. 

See: http://www.gdewsbury.ukideas.com/Heat.html

March 19, 2004: Visual Design for anAging Population. St. Louis, Missouri, USA. What questions should publicpolicy makers, social service agencies and businesses ask to better meetthe changing needs for information of our older population? This conferencewill address some of the challenges we face as a society in dramatic realignmentof demographics toward an older profile. 

See: http://designandaging.org/

March 22-24, 2004: 2nd Cambridge Workshopon Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT) (incorporating the5th Cambridge Workshop on Rehabilitation Robotics) "Designing a More InclusiveWorld" Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, UK. This workshopis sponsored by Royal Mail. It is intended that the principal requirementsfor the successful design of assistive technology shall be addressed. Therange of requirements extends from identifying and capturing the needsof the users, through to the development and evaluation of truly usableand accessible systems for users with special needs. Such users include,but are not limited to, those with functional impairments and the elderly. 

See: http://rehab-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/cwuaat04.htm

March 24-26, 2004: Structures for Inclusion4: Choosing Relevancy, Atlanta, Georgia.  Organized by the Associationfor Community Design (ACD), a professional support network, and DesignCorps, a design service program, this national design conference will exploremethods and means for reaching out to underserved populations with professionaldesign assistance. As the need for public interest design work grows, sodoes the importance of dialog among practitioners who are in the "trenches"of community design service and young designers interested in pursuingsimilar careers. 

See: http://www.communitydesign.org/main/conference_select.jsp

March 25-27, 2004:  "ChallengingStereotypes: A Celebration of Arts in Community."  Winnipeg, Manitoba,Canada. Presented by Canadian Centre on Disability Studies.  ArtsAbility is a two-year pilot project that has initiated and researched programsin the arts for people with disabilities in Manitoba. This event celebratestheir accomplishments. Participants, artists, researchers, support staffand administration will showcase the project. The program will includean Art Display from the Arts Ability Visual Arts program over the pasttwo years. Along with presentations, panels and workshops, participantswill be able to try their hand alongside professional artists at practicalaspects of the arts. 

See:  http://www.disabilitystudies.ca/aabrochure.htm

April 2, 2004: Submission Deadlinefor W4A 2004 addressing "Accessible Layout - The Tension Between Accessibilityand Visual Design," for this workshop which will be held at the ThirteenthInternational World Wide Web Conference. This workshop will be decidedlycross disciplinary and will bring together users, accessibility experts,graphic designers, and technologists from academia and industry to discusshow accessibility can be supported. We also encourage the participationof users and other interested parties as an additional balance to the discussion. 

See: http://w4a.man.ac.uk/for more information on this workshop and http://www2004.org/for information on the conference as a whole.

April 9, 2004: Deadline for submission."Award for Excellence in Arts Access." This award is sponsored by VSA artsand the MetLife Foundation. Arts organizations in the United States witha facility open to the general public are encouraged to apply. Access isachieved when people of diverse abilities have an equal opportunity toattend, participate in, and enjoy arts programming. An organization cancontribute to access by being sensitive and responsive to the needs ofpeople with disabilities through: The design and implementation of a program;The guidelines and policies in place to support the development and implementationof its programs; The means through which the program is communicated tothe public; The physical design of the facility used to implement the program;and The materials distributed to implement the program. 

Submitters are encouraged to read:http://www.vsarts.org/resources/general/artsaccess/arts_access_made_easy.pdf
Application and submission guidelinesare found at the website listed:  http://www.vsarts.org/programs/metlife/index.cfm. 

April 14-17, 2004: "The Road Ahead,Taking the Journey Together," San Francisco, California, sponsored by TheAmerican Society on Aging and the National Council on the Aging. Thesetwo organizations are collaborating again to offer the most dynamic educationalconference and networking opportunity in North America for professionalsin the field of aging. 

See: http://www.agingconference.org/jc04/index.cfm

April 22-24, 2004: Barrier Free 2004International Trade Fair on Barrier Free Equipments & Rehabilitationfor the Elderly & the Disabled organized by the Osaka Prefecture Councilon Social Welfare and Television Osaka, Inc.   This show focuseson Japanese healthcare and welfare sectors that are rapidly enlarged inthe past decade. The first show was in 1995, and the next BARRIER FREEwill be the 10th event in its history. The show provides wide variety ofinformation about equipment, service, and welfare system in the region. 

For more information, see: http://www.itp.gr.jp/bf/english/general.html

April 24-29, 2004: CHI 2004, "Conferenceon Human Factors in Computing Systems," Vienna, Austria, sponsored by ACM'sSpecial Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction. The CHI2004 visionemphasizes connections: between traditional and new forms of interaction,between HCI and many different fields and domains. We are keenly interestedin expanding the boundaries of HCI and highlighting its importance andrelevance to the world. 

See: http://www.chi2004.org/

April 30, 2004: Abstracts deadline.EBRA 2004, "An Agreeable Spatial Environment for Human Beings." Conferenceis sponsored by the Environment-Behavior Research Association. Conferenceto be held October 22-25, 2004. The symposium will explore in-dept howto create a comfortable living environment and the theme is "An AgreeableSpatial Environment for Human Being." Some suggested topics are: Housingand Community Environment, Urban Environment Consciousness and Recognition,History & Culture in the Built-Environment, and Public Space Landscapeand Relaxation. See the web site for the full list of suggested topics.Complete information on submission guidelines and important dates availableon conference website. 

See: http://ebra2004.go.nease.net/eng/home.htm

May 12, 2004: Universal Design Institute,Going Beyond the ADA: Meeting the Needs of the Emerging 21st Century Demographicsand Customers, College of Design, NCSU, Raleigh, NC.  This one-dayinstitute will offer a new look at how to design for a changing clientand customer base. Architects and designers in all disciplines are increasinglycalled upon to develop environments that are more supportive, safer andwill foster independence. This seminar will introduce the fundamentalsof universal design and raise awareness of how to create aesthetic, efficient,and marketable spaces and buildings that still comply with accessibilitycodes. 

Details: www.design.ncsu.edu/cont-ed

May 17-22, 2004: WWW 2004, "The 13thWorld Wide Web Conference," New York City, New York, sponsored by The InternationalWorld Wide Web Conference Committee (IW3C2) and the Association for ComputingMachinery (ACM). Beginning with the first international WWW Conferencein 1994, this prestigious series, organized by the International WorldWide Web Conference Committee (IW3C2), has provided a public forum forthe WWW Consortium (W3C) through the annual W3C track. 

See: http://www2004.org/

May 20-24, 2004: Early Childhood OutdoorsDesign Institute: Design For Active Childhoods, Raleigh, North Carolina,sponsored by the Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, NC State.The goal of Design for Active Childhoods is to help designers, recreationprofessionals, and educators bring back the richness of the outdoors asa resource for education and healthy child development. 

See: www.naturalearning.orgor  www.design.ncsu.edu/cont-ed

May 23-26, 2004: Transed 2004. Hamamatsu,Japan. "UNIVERSAL TRANSPORTATION AND ROAD DESIGN: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS."The 10th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for the Elderlyand Disabled is being organized under the general auspices of the TransportationResearch Board.  TRANSED 2004 serves the purpose of enabling internationaldelegates to exchange experiences of strategies. By reporting on successfulaccessible transportation strategies, plans, and implementations for all,all participants will be able to apply this knowledge to their own country.By bringing out the successful accessible transportation implementationstrategies and plans, all participants will be able to apply the knowledgegained in their country. 

See:  http://transed.jp/

May 29-30, 2004: "Confluence and Coalitionin Community: Creating Dialogue within Disability Studies." The inauguralmeeting of the Canadian Disability Studies Association/ Association Canadienned'Etudes sur le Handicap at the Congress of the Social Sciences Federationof Canada. Winnipeg, Canada. Papers and panels exploring questions fundamentalto disability pedagogy: How can professors mentor students toward becomingdisability studies scholars? What issues are at stake when disabled/non-disabledprofessors teach disability studies classes? What are the strategies foropening up a dialog in disability theory in 'mainstream' classes? How mighttaking the access requirements for diverse audience members into considerationresult in presentation modalities that are new, exciting, and encouragea richer, participatory dialogue? How might imaginative thinking, spurredon by access requirements, pose new possibilities for intellectual discourse?What is the role of new technologies in teaching disability studies? 

Details at: http://www.disabilitystudies.ca/eduproj.htm#call

May 31, 2004: Closing Date for Callfor Papers. The 7th International Conference of Human Services InformationTechnology Applications "Information and Communication Technology (ICT)and Social Inclusion," Hong Kong, sponsored by HUSITA (Human Services InformationTechnology Applications) an international association of information technology(IT) innovators in human services dedicated to promoting ethical and effectiveuse of IT to better serve humanity. The conference, to be held August 24-27,2004, will revolve around four major sub-themes. Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICT) in Social Services, ICT in Rehabilitation, IT Educationand Training in Human Service Professionals, and ICT in Community and theInformation Society. 

See: http://www.hkcss.org.hk/husita7/

June 2-6, 2004: EDRA 35, "Design withSpirit," Albuquerque, New Mexico, sponsored by Environmental Design ResearchAssociation (EDRA).  Conference celebrates the awareness, passion,oneness, and surrender to higher influences in our creative processes ofconceiving, shaping, and evaluating our built and natural environments.Taken in the broadest of connotations, spirit not only infuses us withenthusiasm, connection, and original thought in our process, but also manifestsin our products. As we strive to create holistic habitats of power andpeace, we account for body, mind, and spirit in our criteria, intentions,and choices. 

See: http://home.telepath.com/~edra/home.html

June 14-18, 2004:  "Towards fullCitizenship".  The 8th International Congress on Including Childrenand Youth with Disabilities in the Community. Stavanger, Norway. TheseCongresses have given people from both developing and developed nationsthe chance to share policies and programs that promote the inclusion ofchildren and youth with disabilities in their everyday lives at their homecommunities. Congresses have focused on building self-determination andself-reliance at the local level for children and adults of all abilities. 

See: http://www.statped.no/congress2004/

June 16-17, 2004: "The Universal Package:designing packaging for everyone" Lansing, Michigan, sponsored by The Schoolof Packaging.  Welcome to this innovative event, a first for the industry.Pharmaceutical, personal care, consumer goods, food and beverage packagesare being held to a similar standard by consumers: they must have greatutility. Packages that save time, thinking, and work, making life easier,are in demand. Although improvements that increase utility may add mere"convenience" to the life of an "average" healthy consumer, they can bemuch more impactful on the lives of the elderly and disabled. We shouldconsider making these people the central concern of designers. 

See: http://www.universalpackage.msu.edu/welcome/welcome.htm

June 19-22, 2004: RESNA 2004, "Technology& Disability: Research, Design, Practice and Policy," Orlando, FL,sponsored by RESNA, Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive TechnologyAssociation of North America. This year’s conference has seven main topicareas: Computer Access and Communication, Job and Environmental Accommodations,including Ergonomics, Seating and Wheeled Mobility, Technology for Cognitiveand Sensory Impairments, Public Policy, Outcomes and Quantitative Measurement,and Other which includes Technology Transfer, Rural Rehab, Robotics, Telerehaband more. 

See: www.resna.org

June 19-22, 2004: Evaluation in Progress:Strategies for Environmental Research and Implementation. Vienna, Austria.Conference organized by The Institute for Spatial Interaction and Simulation.The design and functioning of housing, building and urban environmentsand their surroundings continues to be increasingly difficult and ambivalent,therefore rendering decision making an unpopular and criticized task. TheIAPS membership has the know-how and interdisciplinary competence to actas input specialists, communicators, visualization consultants, and moderatorsfor the negotiation of complex planning projects. This conference is researchand practice in progress - it will provide a forum for scientists, professionalpractitioners, and policy makers to debate ways and means of stimulatingnew proposals, documenting existing situations and assessing diverse toolsand techniques that can promote evaluation and user feedback. 

See: http://info.tuwien.ac.at/iaps2004/

August 24-27, 2004: The 7th InternationalConference of Human Services Information Technology Applications "Informationand Communication Technology (ICT) and Social Inclusion," Hong Kong, sponsoredby HUSITA (Human Services Information Technology Applications) an internationalassociation of information technology (IT) innovators in human servicesdedicated to promoting ethical and effective use of IT to better servehumanity. The conference will revolve around four major sub-themes. Informationand Communication Technologies (ICT) in Social Services,  ICT in Rehabilitation, IT Education and Training in Human Service Professionals, and ICT in Communityand the Information Society. 

See: http://www.hkcss.org.hk/husita7/

August 31-September 3, 2004: CBR (CommunityBased Rehabilitation) Africa Network Conference "CBR as Part Of CommunityDevelopment." Conference sponsored by the CBR Africa Network (CAN). CBRAfrica Network is a non-government organization, of which the secretariatis based at the Ugandan National Institute of Special Education. CAN wasestablished in 2001 following resolutions made at the previous CBR AfricaRegional Conference, "CBR as a participatory strategy in Africa." CAN aimsto facilitate the sharing of information about community-based servicesfor persons with disabilities and their families in African countries. 

See: http://www.disabilityworld.org/11-12_03/news/cbrafrica.shtml

September 5 - 8, 2004: 7th IFA GlobalConference on Ageing, titled "Global Ageing: Sustaining Development" organizedby:  International Federation on Ageing (IFA) & The SingaporeAction Group of Elders (SAGE),  in Singapore. A forum for debateson ageing issues, an opportunity for consumers, practitioners and policymakersin the field of ageing to exchange knowledge and information, as well asestablish and strengthen friendships and partnerships. This forum is animportant occasion to also learn about the impact of ageing policies andprograms since the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002and finalization of The International Plan of Action. Models of leadingpractice will also be highlighted. 

See: http://www.7ifaconference.com

September 6-9, 2004: "HCI2004, The18th British HCI Group Annual Conference" Leeds, UK, sponsored by the BritishHCI Group. Join researchers, practitioners and educators from around theworld at HCI2004 where we will be exploring the theme of Design for Life.As designers, evaluators and implementers of interactive systems we havegreat responsibility. The systems we design impact upon the lives of thepeople who use them - for good or ill. 

See: http://www.bcs-hci.org.uk/hci2004/

September 8-10, 2004: "DPI World Summit2004: Diversity Within," Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, sponsored by DisabledPeoples’ International.  DPI’s World Summit will be an opportunityfor national assemblies, disability organizations, NGOs, internationaldevelopment agencies, as well as local and national goods and servicesproviders in the disability field to discuss and share information. Thepurpose of the Summit is to pursue the issues identified at the DPI 6thWorld Assembly in Sapporo, Japan, to address the issue of diversity, andto prepare for the next World Assembly in South Africa in 2006. 

See: http://www.dpi.org/en/events/world_summit/06-23-03_summit2004.htm

September 28-October 2, 2004: "2ndSymposium on International Issues in Engineering Design (IIED) as partof the 2004 IDETC (International Design Engineering Technical Conference),"Salt Lake City, Utah, sponsored by the International Activities Committeeof the Design Engineering Division. The three major overall conferencecategories are: pan-world collaborative design, management of pan-worldproject design teams, and international drivers and practice for productlife cycle with one focus area being "Design for the elderly and physicallychallenged." 

See: http://www.detc2004.me.byu.edu/conferences.htm

October 27-29, 2004: Open Space: PeopleSpace: An International Conference on Inclusive Environments, Edinburgh,Scotland, sponsored by OPENspace: the research centre for inclusive accessto outdoor environments is hosting a three-day conference in Edinburghto review recent research and debate current issues surrounding good designfor open space and social inclusion, spaces and places for the 21st century.The programme will include contributions from an international array ofexperts covering the major themes of the conference: children and youngpeople; disability and social inclusion; health and restorative environmentsand tourism and leisure. 

See: www.openspace.eca.ac.uk

November 17-21, 2004: Design ResearchSociety International Conference, Monash University, Melbourne. The themeis 'FUTUREGROUND', and will feature leading edge design research from theinternational research community. Supporting the central theme will bediscourse around design as both cultural activity and production; mappingthe discipline's development; and research in an industrial context. Particularemphasis will be on the opportunities this presents for reconsidering thenature of design and an exploration of the scope for future research. 

See: http://www.futureground.monash.edu.au

December 8-12, 2004: "Designing forthe 21st Century III: An International Conference on Universal Design,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sponsored by Adaptive Environments and a numberof international groups, including Metropolis Magazine. This is an extraordinarymoment. We are more diverse now in ability and age than ever before. Itis time for design to catch up. There is an urgent need to exchange ideasabout the design of places, things, information, policies and programsthat demonstrate the power of design to shape a 21st century world thatworks for all of us. Whatever you call it - universal design, inclusivedesign, design-for-all, lifespan design - the worldwide movement for humancentered design with everyone in mind is gaining momentum. The Designingfor the 21st Century III Conference is fueled by that momentum and willoffer a platform for the next stage of development. The conference includesa student design competition, charettes within Rio de Janeiro and an Educator’sForum. 

See:  http://www.designfor21st.org/

July 22-27 2005: HCI International2005, including: 11th International Conference on Human-Computer Interactionjointly with Symposium on Human Interface (Japan) 2005, 6th InternationalConference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics, 3rd InternationalConference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, 1st InternationalConference on Virtual Reality, and 1st International Conference on Usabilityand Internationalization, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.  The conferenceobjective is to provide an international forum for the dissemination andexchange of scientific information on theoretical, generic, and appliedareas of HCI, usability, internationalization, virtual reality, universalaccess and cognitive ergonomics. 

See: http://www.hci-international.org/

16 to 18 November 2005: World Summiton the Information Society.  Tunis, Tunisia.  The first phaseof WSIS took place in Geneva and the second phase will take place in Tunis.A fundamental change from an industrial to information-based society istaking place. This information revolution affects the way people live,learn and work and how governments interact with civil society. Informationis a powerful tool for economic and social development and this Summitwill provide a unique opportunity for all key players to contribute activelyto bridge the digital and knowledge divides. The first phase of the Summitin Geneva adopted a Declaration of principles and a Plan of Action forimplementation by governments, institutions and all sectors of civil societyto deal with the new challenges of the ever-evolving information society,specifically identifying ways to help close the gap between the "haves"and "have nots" of access to the global information and communication network.Development themes will be a key focus in the second phase in Tunisia andit will assess progress that has been made and adopt any further ActionPlan to be taken. 

See:  http://www.itu.int/wsis/

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ElaineOstroff, Editor
Director,Global Universal Design Educator’s Network; Founding Director, AdaptiveEnvironments Center 

DianeRichard, Editorial Assistant
Centerfor Universal Design, College of Design, North Carolina State University

TheGlobal Universal Design Educator's Online News is produced and publishedthrough contracts with the Center for Universal Design and the AdaptiveEnvironments Center, in cooperation with the National Institute on on Disabilityand Rehabilitation Research.