Access Tourism NZ TOURISM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, AND AGEING BOOMERS IN NEW ZEALAND AND WORLDWIDE

The European Commission (Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, Directorate F: Tourism, CSR, Consumer Goods and International Regulatory Agreements) is seeking tenders for a market research and public opinion poll on the economic impact and travel patterns of accessible tourism in Europe.

Travelling for pleasure (or for business) in Europe is equally relevant for persons with physical disabilities, but the barriers they have to face are far greater.  Tourism accessibility across Europe is still to some extent unchartered territory, with widespread misconceptions and lack of knowledge about the market of tourists with special access needs.  Visitors’ requirements are largely unknown, investment costs are often misunderstood or exaggerated and accessibility is generally perceived by business as a “burden”.  Travelling and having full access to tourist activities, services and facilities is a right enshrined in Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, signed by the European Union and its 27 Member States.  Furthermore, making tourism facilities more accessible to people with disabilities, is also a golden opportunity for businesses.

Very few studies have been carried out on the economic impact or patterns of demand and travel of visitors with disabilities.  The most recent has been a research project that in 2011 looked at the tourism, travel, and hospitlaity patterns and needs of people with hearing loss conducted for the new Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf, by the NZ Tourism Research Institute at AUT University, and Access Toruism NZ.   The overall purpose of this EU contract is to collect comprehensive and EU-wide data on the economic impact — both actual and potential — of travellers with special access needs on the EU tourism sector, and to study the demand, travel behaviour, and patterns of travellers with special access needs in Europe.  The final date for tender submissions is 28/06/2012.

VisitEngland, national tourist board has launched a new version of the Access Statement Online Tool, aimed at helping businesses cater for visitors with access needs. Access Statements allow for a written, descriptive approach to providing a wide range of information on accessibility. All areas of a business are described from car parking & arrival to toilets.   Visit England says that Access Statements are:

1. A minimum requirement for VisitEngland accommodation and visitor attraction quality scheme members
2. A way to meet obligations under the Equality Act 2010
3. A marketing opportunity which informs visitors in one concise document
4. Necessary as almost one in five of England’s population has a disability and this number will rise as England’s population ages

The new version is specifically tailored for restaurants and cafés, and has been created in partnership with the British Hospitality Association (BHA) and the Restaurant Association.  The online tool provides detailed guidance on the information that may be required by people with access needs when visiting a restaurant or cafe.   Businesses are encouraged to write a general introduction describing the location (city centre, countryside, coast), and to summarise any specific services and facilities suitable for people with access needs. In addition, information may also cover the following areas:

• Pre-Arrival – transport services, a description of the streets in the area surrounding the restaurant (e.g. paved/cobbled/level/uneven), information provided in alternative formats such as large print and audio.
• Car Parking and Arrival – car parking, drop off points, alternative entry points, number of steps, handrails and ramps.
• Restaurant & Bar Area – access to the area and layout, lighting, seating and tables, floor surfaces, alternative formats of menus available.
• Outdoor Areas – accessibility of outdoor furniture, service offered to customers in outdoor area, layout (e.g. pavement, terrace, play area).

Additional areas that are covered include: customer toilets, private dining/function space accommodation and future plans for improvement.  Ross Calladine, VisitEngland’s Skills, Welcome & Accessibility Manager said:  “People with access needs require specific information about a venue in advance in order to be able to make an informed decision about whether an establishment can cater sufficiently for their needs. Restaurants, like any other tourist venue, should provide as much information to visitors as possible – this will help to enhance the visitor experience and also highlight areas where the business could improve.”  Camilla Woods, Policy Director, BHA, said “Access Statements are a really effective way for businesses to ensure customers with any specific access needs have the information they need and we are pleased to be able to recommend this new online tool to our members.”

Once a business has created their Access Statement they can then make this information readily available to visitors. Restaurants can promote their statement on their website if they have one, or post it where they have a listing on a company site or a generic ‘restaurant finder’ site. It should also be kept on hand for staff to use when describing over the phone what facilities they have.

The Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL) – on which Access Tourism New Zealand has a link – now provides more content than ever. There are now nine information portals which provide materials on topics relevant to the needs of Disabilities Organizations, government officials, professionals, grassroots advocates, and others working to improve the lives of people with disabilities. An on-line version of the library is available. An off-line version is also stored inside eGranary Digital Libraries for delivery to developing countries where Internet access is limited. The GDRL team is now no longer accepting applications to receive an off-line eGranary for 2012. However, organizations interested in receiving notification of future opportunities can submit their full contact information here. The GDRL project is a joint initiative of the U.S. international Council on Disabilities and the University of Iowa WiderNet Project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The 13^th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP) will be held July 11-13 at the University of Linz, Linz, Austria.  One of the thematic sessions is “Accessible Tourism’, which will be chaired by Franz Puhretmair and Kerstin Matausch (Competance Network), and Dimitrios Buhalis (Bournemouth University). The session will provide a forum to discuss major issues, identify barriers, technologies, strategies and approaches to promote accessible tourism.  Papers will consider aspects of

•  eTourism and disability
• Accessible Tourism websites and accessible Tourism Information Systems (TIS)
• Accessibility information in modern TIS Accessible Travel and Leisure holidays
• Accessibility information / guidelines / audits for tourism products
• Usability and user-interface studies
• Economic evaluations of Accessible Tourism
• Technologies and applications supporting Accessible Tourism
• eAccessibility,
• Universal Design and usability
• eInclusion
• Case studies of eTourism applications for the disabled markets, as well as
• the usage of technology for facilitating disabled tourists before and during their visit

The National Center on Accessibility is a center of Indiana University’s Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies within theSchool of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.  Since 1992, NCA has played a critical role in increasing awareness of inclusion of people with disabilities in parks, recreation and tourism while advancing the spirit and intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act and other disability legislation.  Through research, technical assistance and training, NCA builds a continuum of comprehensive services for park and recreation practitioners, focusing on universal design and practical solutions that create inclusive recreation opportunities for people of all abilities.  NCA is funded in part by theNational Park Service.

NCA conducts and facilitates research on issues critical to access in recreation environments. NCA has partnered with researchers from the universities of Minnesota, Utah, Georgia and Tennessee to discover the needs and preferences of people with disabilities. NCA Research provides professionals with practical solutions to enhance access for visitors with disabilities. NCA Research has shaped the development of policy and accessibility standards nationally and internationally. Electronic copies of all NCA research reports are available through the IU Scholar Works repository.

NCA Education programs are designed to engage practitioners in recreation access issues with instructors nationally recognized for their expertise and commitment to inclusive recreation environments for people with disabilities.  Thousands of park and recreation professionals, architects, landscape architects, planners, interpreters, accessibility coordinators, administrators, advocates and consumers have not only participated in NCA Education programs, but as a result have been able to create change within their organizations and communities leading to a society more inclusive of people with disabilities.

NCA professional staff give personalized technical assistance on a broad range of issues related to compliance with disability legislation and accessibility standards. Drawing on a national network, NCA can respond to requests for information with the latest trends, the most current information on accessibility standards, rulemaking, program modifications, equipment, vendors, best practices and innovative solutions.

Scotland made disabled access part of its entertainment licensing laws in October this year (provision for disabled visitors is now a condition for getting a new alcohol licence).  Though current UK equality law says disabled people must receive an equal experience to non-disabled peers, the reality is different, and music fans who have disabilities often find themselves excluded from live music events. The UK charity Attitude Is Everything has created a Charter of Best Practice to help live music venues adapt. As part of the initiative, it’s launching the State of Access report, a comprehensive study based on two years of research across 100 venues around the UK.   Attitude Is Everything is the brainchild of Suzanne Bull who – at 4ft 3 in tall – got trapped between the barriers at the front of a festival stage 20 years ago, when there was no such thing as access for people with disabilities.  ”I had 100,000 people pushing behind me,” she says. “It was a very dangerous situation but luckily a security guard saw me and pulled me out. I remember thinking: ‘If I get out of  this alive, I will do something to improve gig access for disabled people.’ [That festival] now has a regular clientele of 700 disabled customers, an accessible campsite and viewing platforms at nearly all the stages.” (Source, The Guardian).

The New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) has set up a captioning working group with the aim of establishing equal access to TV and movies for deaf and hearing impaired people in this country.  A 2011 survey, “Captioning in New Zealand”, conducted by members of the group, showed the deaf and hearing impaired community felt a strong sense of injustice and frustration at the way poor TV, home video and cinema captioning denied them the simple pleasures of relaxation, entertainment and access to information and education.  Over the next 12 months the
NFD Captioning Working Group will push for legislation to make the captioning of TV programmes in New Zealand compulsory – a change favoured by 86% of the  Captioning New Zealand survey respondents.  New Zealand TV captioning is among the worst in the western world with even Uganda having a better service. While some captioning is funded by NZ On Air and a high quality captioning service is provided by TV1, TV2 and TV3 it amounts to less than 10% of total TV hours each week across all free to air and subscriber pay channels.  Captioning is about equal access for both hearing and non-hearing people. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons, ratified by New Zealand, states that all persons with disabilities should enjoy equal access to television programmes, films, theatre and cultural activities in accessible formats.  Many countries,  Australia and the USA included, have mandatory captioning legislation. We are seriously lagging behind the rest of the world and it’s time we caught up.

Members of the NFD Captioning Working Group come from t he NFD and Deaf Aotearoa.

Source: NFD press release.

Two new text books on accessible tourism are available through the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) from Channel View Publications. The first is “Concepts and Issues” (eds: Dimitrios Buhalis and Simon Darcy), which sets out to  explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues  in the study of accessible tourism.  Professor Nigel Morgan, The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research states that this volume harnesses “the best conceptual  developments on the topic” and that it will “take accessible tourism and universal design debates into the mainstream of academic enquiryand industry practice“

The second volume is “Best Practice in Accessible Tourism” (eds: Buhalis, Darcy, and Ivor Ambrose).  It focuses on policy and best practice in accessible tourism, reflecting the ”state-of -the-art” as expressed in a selection of international chapters. It brings together global expertise in planning, design and management to inform and stimulate providers of travel, transport, accommodation, leisure and tourism services to serve guests with disabilities, seniors and the wider markets that require good accessibility. Chapter 8, written by Sandra Rhodda of Access Tourism New Zealand, describes the state of accessible tourism in this country.  Overall, the book gives ample evidence that accessible tourism organisations and destinations can expand their target markets as well as improve the quality of their service offering, leading to greater customer satisfaction, loyalty and expansion of business.  Accessible tourism is not only about providing access to people with disabilities but also it addresses the creation of universally designed environments that can support people that may have temporary disabilities, families with young children, the ever increasing ageing population as well as creating a safer environment for employees to work. Noel Scott, of the University of Queensland, Australia says that the volume “provides a ‘state-of-the-art” assessment of both theory and practice. This book establishes a new field of study and provides the benchmark against which other contributions will be judged. It integrates the work of all the key players and should be read by academics, managers and government policy makers.”

All businesses with at least one employee will have to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Customer Service Standard taking effect Jan. 1, 2012.  These standards include that businesses are required to develop customer service policies and procedures for serving people with disabilities, to train staff, volunteers and contractors to serve customers with disabilities, to let customers with disabilities provide feedback on how their needs have been met, to establish a process to respond and take action on any complaints, and to have a policy on allowing people to use their own assistive devices (e.g. screen reader, cane, wheelchair, oxygen tank) to access a business’s goods and services.  This includes accessing menus.  Currently, some Ontarian restaurants offer large print or braille menus, but these can not be read by all guests. Others put their menus on their website as a PDF, which is not accessible to some.  Still others put menus on Facebook – which is notoriously inaccessible.

Now Ontarian restaurateurs have a solution in aMENU  -  a website developed by Geoff Collis – where  participating restaurants can place their menus so that they can be accessed not only with assistive devices but portable devices such as mobile phones.   Menus can be read before a patron even gets to an establishment.   The first restaurant leading the way by participating is Macy’s Diner & Delicatessen in Mississauga.  Owner Hans Sturzenbecher has clearly understood the need for accessibility in all aspects of his establishment and is the first restaurateur to have his Accessible Menu coded for accessibility on the site so that Ontarians, visitors, or tourists with disabilities and mobile phone users can access it with their assistive devices either at home, en route or in the restaurant itself. Restaurant owners wishing to know more about this initiative can access a presentation, contact aMenu, or visit their website.

AccessibilityOnline represents a collaborative training program between the ADA National Network and the US Access Board. The program includes a series of free webinars and audio conferences on different topics of accessibility. Sessions are held on a monthly basis and cover a variety of topics concerning accessibility to the built environment, information and communication technologies, and transportation. The training is being coordinated and hosted by the Great Lakes ADA Center to provide accurate and quality training on the Architectural Barriers Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA/ABA) Accessibility Guidelines and on electronic and information technology accessibility standards (Section 508).  The next section is on accessible marinas and boating facilities and is being held on November 3rd.  You can submit questions for the webinar here.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), in its ongoing effort to ensure equal access to air transportation for all travelers has proposed a regulation that would require airlines to make over the next two years their websites accessible to people with disabilities and ensure that their ticket agents do the same.  DOT also proposed that airlines make automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports accessible to passengers with disabilities. U.S. airports that jointly own, lease or control such kiosks with airlines would also have responsibility for ensuring the accessibility of automated airport kiosks. 
                
“I strongly believe that airline passengers with disabilities should have equal access to the same services as all other travelers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  “The Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that airline passengers are treated fairly, and today’s action is part of that effort.”

Websites would be required to meet the standards for accessibility contained in the widely accepted Website Content Accessibility Guidelines.  The requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers with websites marketing air transportation to U.S. consumers for travel within, to or from the United States.  Small ticket agents would be exempt from the requirement to have accessible websites. 
                
In addition, airlines and airports that use automated kiosks for services such as printing boarding passes and baggage tags would have to ensure that any kiosk ordered 60 days after the rule takes effect is accessible.  Standards for accessibility would be based on standards for automated transaction machines set by the Department of Justice in its 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act rule.  This requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers and U.S. airports that own, lease or control automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports with 10,000 or more annual boardings.     

This proposal is the latest in a series of DOT rulemakings to implement the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).  In the ACAA rule issued in May 2008, DOT required carriers, among other things, to make discounts available to passengers with disabilities who cannot use inaccessible web sites and therefore must make telephone or in-person reservations. Also, if passengers with disabilities are unable to use the kiosk because it is not accessible, carriers are required to provide equivalent service, such as having an airline employee assist in operating the kiosk.  However, these provisions do not give passengers with disabilities, especially those with visual and mobility impairments, independent access to the websites and kiosks, and in this final rule the Department committed to exploring how to make websites and kiosks accessible. 

 The proposal is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2011-0177.

The Italian Ministry of Tourism has created a Manifesto promoting Accessible Tourism (English and Italian versions).   It is part of its commitment to put into effect Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  Article 30 – Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport – includes that States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, including enjoying films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats;  access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance; and access tourism venues.

Chairman of the Italian Agency for Tourism (ENIT), Matteo Marzotto said that accessibility means lack of architectural, cultural and sensory barriers.  “It relates to people with particular needs, not only regarding movement but also chronic health issues (people with food and environment allergies, the blind, the deaf or mentally disabled people, small children and the elderly, etc.). The involvement of all these visitors and their families in tourism has a great numerical as well as psychological, impact”.

Following the signing in Vicenza, in May 2011, the new Italian National Tourism Code (Decree 79 of 5/23/2011) was passed into law, to be in force from 21 June.  This marks a major step forward in the Italian legislation on Accessible Tourism.  The Minister of Tourism, Michela Vittoria Brambilla is Chair of the Executive Council Board of the UN World Tourism Organisation and in that role in Nairobi in July 2011 has proposed to 154 countries and 400 other WTO member organizations to sign up to the Manifesto. The first interested countries can sign the document already from the next UNWTO meeting which should take place in Cambodia in October.

The first international NGO to support the Manifesto is the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).  ENAT Board Member, Dr. Angelika Laburda signed the Manifesto on behalf of ENAT at the Gitando 2011 Feira da Vicenza trade fair on 25th March 2011, along with the Minister. Laburda said that the document raises awareness of the importance of providing accessibility for all tourists.

In June, the World Report on Disability was launched by the World Health Organization and the World Bank.  A key recommendation of the World report is the need to strengthen research. Without evidence on issues such as need and unmet need, costs, impact of services, quality of life of people with disabilities, it is difficult to make recommendations for how countries can respond more effectively. Two forthcoming research symposia will contribute to addressing gaps in research on health and rehabilitation. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Sydney are each sponsoring a meeting where new and established researchers will present their research.

The best papers from these meetings will be published in the journal Disability and Rehabilitation, one year after publication of the World report, together with other contributions which focus on the contribution of rehabilitation to improving the lives of persons with disabilities. Papers are encouraged which relate to recommendations for research outlined in the report:

• The impact of environmental factors (policies, physical environment, attitudes) on disability and how to measure it; 
• Measures of the lived experience of people with disabilities, including measures on quality of life and well-being;
• What works in overcoming service barriers in different contexts;
• Effectiveness and outcomes of rehabilitation services and programmes; and 
• The cost–effectiveness of public spending on disability programmes.

Wherever possible, research should reflect the active participation of persons with disabilities themselves, and be grounded in the human rights approach. The deadline for submissions of papers is January 15 2012.  Given that journals such as Disability and Society, Alter and the Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research have also welcomed the publication of the World report, there is scope for publication of research relevant to other issues – support services, accessibility, education, employment – in other journals.

The National Geographic Travel Magazine next issue will feature an article on Access Travel.  The magazine interviewed American accessible tourism guru and author of the Rolling Rains Report Scott Rains for the piece. Rains has noticed something interesting lately. Other folks his age—the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 and referred to as the baby boom generation—have begun to understand the need for accessible tourism.  Boomers are joining forces with disability and senior groups to add muscle to the cause of increased accessibility in travel. “They don’t intend to let hip replacements and insulin shots stop them from traveling,” says Rains. “Nor will they be pandered to, stigmatized, or written off.”  Rains and his generation are part of a growing movement. Retiring 60-somethings have more time to travel, which has increased demand for accessible accommodations. The nonprofit Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH), made up mostly of travel agencies catering to those with mobility issues, saw members’ hotel bookings more than double last year, a remarkable feat in a recession.

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The 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2012) scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India September 17-21, 2012 will have as one of its themes “Accessible Tourism: Conservation, Access to the Historic and Natural Heritage”. Hosted by Svayam in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, Government of Delhi and Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the conference is co-sponsored by Transportation Research Board (USA). Held every three years, TRANSED conferences are milestone events in the field of accessible transportation, attracting researchers, policy-makers, transport operators, consumers and other specialists from around the world to share innovations and best practices in order to make transportation and mobility accessible to everyone.  The theme of the Conference is “Seamless Access for All: Universal design for transport systems and infrastructure as a key element in the creation of liveable cities”. Other sub-themes are:

• Role of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) •  Best practices and innovations • Environmental impact, sustainability, and accessibility of integrated multimodal systems • Accessible Public Transport (Bus Rapid Transit, Metro, Para-transit systems etc.) • Highway design and safety • G. Pedestrian mobility & safety for livable communities • Rural access and mobility • Implementation, monitoring and enforcement • Potential of Technology in Accessibility for all (Information Technology, Accessibility aids, etc.)

Deadline for abstracts is July 31, 2011. For more information, visit the conference website or contact secretariat@transed2012.in

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has a free Accessible Travel Made Easy online training course aimed at travel agents, tour operators and other front-line travel industry staff. The course is run in conjunction with the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).  This interactive course provides an overview
of the importance of accessible travel and why it makes good business sense
to meet the diverse needs of customers. The first module was launched at ABTA’s first Travel Matters conference, attended by high level stakeholders from Government, media and the travel industry.

The second advanced module ‘Inclusive travel – making business sense’
was launched recently, and aims to help those working in the travel industry to understand good business practice in relation to accessibility. It shows them how to:

• communicate this effectively with colleagues and customers
• understand customers’ expectations and needs
• tackle barriers that restrict choice and autonomy for disabled people and for those whose mobility is temporarily impaired
• improve and change business practice as appropriate, so that the best service is offered to all.

This project links in with the Commission’s work on Air Travel Accessibility. Under European law (EC1107), disabled passengers and those with limited mobility, have a right to assistance when they fly to, from and within Europe.

Cruise ships and the companies that run them have become much more attuned to meeting the needs of their ageing and disabled passengers.  No longer is the stereotypical cruise passenger fit, healthy, and dancing – instead many are using walkers, canes, wheelchairs, and scooters  Some cruise passengers may have sight loss, be blind, have hearing loss or be deaf, and cruise lines are pursuing this market opportunity.  This has been prodded not only by considerations for the bottom line, but also by changes in laws. Under Maritime law, a ship’s flag determines what country has jurisdiction. Therefore, an American ship flying an American flag off the coast of Africa is still governed by American maritime law; similarly, Italian law would govern an Italian ship on the coast of California.  However, as of 2004, foreign cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires access to passengers in wheelchairs. And last year, a new USA Department of Transportation rule was announced which ensures vessel operators policies do not discriminate against passengers with disabilities.   In Europe, cruiselines, tour operators and travel agents will need to work more closely to ensure they do not breach new European Union regulations on selling cruise holidays to disabled clients.  The EU Regulation 1177/2010, which gives new rights to cruise and ferry passengers, becomes law on December 18, 2012. Breaching the new rules- which apply where embarkation is in the EU – will result in a penalty.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) predicts that the 2011 cruise season will be better than ever before, with 16 million passengers (an increase of 6.6%).   Here in New Zealand, the number of Kiwis taking a cruise has reached a record high, increasing 62% over the last five years.  The important role played by older tourists in this growing sector was in February recognized by the NZ Tourism Industry Association when CEO Tim Cossar stated that “the cruise market is being driven by high spending Baby Boomers”.  In spite of that, our ports are ill prepared for an influx of older visitors.   Cruise passengers travelling to New Zealand tend to be in older age groups.  72% are aged between 55 – 74 years, while only 5% are under the age of 40 (2006/2007 Cruise Research, Tourism New Zealand).  Along with an increase in the age of our visitors will come an increase in visitors with disabilities because disability increases with age.  Given this, the rise in cruise numbers, and the increasing provision of access on ships resulting in more passengers that have disabilities using those ships, Access Tourism New Zealand will continue to advocate for an improvement in access at NZ ports. 

For information about cruise lines and access – including caveats against particular choices – and for cruise tips for people with disabilities, visit the Cruise Critic website.

The European Commission is funding an online survey looking at eAccessibility.   The survey will provide an overview of the status and progress of eAccessibility-related policies and technologies in 12 selected European countries and three non-European countries.   It aims to contribute to the development and implementation of the European Union’s policy of eAccessibility by providing useful information about the approaches, practices and the impact of measures to promote eAccessibility.   It will look at the ways that people with disabilities and others (such as older people) overcome the technical barriers and difficulties they experience when trying to participate on equal terms in the information society. 

The opinion of organisations representing people with disabilities and users is very valuable for the aim of this study, even if eAccessibility is not a core feature of their activities.  The survey asks about the everyday eAccessibility experiences of end users and people with disabilities, and does not require any specific technical knowledge.  The information collected will be processed anonymously. It will be used to make comparisons between countries but will not be linked to any individual organisations, and will be used for non-commercial purposes.  The results of the survey will be compared with the data collected from ICT and policy experts in order to have the widest possible view of the current eAccessibility context.

To access to the survey, please follow these easy steps:
- Go to http://www.eaccessibility-monitoring.eu
- In the section “National experts” in the bottom right hand corner, enter the following user and password: Name: User066 and Password: User066_01
- Click on “Survey”
- On the left side, click on “add” and after that, click on “Continue”.

 Technosite (which is running the survey) has provided a glossary of the key terms used in the survey.

 For more information, contact users66@technosite.es

The John F. Kennedy for the Performing Arts and partners are holding a conference on Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) in August.  LEAD has been engaging cultural administrators from around the world in a conversation on accessibility, disability and inclusion for more than 10 years. Two days of conference are preceded by three days of relevant pre-conference workshops. The conference is aimed at cultural organizations such as museums, galleries, and theatres, and at state and local governments, universities and colleges and anyone involved in the arts with an interest in access for people with disabilities. It will consider a broad range of access topics, such as web accessibility, social media, captioning in theatres, the Americans with Disabilities Act, access evaluations, staff and volunteer training, effective access planning, effective communication for people who are blind/low vision, and/or deaf/hard of hearing, audio description, funding, grants, and much more.  LEAD is a professional network focused on expanding the breadth and scope of accessibility services and programming across the USA and around the world. The network:

• explores practical methods for implementing accessibility in cultural environments;
• communicates information about arts and accessibility, and;
• shares resources and knowledge among professionals in the field of accessibility.

 A variety of helpful tip sheets can be found here.

There is a new guide for travellers with disabilities about using parking permits, cards, and placards around the world.  The FIA Guide for the disabled traveller (FIA: Federation Internationale de L’Automobile ) explains the parking rules for parking card / permit holders, and whether or not the parking card / permit of a visitor can be used (reciprocity).    The project was supported by the FIA Foundation and the FIA European Bureau in Brussels.  FIA affiliated motoring club and government experts provided much of Guide’s information. We also reviewed national and state laws to obtain or to verify information.  Comments and suggestions on the Guide, particularly in respect of the accuracy of the information it contains, are welcome and can be made to fiaguide@fiabrussels.com