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

Following on from many recent developments in accessible tourism in Spain (for example, see here,  here, and here), that country is working to make sure its National Parks offer nature for all. Installations are being adapted for people with disabilities, including adapting information panels and leaflets for the blind, having handrails and double-height windows, and having guides who use sign language.  More spacious facilities have been developed, paths have non-slip compact materials that are non-reflective, and trails are suitable for all.

Spain has fourteen national parks with a total of over 325,000 hectares.  The Spanish office of Europarc (the European Federation of Nature Reserves and National Parks) has published a catalogue of good practices carried out in Spain’s parks. These initiatives have removed barriers and continue to operate to make Spain’s National Parks a natural resource for everyone to enjoy.

The Timanfaya National Park in Lanzarote, one of the seven Canary Islands, is an excellent example of an accessible park. Improvements carried out have made the park into a volcanic paradise which is accessible to anyone with a disability. Educational material includes information in Braille in several languages, and audiovisual productions incorporate sign language.  In Tenerife, also in the Canary Islands, the Teide National Park, which has UNESCO World Heritage designation, has a guide service for disabled people. By booking in advance, disabled people can discover the park’s huge biodiversity and enjoy spectacular views of the Teide from its viewing point. The Tablas de Daimiel park in Castile–La Mancha offers a similar service. Its La Laguna observatory adapts each group visit according to members’ disabilities.  The Picos de Europa National Park in the Region of Asturias has a room called ‘the cave’, where visitors can experience the different sounds and textures to be found in the ecosystems of the park. At the Sierra Nevada National Park in the province of Granada, Andalusia, you can recreate the realities of nature at a range of workshops on astronomy, ecology, textile production… all adapted for the disabled.

Some of  Spain’s National Parks offer direct vehicular access, such as Doñana (Andalusia), which also has UNESCO World Heritage designation, and Aiguestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici Park, in Catalonia.

The Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Jan McLucas says that conference organisers can now apply for grants of up to $12,000 to improve access for people with disability and their carers at nationally-focused disability conferences held in Australia during 2013-2014.   Organisations can apply for funding under the Australian Government’s National Disability Conference Initiative.  Grants can be used to assist people with disability and their carers with the costs of attending the conference, such as conference fees, accommodation or travel.  Services such as Auslan interpreters, live captioning services, hearing loops or note-takers for people who are deaf and hearing impaired can also be covered.  “Attending a conference is something that many of us don’t think twice about but the fact is there are many Australians who face barriers when doing so,” said Senator McLucas. “It is through initiatives like this that we can help ensure that people with disability have the same opportunities as other Australians to fulfil their potential and participate in community life.  The Australian Government is working hard to ensure people with disability have the same opportunities as other Australians.”

Through the National Disability Strategy, the Australian government is delivering a range of accessibility measures to make it easier for people with disability, their carers and families to participate in community life, including going to the cinema, using public libraries and accessing public buildings.

Eligibility requirements and application forms for the National Disability Conference Initiative are  available at: www.fahcsia.gov.au/funding. Applications close at 2pm AEST on Friday 26 April 2013.

It is heartening to see that, in a new article about “10 Tips to Improve Business” on the New Zealand Tourism Guide (NZTG) website, that Number 5  is ”If your business caters especially well for disabled visitors, make sure you sing out about it – promote it online, in print and to specialist websites and publications”.   However, it is disheartening to see that on an “Accessible Accommodation” page, the NZTG website  STILL (March 2013) has the statement:

“For travellers with visual impairment, it is important to check whether accommodations welcome your guide dog”.

Access Tourism NZ first pointed out in May 2010 that under NZ legislation, guide dogs are legally protected from discrimination by three Acts: The Human Rights Act 1993, Dog Control Act 1996, and Transport Services Licensing Act 1989. This legislation entitles guide dogs to go into any public place and on any public vehicle including: motels, hotels, restaurants, shops, beaches, cinemas, hotels, buses ferries, domestic and international flights, ships, taxis, trains, and so on.  Denying access to a person with a guide dog is a serious offence under NZ law, and – as recommended in 2010 -  it would be well if NZTG changed this statement to better reflect the legal obligations of accommodation providers.

It is also disheartening to still see a page headed People with Special Needs, which is an unfortunate use of language.  NZTG is part of the Yellow Pages Group.

English Heritage is the Government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment in that country.  It is an organisation that promotes caring for, valuing, understanding, and  enjoying the heritage of England.   It recently launched a major new web resource called Disability in Time and Place.  The resource reveals how disabled peoples’ lives are integral to heritage, and how disabled people have had a major influence on many well known, and less well known, buildings. From leper chapels built with leper’s squints (an oblique opening in the wall so those with leprosy could see the service without coming into contact with others) in the 1100s to meeting places for the first disabled self-help groups in the early 20th century, to protests about accessibility in the 1980s, the built environment is inextricably linked to the stories of disabled people, hidden and well-known.  To produce the resource, English Heritage worked with disabled people and specialists in disability history.  All the content has been translated into British Sign Language. The website has information about disabilities through the ages, broken into six sections (Medieval period, Tudor England, 18^th century, 19^th century, early 20^th century, and late 20^th century). There is additional information about buildings highlighted in the resource, some of which are open to the public.

Fiona Jarvis first developed MS in the early 1990s and has since become a wheelchair user, reports Disability Horizons.  She worked for financial software companies, but finding stylish places that were also accessible to people with disabilities to take clients for drinks and dinner became difficult.  She kept a list of such places and was often asked by able-bodied family and friends for recommendations on the latest cool venue or boutique hotel. She realised this could be valuable information for the less-able community, as being disabled and maintaining a sense of style can be difficult and ultimately excludes many people from mainstream society.  There are plenty of guides to cool restaurants, but it is never clear from these guide, or the restaurant’s website, whether they cater for people with mobility issues or other disabilities. There are also many websites out there with information on disabled access and facilities, but none concentrate on style as well. Plus, access information is often out-of-date or not audited by someone with a disability. So in 2007, Jarvis decided it was time to bring this information together on one website, Blue Badge Style (BBS). The website pulls together reviews, information, news and video, plus a Michelin-like rating system, BBS ticks.  Having initially launched Blue Badge Style as a website this year, BBS  have now launched an app too. The app gives you access to the website’s reviews along with directions. It searches for cool venues near you and lets you know what the reviewer thinks of the style, accessibility and facilities.  UCL Advances and Stuxbot jointly developed the app and have recently added a magnifying option and text-to-speech version for the blind.  Importantly, this isn’t just a guide for the less-physically-able, but for their friends too. There are an estimated 10.5 million people with disabilities and 5 million carers in the UK, which does not include those temporarily less-able, or families, friends, and unregistered carers.  Jarvis wants to encourage the wider community to rate their favourite restaurants, bars, shops, cafes, theatres so no-one has to be surprised or embarrassed by a lack of accessibility or facilities at a stylish venue (more information from the source, Disability Horizons).

In 2010 VisitBritain sponsored a question on the International Passenger Survey that asked:

Do you have any of the following conditions or impairments:

A – I have a mobility impairment (wheelchair user)

B – I have a mobility impairment (non-wheelchair user)

C – I am blind

D – I am partially sighted

E – I am deaf

F – I have partial hearing loss

G – I have learning difficulties

H – I have a long-term illness (e.g. AIDS, arthritis, cancer, diabetes)

None of these

The question was answered by more than 90% of survey respondents (576,000), 540,000 mentioned a single impairment or condition and 36,000 mentioning more than one.  Considering that there were 30 million visits last year to Britain, the numbers reporting an impairment or medical condition was very low at about 1.9% of visits. The majority of visitors with impairments and/or conditions were 65 years old or older.  The total expenditure generated by visits that were by someone with one of the impairments/conditions covered is estimated at £341m, or 2% of all inbound visitor spending.  The average length of a visit was higher than the average across all visits.

The conditions or impairments most likely to be mentioned were those relating to mobility (non-wheelchair user), partial hearing loss, or a long term illness. It is clear that the average length of a visit among this group has a tendency to be higher than the average across all visits.   Between them British and Irish nationals account for one-third of all visits by people who have an one or more of the impairments or conditions.  It is not surprising then that more respondents travel for medical treatment than for any other reason.  British and Irish nationals are followed by American, German, Dutch, French, Canadian, Australian, Swedish, and Italian visitors.

Authors Joe Strechay and Tara Annis have written an article on access to museums and parks for patrons who are Blind or visually impaired on the Access World website.   They point out that museums and parks in the USA have made great strides in accessibility for such patrons.  The use of audio descriptions, GPS devices, and other accessible technologies, along with exhibit design improvements and better information sharing among cultural and educational institutions, have made these resources increasingly enjoyable and accessible.  They list and describe organizations dedicated to improving access to cultural Institutions, and list accessibility devices and strategies used in cultural institutions (Durateq from Softeq, guidePORT System from Sennheiser, the Tourmate System, push-button audio boxes, and tactile representations). Suggestions are given from people with vision loss as to how museums and parks can improve accessibility.  They include:

1. Braille signage formatted correctly and placed in appropriate, easily discoverable locations.
2. Audio descriptions, large print, and Braille to provide the same information as the standard print formats.
3. Signs describing artwork or exhibits, visual displays, and electronic signage should be large and use large sans-serif fonts with highly contrasting colours.
4. Audio-described tours using portable access devices provide navigation that allows the patron to move around when listening to descriptions.
5. Museum and park staff trained to effectively interact and communicate with people with disabilities, including those with vision loss, and should be trained in the access devices used in their institutions.
6. Objects such as sculptures placed in front of high-contrast backgrounds to make them easier to see.
7. Lighting designed to reduce glare on exhibits and works of art.
8. Museums provide access through senses beyond sight. Some museums have representations in a smaller tactile version to allow patrons to feel the shapes and design in specific paintings.

The article goes on to recommend a number of USA cultural institutions and attractions accessible to visitors who are Blind or visually impaired, and discusses the future of audio description.

Links:  Accessibility devices and strategies currently  used in cultural institutions to increase access for #Blind and visually  impaired patrons http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw130206

Accessibility suggestions for museums and parks from people with vision Loss http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw130206

Recommended cultural institutions and attractions for visitors who are #Blind or visually impaired http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw130206

Blind and vision impaired audience members will be able to touch parts of the set and key props before audio described performances of The Bartered Bride in Auckland on 27 September and Wellington on 20 October in what is a first for the NBR New Zealand Opera. The Bartered Bride is sung in English and tells the story of a complicated love triangle set in a Czech village. It is accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Vector Wellington Orchestra, with the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus.   New Zealand Opera’s General Director, Aidan Lang, says he is very pleased to be able to provide an audio described performance for the first time. “THE EDGE’s SIGNAL programme for hearing or visually impaired audiences is an excellent initiative that brings theatre and performance alive for patrons.”  The SIGNAL programme offers Sign Language interpreted performances for Deaf and hearing impaire4d patrons, and audio described performances for blind or vision impaired patrons. It is run by THE EDGE, which manages three Auckland venues: Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall and The Civic.  Information: New Zealand Opera box office in Auckland (T: 09 379 4068) or Wellington (T: 04 499 8343); New Zealand Opera website.

Source: Arts Access Aotearoa

UK.  The South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2011/12 have praised Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Roman Baths for the improved accessibility it offers all visitors.  The Romans Baths received a “Highly Commended” in the Access for All award section in recognition of recent development work carried out by the Council to improve access in a wide range of ways and make the experience more inclusive for people with a wide range of different needs.  Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem,  Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Physical
accessibility at the Roman Baths has improved enormously with the installation of two new lifts and a complete change in the way visitors can move around the site. Understanding of the ancient monument has also become easier for our visitors with new displays and improved interpretation throughout, and there is a wide range of visual prompts that everyone can recognise.

“We have new interpretation for blind and visually impaired visitors with many tactile exhibits. There is a dedicated British Sign Language audio guide, an inclusive personal audio guide in eight languages, and tours for English and French speaking children. The judges even took into account the inclusive way that we cater for people with particular dietary needs in the Pump Room restaurant.”

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.

Mondo Travel, a New Zealand owned and operated company  is opening its own pop-up restaurant headed up by MasterChef ’s Brett McGregor to give Kiwis a taste of cuisine from some of the world’s most popular destinations.  The Tasting Lounge will be at the Marvel Grill at North Wharf in Auckland’s trendy Wynyard Quarter the last Monday of every month between Feb and June, 2012. Each month will celebrate the best cuisine from a different destination or travel experience, with matched wines from exclusive Marlborough label Whitehaven.  Each event will be MC’d by Kiwi performer Jackie Clarke and funds raised from the popup restaurant will go to the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, which trains mobility dogs to assist those with physical disabilities.

Assistance dogs have been helping people with physical disabilities for over 30 years internationally. The Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust (Mobility Dogs) is a registered charitable trust, established in 2003, with an appointed Board of Trustees. The MISSION of the Trust is to enhance the lives of people living with physical disabilities increasing independence, confidence, self-esteem and participation in New Zealand communities.  Mobility Dogs are trained to aid and assist a human partner 24 hours a day, seven days a week, inside the home and out in the community. Recipients of Mobility Dogs enjoy increased access to education, places of work and recreational opportunities.

Puppies enter the programme primarily from breeders. Because of the nature of assistance dog tasks, medium to large breeds like Labrador and Golden Retrievers are favoured. The puppies are placed with puppy-raisers to grow and mature. These may be puppy-raisers in the community or prisoners involved in the Puppies in Prison programme. The puppies are exposed to a wide variety of situations and environments in preparation for their future as Mobility Dogs. Puppy-raisers are guided by dog trainers and handlers in working on obedience and basic assistance dog tasks.

Auckland Art Gallery facade

Arts organisations and venues will become more accessible this year, thanks to eleven grants provided by Creative New Zealand for projects ranging from sign language interpretations and audio described performances to music workshops and concerts for disabled children and young adults, and improved physical access.   Totalling $30,000, the one-off grants are being administered by Arts Access Aotearoa through its Arts For All Programme, a partnership programme with Creative New Zealand. The aim of this programme is to work with representatives from the disability sector to support arts organisations, venues and producers to improve their access.

Stephen Wainwright, Chief Executive, Creative New Zealand said the one-off grants signal the organisation’s commitment to supporting improved access to arts events for all New Zealanders. They complement the publication Arts for All: opening doors to disabled people and the annual Big ‘A’ Creative New Zealand Arts for All Award.  “It’s great to see the range of projects and the organisations’ enthusiasm to build new audiences by making performances, facilities and information more accessible to disabled people,” he said. “I look forward to seeing the long-term impact of this investment and of Arts Access Aotearoa’s Arts for All Programme.”

Richard Benge, Executive Director, Arts Access Aotearoa said the one-off grants build on the work being done through the Arts For All Programme. They have also prompted valuable discussions with the organisations.  “I am very pleased to see the level of commitment and creative ideas coming from the arts community to improve access for everyone wanting to engage in the arts,” he said.

The eleven grant recipients will also contribute their own funding to their projects.

The grants will go to

• Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki to increase access to its programmes, provide disability awareness training for staff, and provide a series of signed talks about works in its collection in 2012

• Auckland Theatre Company to install ramps in its premises and make its website more accessible to people with a visual impairment

• Capital E National Theatre for Children to provide signed performances of three different works in its 2012 programme

• Chamber Music New Zealand to present a workshop and concert in the Wellington Town Hall for disabled children and young adults so they can experience live music up close, and interact with musicians and their instruments

• Fortune Theatre, Dunedin to establish best practice methodologies for audio-described performances and present six audio-described performances in 2012

• New Zealand Symphony Orchestra to increase the number of its performances to students in special needs schools in Auckland

• Pablos Art Studios, Wellington to provide staff training for its tutors, enhancing their engagement with those studio’s artists who have visual, hearing or communication impairments

• Q Theatre, Auckland to develop an accessibility policy and action plan, promote its access to a wide audience, and provide disability awareness training for staff, board and management

• Silo Theatre, Auckland to provide signed performances of Tribes by Nina Raine, an award-winning work about the politics of communication for hearing, hearing impaired and Deaf people

• Studio2, Dunedin to display artwork by disabled artists to professional standards in its exhibition space

• Theatre Royal Charitable Trust, Christchurch to contribute to the installation of an accessible lift, catering for disabled patrons, to the upper levels of the Isaac Theatre Royal.

Source: Arts Access Aotearoa

M Shed – which is part of Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives’ – has recently received a Jodi Mattes Trust Award for Digital Access onsite. Their PenFriend Audio Access project was announced as the winner at a recent presentation held at Swansea’s National Waterfront Museum.   The awards relate to the use of existing technology to widen access to information and collections for disabled people more effectively and creatively. They were first given in the UK in 2003, European Year of Disabled People, and celebrate practice that inspires locally, nationally or  internationally.  The  PenFriends are audio devices that allow visitors to M Shed to listen to stories in the galleries. This is a free service provided to visually impaired visitors and to those who have difficulty reading print.

The M Shed also has induction loops, many of the films and video clips have subtitles, and transcripts of oral histories are available.  There are tactile maps of Bristol and other exhibits that can be handled in many of the galleries.

M Shed, as part of Bristol City Council, is committed to providing a website that’s accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.  They endeavour to conform to level Double-A of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 by building their site using code compliant with the W3C standard. The technical wording for this is “valid HTML 4.01 Strict for structure and CSS for presentation”.  The site displays correctly in current browsers – though there may be visual differences. Using HTML/CSS standards means any future browsers will also display content correctly.   Whenever possible, links are written to make sense out of context.   The text size on the site is specified in a way that makes it resizable in any browser, should it be too small to read comfortably.  M Shed is keen to hear from people if anything needs changing to make their site more  accessible.

M Shed is fully accessible to wheelchair users, and wheelchairs can be borrowed. There is level access throughout and lifts to all floors. These lifts are designated fire evacuation lifts and have tactile buttons and spoken floor announcements.   There are accessible parking spaces and a drop-off/ pick up point for taxis, accessible toilets, changing facilities, and café.  Visitor Services staff have been trained to meet the needs of all visitors. For further information about accessible facilities contact the museum on 0117 35 26600 or emailinformation@mshed.org

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.”

Leicester City Council has joined online access guide DisabledGo to provide a guide
to Leicester for anyone who wants to know more about disabled access in the area.  The guide covers more than  1,000 venues including cinemas, hotels, parks, leisure centres, council offices, high street stores, restaurants, and tourist attractions, amongst other things.  The guide will enable people to find out not only whether venues have accessible toilets or parking close by but also specific details such as whether there are tactile or Braille markings in lifts or on doors, the dimensions of toilets, the positioning of fixtures and fittings, and whether they can request information in large print or Braille.

Commenting on the launch of the guide, Dr Gregory Burke, Chief Executive of DisabledGo noted that it will make a real difference to both residents and visitors to the City who have access concerns, empowering them to find services and venues that suit their own specific requirements.  The online guide will provide benefits for business too, helping them reach more customers by publicising the access they offer.

Current figures estimate that there are 11 million disabled people in Britain who spend £80 billion each year, numbers that every business should take notice of. All businesses that take part also receive Disability Awareness Manuals, designed as a 20 minute introduction to disability and access.

All of the information provided in the online version of DisabledGo-Leicester will also be available on the ‘Looking Local’ service on the red button on local TV, so that if people don’t have access to a computer at home, they can still get the information they need.

Hotel News UK reports that hoteliers throughout the United Kingdom have made strides to boost the number of accessible rooms in recent months as London gears up for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  In doing so, they hope to capitalize on the more than £2-billion (US$3.2-billion) tourist segment for disabled people.  There are more than 1,540 hotels and bed and breakfasts listed on the Government-backed Inclusive London website, which was launched in March 2011 to promote accessible rooms to all tourists visiting the city. There are a further 122 accessible hostels.

A lot of work has gone into improving accommodation access, says Ufi Ibrahim, CE of the British Hospitality Association.  “We’ve been working with tourism organization Tourism for All to raise awareness.  Many hoteliers in London have been doing sort of small quick fixes in order to enable some rooms to be usable for people who have accessibility problems—ramps, for example.”

Other changes are more long-term.   InterContinental Hotels Group, which has 294 accessible rooms in London, invested more than £12 million (US$19.3 million) seven years ago into its portfolio to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. The resulting efforts saw the inclusion of tactile signage and ceiling track hoists in select locations. IHG also requires all employees to undergo training programs on how to accommodate guests with disabilities, both during orientation and then once every six months for review.

By summer 2012, there will be 2,667 accessible rooms in London, 1,392 of which will be wheelchair friendly.  But with a potential market of 78 million American and 75 million European disabled visitors, friends and families according to VisitEngland, it is uncertain whether supply will meet demand, Ibrahim said. Hoteliers are ramping up development efforts in an attempt to do just that. Premier Inn plans to open four additional properties before the Games. The group also recently opened the London Stratford Premier Inn, the first among the company portfolio to offer fixed tracker hoisting mechanisms. Hilton Worldwide encourages development of accessible rooms through a flexible room layout, said Alex Humphrey, senior manager of safety and security for the U.K. and Western Europe. “Each hotel has the ability to customize rooms with accessibility equipment to increase the number of accessible rooms, in addition to providing dedicated equipment for those guests with hearing impairments,” he said.

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.

The Prince Edward Island (Canada) government is encouraging tourism operators in the province to verify whether their properties are fully accessible for people with disabilities. The program is being launched to ensure when people with disabilities go to businesses and accommodations, they get what they’re expecting. The province has signed on with Quality Tourism Services (QTS) which will independently verify the accessibility of a property. QTS already evaluates hotels and B&Bs on the Island for a number of factors, and will now inspect properties and give them a designation, either limited or full mobile accessible, and sight or hearing accessible. “We’re hoping over time that is going to give a level of comfort to the consumers that are going into that business,” said Roxanne Carmody of QTS, “that if they’re looking for a symbol, they’re looking for the Access Advisor symbol, because they know it has been verified and they know what they’re getting.”

Any operator who wants to have an accessibility symbol in the Tourism Guide will have to go through QTS and get evaluated. For the 2012 guide, while the inspections are being done, all operations that now say they are accessible will get a partial accessibility symbol. In 2013, only ones that have gone through the Access Advisor program will be able to have those symbols in the guide. Tourism PEI said it’s important for people to get what they are expecting. QTS has already evaluated more than 100 Island properties.

The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) has produced a set of best practice guidelines on accessible signage with the aim of ensuring signs are readable by blind, partially sighted and deafblind people. The RNZFB is New Zealand’s main provider of essential sight-loss services, and has 11,500 members.   Every year approximately 1,200 New Zealanders become RNZFB members after experiencing serious sight loss.

The new Accessible Signage Guidelines are free to download through the RNZFB website at www.rnzfb.org.nz/signage    The guidelines provide advice and technical specifications to make sure that clear print and braille signage is accessible. RNZFB Braille Awareness Consultant, Lisette Wesseling, says an accessible sign is one that everybody can read and understand, whether they read using sight or touch. “At least 11,500 New Zealanders are blind or partially sighted and 125,000 people over 40 have significant sight loss that affects their ability to do everyday tasks like reading.

“The information conveyed by signage is important to all people, including those with sight loss. Accessible signage says ‘you are welcome!’ and ‘your safety matters’,” Lisette says.  Any sign relating to a specific function or location in a building should have an accessible sign, for example a Fire Exit, or a Lift. Signs containing a large amount of information such as menus, patient advice, and detailed operating instructions may be more effective if produced in a braille or large print booklet.

It is hoped that business and organisations take advantage of these guidelines to help improve the accessibility of their environments.

What is an accessible sign?

An accessible sign is one that everybody can read and understand, whether they read using sight or touch. An accessible sign should have:

• High colour-contrasted print which is raised on the surface of the sign plate.
• The equivalent text in braille.
• Raised pictures (pictograms) if appropriate. Pictograms alone are not enough, always use text as well.

For more information, continue reading……………

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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.