Universal Design

ENGLAND: Controversy rang out in November 2018 when the Home Builders Federation objected to councils across England wanting to increase the number of homes with universal home designed centered around accessibility. Organizations such as Age UK and the Centre for Ageing Better and Disability Rights UK released reports stating that… Continue Reading »

NEW YORK, USA: The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the One Planet Network have launched an app to help improve the sustainability of new housing projects and increase the affordability of green housing. The SHERPA for Sustainable Housing Projects app was developed with the recognition that housing is an… Continue Reading »

PHILIPPINES: In a first grade classroom in the Philippines, Ma’am Jen, a teacher to students who are blind or low vision, sets a newly printed braille book she created in front of nine-year-old student Alexa. Prior to 2015, these braille books were hard to come by, leaving Ma’am Jen with… Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON, DC, USA: The World Development Indicators (WDI) is the World Bank’s premier compilation of international statistics on global development. Drawing from officially recognized sources and including national, regional, and global estimates, the WDI provides access to almost 1,600 indicators for 217 economies, with some time series extending back more than 50… Continue Reading »

BALI, INDONESIA: The heads of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and international institutions gathered for the 2018 Global Infrastructure Forum (GIF 2018) to consider the role of technology plays in shaping infrastructure that is sustainable, accessible and resilient. They also committed to enhancing support for capacity building for infrastructure public-private partnerships… Continue Reading »

AUSTRALIA: The Prime Minister’s announcement of a Royal Commission into Aged Care proves that the new PM fully understands that there are significant issues with violence, abuse and neglect being perpetrated on many older vulnerable Australians within these facilities and in home settings. “AFDO and our colleagues in the disability… Continue Reading »

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has highlighted how diffusion of innovative technologies can play a critical role in achieving many of the SDGs. The publication describes the relationship between intellectual property, innovation and the SDGs, and showcases examples of WIPO’s contributions to the SDGs. SDG 9 (industry,… Continue Reading »

AUSTRALIA: The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) called on Federal Minister Dan Tehan in July to ensure that the current Inquiry into the Future of Supported Employment increases engagement with people with disability and their representative organisations to increase full inclusion and real employment outcomes for people with disability. ‘We are… Continue Reading »

INTERNATIONAL: Representing between 0.2% to 2% of the population, persons with deaf-blindness are a very diverse yet hidden group and are, overall, more likely to be poor and unemployed, and with lower educational outcomes. Because deaf-blindness is less well-known and often misunderstood, people struggle to obtain the right support, and… Continue Reading »

NEW YORK, USA: The UN Secretary-General has released a four-year strategy for financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Strategy underscores the UN’s critical role in supporting and accelerating the mobilization of finance and focuses on three objectives to accelerate progress from global to local levels, linked to areas… Continue Reading »