The International Summit on Accessibility wraps up tomorrow in Ottawa, but as the first global conference to “promote access and inclusion for people with disabilities in all aspects of life”, it is making waves.
Canadian philanthropist, Rick Hansen is one of the high profile guests. Hansen completed the ‘Man in Motion World Tour’ in 1987, pushing his wheelchair through 34 countries in 26 months. The goal was to help make communities more accessible and inclusive and to raise money for spinal cord injury and research.
Rick Hansen was paralysed from the waist down following a spinal cord injury that happened in 1973. He was thrown out of the back of a pick-up truck that went off a steep winding road in British Columbia.
Registrants for the summit, organized by Carleton University, have come from as far away as Japan, the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Nigeria, to focus on the latest innovations improving accessibility. They are also considering the role of technology in contributing to accessibility, and the collaboration necessary to create accessible communities.
Architect, Ron Wickman, from Edmonton, Alberta, is one of the guests. Along with his “Housing for Everyone” posters, he brought along the children’s book he co-wrote. ‘Accessible Architecture: A Visit from Pops.’
It’s his own story of life with his father, Percy Wickman, who became a paraplegic at 23, the result of an industrial accident, when Ron was a baby.
Growing up, Ron Wickman witnessed the barriers his father faced physically. But he also observed the many accomplishments: becoming an Edmonton City councilor, and then elected to serve as a member of the Alberta Legislature. Percy Wickman was eventually honoured with the Order of Canada for his work on behalf of people with disabilities.
“Visitablilty”
Now Ron Wickman continues his father’s work, in the profession he chose, and the manner in which he is raising awareness.
He explained to Carmel Kilkenny the value of what he calls “visitability”. And he says, in the schools of architecture, students must learn to think “beyond the code”. He says, “accessibility is a sustainability issue”.
Some of the other guests at the Summit include Larry McCloskey, director of Carleton’s Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities; Dean Mellway, acting director of the READ Initiative, Engineering Dean Rafik Goubran, History Prof. Dominique Marshall and members of the School of Industrial Design, including Bjarki Hallgrimsson.
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