Universal design & accessibility

Universal Design and Accessibility
Smart Cities & Digital India

Conclave

27 August 2016

Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA) invites you to participate in the National Conclave on Universal Design and Accessibility in Smart Cities, to be held on August 27, 2016. Universal Design conclave is an initiative to generate awareness about the concept of "Accessibility or Design for All" which focuses on designing buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to people with disabilities, older people and also people without disabilities. The conclave is organized in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and with Blind People’s Association (BPA), as research partners.[download pdf of the brochure]

Accessible India Campaign :

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) in 2016, as a nation-wide campaign for achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities. Universal design is an international movement and recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). To further this thought this confluence holds the podium, for discussions to integrate the concept of Smart Cities, Digital India and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), while keeping Universal Design in mind.

Objectives :

  • Integrating Universal Design into our Lives

The confluence aims to illustrate with the help of deployed cases on how to integrate accessibility in IT, Infrastructure, Products and opportunities. It also helps understand the opportunity barriers, as faced by the differently abled people, and that they are capable of providing need-based, goal-oriented services, if provided with the required skill development opportunity.

  • Integrating Smart Cities, Digital India and Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) activities

India aims at developing core infrastructure facilities-specially related to IT. As these infrastructure facilities are currently being developed, the process of making them accessibility complaint could be taken up. Accessibility Compliancy could also be taken up as a CSR initiative, to support the development.

  • Accessibility Index & Technical Framework for Accessibility Compliancy

The conclave will discuss the Accessibility Index, further it will initiate a implementation style guide. This style guide should integrate standards and to do list and key vendors for making Indian cities accessibility compliant by being inclusive for all six kinds of disabilities.

Why attend?

  • Help shape the future of Universal Design in India
  • Increase your knowledge and awareness
  • Reflect on how Smart Cities, Digital India, Accessibility India and CSR can all be integrated effectively
  • Make valuable connections with key experts in the field

Who should attend?

  • Citizens
  • Planners
  • Policy makers- Accessible India, Smart City, Digital India, CSR
  • Corporate working in CSR
  • Service providers
  • Architects
  • Builders
  • Product Designers
  • Information Technology Specialists
  • Researchers and Educators
  • Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)

Chair: Prof. Ashis Jalote Parmar, IIMA

Contact: design_accessibility@iima.ac.in