1 Invalidiliitto The Delta Conference 2013 Universal Design in the transport sector on the North Calotte Kirkenes, September 16–18, 2013 The Nordic Approach to Universal Design Kirsti Pesola, M.Arch., Lic.Tech. ‏ Director, The Accessibility Centre ESKE the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities tel or |

2 Invalidiliitto Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities FPD (Invalidiliitto, Invalidförbundet) Was established in 1938 Is a national advocacy and service association Acts within the society in such a way as to enable everyday life to be independent and fulfilling for people with physical disabilities Has155 member associations made up of individual members Has employees (the whole FPD Group) in organizational work, rehabilitation centres, training centres, accommodation and support services FPD’s basic values are human dignity, justice, courage and fairness

3 Invalidiliitto The Accessibility Centre ESKE Activities concerning accessibility: spread out information, knowledge and good practices coordinate a network for accessibility actors find out the needs for education and produce educational material maintain and update the website consultation (designers, building companies, investors…) works in cooperation with other NGOs and other organisations education and teaching, training new specialists rewarding good public examples together with a.o. the Finnish Association of Architects and the Association of Interior Architects

4 Invalidiliitto Getting old is universal… …and it’s natural and it concerns all of us, our physical and mental capacity weakens individually with ageing: we have go-go, slow-go and no-go elderly people People want to continue living in the way they are used to, as long as possible... Poor capacity is not only a property of old or disabled people, and it concerns all ages The problems in one’s moving and acting can be caused by poor environment – poor capacity of an individual is not always the only reason To keep our ability to act and our physical condition, our body needs to be used; we need to be able to take care of our daily activities

5 Invalidiliitto Sooner or later – 1 We lose our vision: we need better lighting, colours and contrasts, and it becomes more difficult to perceive and interpret our environment We lose our hearing: we need better acoustics and hearing aids Our muscular forces weaken and we lose our balance: we need handrails and walking aids We can’t trust our memory It’s harder and it takes more time to learn new things – but we are willing to do it It takes more time to react and to make decisions Our whole body becomes frail/fragile and every falling might affect the rest of our life

6 Invalidiliitto Sooner or later – 2 Our walking becomes slower and our walking distances become shorter We (perhaps) won’t be able/allowed to drive a car Our home and its close environment (including basic services) become more important Accessibility issues of the environment become more important We become dependent on public transport (if it exists and if we are able to use it) We might need more technical aids more pressure on the quality of public transport

7 Invalidiliitto Barrier-free, Accessibility, Universal design, Design for All In principle they mean the same Accessibility is (or should be) an integrated part of all design and all construction works (buildings, roads, pedestrian streets, products, services, IT…) Accessibility is only visible when it does not exist It is important to describe the needs and qualifications, not how it should be done

8 Invalidiliitto The principles are the same – differencies in the legislation Rising and raising awareness Accessibility is seen as a good business in the future It concerns equality: equal possibilities, equal access It concerns: human rights, self-esteem and autonomy money – in many ways quality and safety service and maintenance our own future It is understanding, a way of thinking, attitudes and empathy The Nordic approach

9 Invalidiliitto Is not an opinion – it is a fact that can be measured Is a large variety of things: that you understand where the entrance of the building is understandable signs, spaces and details safe lighting and good contrasts, good acoustics, induction loop easy-to-use vending machines, ATMs and internet air that can be breathed without coughing, a running nose, smarting eyes or without a headache doors, locks or soda bottles that can be opened, or washing machines and stoves that are easy to use food labels or washing instructions that are easy to read pills that don’t need to be split, that you get out of the package a handy remote control or a video package easy to open… Accessibility

…but it was so cheap…

Source: Age and Design

12 Invalidiliitto Kiitos, tack, takk спасибо большой Kirsti Pesola, M.Arch., Lic.Tech. ‏ Director, The Accessibility Centre ESKE tel or |