Report of the
Fifth International Expert Seminar on
Building Non-Handicapping Environments:
Access Legislation and Design Solutions
Harare, Zimbabwe, January 16-18, 1992
CIB is the abbreviation of the French title of the
International Council for Building Research, Studies and Documentation.
CIB's purpose is to facilitate and develop international cooperation in
building, housing and planning research, studies and documentation, covering
not only the technical but also the economic and social aspects of building
and the related environment. CIB, with its over 100 Working Commissions,
works through congresses, symposia and colloquia. Working Commission W84
"Building Non-Handicapping Environments" was founded in 1984.
The Zimbabwe Federation of Disabled (ZIFOD)
The Department of Building Function Analysis, Department of Architecture,
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm studies the relationship between
man, built environment and society. The original focus has shifted from
the definition of spatial and other basic functional user requirements to
more complex aspects of the use of buildings and urban environments including
decision processes in planning, building and management as well as housing
in developing countries. The aim is to provide data and arguments to enable
environmental designers and users to advocate users' interests in the planning
process and to widen the public debate in cultural, economic and political
terms.
CIB W84 Secretariat (until 1994):
Coordinator, Professor Sven Thiberg
Associate Coordinator, Adolf D. Ratzka, Ph. D.
Administrative Assistant, Kristopher Walmsley
Address:
Dept. of Building Function Analysis
The Royal Institute of Technology
100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Opening address
Cde. F. L. Chitauro,
Deputy Minister of Labour, Manpower Planning and Social Welfare
Comrade Chairperson, distinguished delegates, ladies
and gentlemen, comrades and friends, I wish to express my sincere gratitude
for having been accorded the honor to be with you at the opening of this
important expert seminar on accessibility legislation. It is important,
for its recommendations and conclusions which will no doubt assist us in
the formulation of relevant policies and developmental programs in the field
of disability.
Cde. Chairperson, I would like to extend a warm welcome to each and every
one of you and I do so on behalf of my ministry and indeed on my own behalf.
The people of Zimbabwe are honored to have the duty and responsibility of
being host to delegates from Africa and other parts of the world. I hope
that you will find your stay in Harare a beautiful and memorable one, not
only during your official deliberations but also as you interact with our
people and each other.
Cde. Chairperson, I am confident and hopeful, that with your well-known
characteristic grasp of detail and dedication to the aims and objectives
of Expert Seminars on Accessibility Legislation, you will steer the current
session to a successful conclusion and I wish you every success in your
difficult and challenging task. The potential of this Expert Seminar is
great but so are its problems. I view this Expert Seminar on Accessibility
Legislation with the strongest of goodwill tempered by the sober recognition
of the limits of the contribution which we can make to solve these problems.
We do not expect instant solutions so I urge you to deal with the realities
of today and the opportunities of tomorrow instead of reacting on the basis
of yesterday's habits.
The concepts of integration and equalization can only be achieved, if our
governments could devise progressive community-based rehabilitation and
educational programs that are aimed at changing societal attitudes and behaviors
towards disability. There is a great need for the professionals, politicians
and the public at large to re-examine our own attitudes, since we seem to
spend a lot of time on moulding disabled people to cope with their environments
instead of spending more time on changing the attitudes of the able-bodied
persons.
Cde. Chairperson, it is necessary for us to recognize that persons with
disabilities have the same human and civil rights as all other citizens.
Therefore, steps need be taken to guarantee their autonomy and social integration
by way of legislation to enable people with disabilities to participate
in and contribute to all aspects of economic, social and political life.
Disabled persons have the same hopes, aspirations and rights as everyone
else. This basic and simple statement, however, is not as universally appreciated
as evidenced, and I am sure you will agreewith me, by the fact that no country,
not even in times of economic prosperity has solved the problems of integrating
all its disabled people into active social, political and economic life.
Pity and over-protection are completely inadequate to prepare disabled people
for self-employment. The almost universal assumption that disabled people
need charity or the constant support of social workers or other professional
groups is to be questioned. Admittedly, Comrade Chairperson, while there
are some disabled persons who require care, shelter, protection and constant
support from others, there are those in the majority who need assistance
towards self-help, training to cope with their disability, an opportunity
to develop their skills and short-term assistance to overcome their disadvantage
and to be given a fair chance to compete on an equal basis with non-disabled
persons. This, Cde Chairperson, is what I think is the way forward on matters
that concern disabled persons.
To state that societies have an obligation to make their physical environments,
housing and transportation, social and health services, educational and
work opportunities, cultural and social life including sports and recreational
facilities accessible to people with disabilities, is merely to repeat the
obvious because the community must be accessible to all its members.
People with disabilities have a right to use all structures intended for
general public use. Like everyone else, they need usable means of transportation
within the community. I believe that building standards and community designs
should include requirements for accessible living, learning, working, recreational
and transportation conditions in rural as well as urban areas. Cde. Chairperson,
time has come to set the balance right. A great deal depends on our determination
and vision. Let us deal in reality not rhetoric. Let us address the practical
common concerns of our disabled people with realism, maturity, understanding
and common sense. It is now time to bring into the light of day and the
mainstream of useful, active life, those thousands of disabled persons whose
energies and talents are being blighted and sacrificed at the alter of ignorance
and prejudice.
In conclusion, I am informed that your organization has depended on the
assurance and cooperation of many organizations and individuals. A great
deal of effort, enterprise and expenditure has been put into this program
to ensure its success, I would therefore want to take this opportunity to
thank the agencies, individuals and organizations who have contributed and
enabled this workshop to take place.
Last but not least, I wish to thank the participants who are willingly taking
time in the midst of their many duties and responsibilities to come to this
meeting. Mention should also be made that the hospitality of the staff at
this hotel contributes to the comfort and happiness of our guests. I urge
the hotel staff to keep up the good work. Cde. Chairperson, comrades and
friends, it is now my singular honor to declare this important seminar officially
open.
Opening address
Alexander Phiri,
Zimbabwe Federation of Disabled (ZIFOD), Zimbabwe
I would like to welcome the delegates who have come
to this CIB W84 Seminar on Access Legislation and Design Solutions. On behalf
of ZIFOD, who are hosting this seminar, it is a big honor for us to welcome
you all to this important international seminar.
When Adolf Ratzka wrote me to request that we host this CIB W84 Seminar
and Workshop, I was a bit hesitant because I was not sure if we could manage
to do what I had seen in Prague, Czechoslovakia when I attended the CIB
Seminar there in 1987. Especially in Africa where all types of resources
are said to be very scarce. It is not surprising, therefore, ladies and
gentlemen, visitors and delegates, that we had a number of postponements.
My appeal to you is that if you have attended better organized CIB meetings
before, please do not compare them with this one because we are holding
the first of its kind in Africa. All the other CIB meetings have been held
outside Africa, where they could have been better organized. So do not compare
it because if you do so you may desire to see all the computers, the microphones,
all the beautiful things that you see in Europe, we do not have these here.
But let me assure you that there is something unique about us in Africa;
persons with disabilities here in Africa are united. We may not be experts
in Africa but we know that we want to achieve through a united front in
all areas of development because a strong movement of disabled people is
very important. We do not want to act as individuals because this approach
is full of gaps. Wherever you find individuals acting in small pockets you
will find a lot of gaps. And politicians, governments, take advantage of
this when people are not united. I have seen in some countries that I have
been to, in Europe and America, where there are numerous organizations,
hundreds of them. You have organizations of the legless, like myself, who
are not associatingwith anybody else. You will find us, people with no legs,
debating issues. The handless, they have their own organization. The one-eyed
people have their own organization. Albinos, wheelchair users, the deaf,
the mentally disabled have their own organizations, and the list is endless.
But our enemy number one, as you know, is negative attitude. We must fight
this enemy, not as individuals but as a strong united front.
Do you know how Africa was colonized? It was because somebody, somewhere,
succeeded to divide our ancestors. They did not divide us, they divided
our ancestors, so today there is disunity among independent states which
will continue to lead to this kind of division and not bring real development
among people. As disabled people, we do not want to copy what other people
are doing, we want to be united in the movement of disabled people, and
let us always aspire to work together as one united body under DPI. Yes,
we are experts in our own right. But you will find that you do not need
to be an expert to know your problems as a disabled person. You do not need
to have a degree, you do not need to be an architect, you do not need to
be a social welfare officer and so on. We have the same problems whether
or not we are experts, therefore the idea is for the experts that are disabled
or non-disabled to come together to fight this one thing: negative attitude.
I know we will succeed and having said that, I wish you the best during
your stay in Harare.
Opening address
Sven Thiberg
CIB W84 Coordinator, Professor, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm,
Sweden
First I want to thank you, Mr. Phiri and Mr. Dube
and your staff, for organizing this seminar. I do not think you have to
be nervous, everything has functioned very well up until now and I think
it will continue that way. So it depends more on us as participants than
on you whether the Seminar will be successful or not. I also want to welcome
all participants to this meeting.
I will roughly cover five items: a little about the CIB background; something
about the Independent Living seminar yesterday; some words about the Prague
Resolutions which are the basis for our discussions today; some comments
about the program; and some wishes concerning the outcome of this seminar.
First, something about the CIB background. CIB was founded just after the
Second World War by some Central European researchers and planners and architects
within the field of building and planning. I think CIB had two purposes.
One was to strengthen professional knowledge and to spread information about
that. But it was also what is now called, a confidence-building type of
approach, to try to make friends again with people involved in the Second
World War. It was a success from that point of view. For many years East
and West European countries were in a cold war, but still there was good
cooperation between East and West European experts in the field of planning
and building.
CIB works in what is called commissions, and W84 is one of those commissions.
I was asked as a professor in the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm
in the beginning of the 1980s to take on the responsibility for one new
such working commission in the disability field. Thanks to Adolf Ratzka,
it was possible to start this work in Stockholm in 1984. Our second meeting
was in Prague in 1987, and already at that stage legislation was on the
agenda and one of the most important issues. We went to Tokyo for the first
meeting mainly concerned with the developing countries in that region. Then
we were in Budapest, and now Harare is meeting number five. We are planning
for a sixth meeting in Montevideo later this year. In Budapest, here in
Harare, and in Montevideo, we will concentrate on legislation.
About the Independent Living seminar yesterday. I think the seminar was
very successful. It gave a clear philosophy, dealing with both the technical
issues and with basically the political issues. I am happy about that and
I hope we can use the outcome of the Independent Living seminar as a basis
for our work. That means it is not necessary to go back over those basic
facts but to act in accordance with what was discussed and decided on. In
my opinion, building and planning is a way to distribute wealth and resources
in a society. In each country you can look at this as a measure of the nation's
capacity to a fair distribution without discrimination or injustice. I think
that's a very important background and makes our issues similar to other
issues regarding housing for the homeless and issues which are very important
just now in the world.
The Prague Resolutions: I will read some of the most important parts of
it.
1. We, the participants
of the CIB W84 Expert Seminar, consisting of both non-disabled and disabled
persons, cannot accept anything else but the goal of a barrier-free environment
and free movement within it for all. Accessibility must be enforced by national
legislation.
2. Legal instruments should be developed to ensure accessibility both
in new construction and in renovating, upgrading and expanding existing
urban environments.
3. In recognition of their experience, disabled people and their organizations
should be actively involved at all levels in drafting, monitoring and enforcing
legal instruments for the planning and building process.
4. Public funds should be allocated for the development and maintenance
of these instruments.
5. Governments should provide funding for consumer organizations to allow
them to build up their expertise in this area and to participate in the
decision making and implementation of these instruments.
6. Recognizing the long term benefits of accessible environments for all,
governments should subsidize the development of products and methods that
improve accessibility.
The Resolutions are in accordance with the "United Nations World Program
of Action Concerning Disabled Persons" that has been adopted by all
member governments. I think this is a basis, even for our Seminar today.
Some comments on the program. I think we have a very difficult task. We
have to work on general, regional, international, and local levels and we
have to take into consideration political, economic and cultural differences
and similarities. Five examples of this come to mind: I think of definitions
we use and of the definition of democracy and the definition of the political
systems in this part of the world is different. There are different opinions,
different systems in existence and some of those systems are just now undergoing
big changes. I think the distribution of land and of housing and the housing
standards differ very greatly not only between the countries on this continent
but also within the countries. It is important to understand for which people
are we discussing those questions on the agenda. The legal systems in the
field of building and planning are different. In some countries there is
very little of it and in other countries there are several paragraphs. Still,
we know little about how effective those paragraphs are. The administrative
systems are different. The degree of decentralization, the power of the
state, the power of the local governments, the power of the individuals
is very different. That means we have to start from different levels when
we discuss how to make those systems more effective. Finally, the social
structure, demographic facts, household patterns, standard of living is
different not only between countries but within countries. I think we can
get lost, if we are not aware of those differences and do not take them
into account.
Finally something about my wishes for the outcome of the Seminar. The idea
is to support the UN administration with a document concerning legislation.
The Budapest meeting was a first step in this process which we are continuing
here. I hope we have time to go through some of the findings and resolutions
made there, and I hope Adolf will resume them sooner or later in this Seminar.
And we will go further to Latin America to find out the Latin American situation
and the idea is to try to combine what we have learned into this document.
So you have to help us and help yourself to make the document as competent
and as broad and as deep as possible. I hope this document can be full of
teeth, which has been how you expressed the way you want to go further during
the last couple days. And I also hope it can be very competent but also
very realistic. We need realistic solutions which can be applied as soon
as possible under the different conditions faced in the world.
