Brief Report of the First Seminar on Universal Design

The first seminar about universal design for students and experts in the field of architecture, urbanism, traffic, design and law, organised by the Association of Disabled Students of Novi Sad (Novosadsko udru?enje studenata sa hendikepom - NSUSH) ) in co -operation with the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, took place in Novi Sad City Hole on April 24 th , 2004. The project is supported by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Executive board, the Fund for the 3 rd Sector Development of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the University of Novi Sad and the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad.

The goal of this seminar was to inform students and experts about different aspects of physical accessibility and accessible information by pointing out national and international regulations , their implementation, consequences and sanctions for not respecting them , as well as the adventages of multidisciplinary approach in building an accessible environment.

During the preparation period , NSUSH initiated contacts with the European Concept for Accessibility Network (EuCAN) and collected various national, European and American standards and regulations as well as the concept of universal design development report by a team of the Norwe gian State Council on Disab ility from 1997. NSUSH received the European Concept for Accessibility manual created in 2003 from EuCAN Office in Lisbon. Most of these texts are now accessible in the Serbian language. About 200 English and French pages have been translated for this occasion and collected in a sort of textbook that was forwarded to University libraries, institutions for design and building and to organisations of people with disabilities whose representatives attended the programme.

The seminar was opened by the subdean for science and international cooperation of the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Janko Hodolic, Ph.D. and NSUSH representative and by reading the support letter of Mr Jorgen Grunnet, the Council of Europe representative in Belgrade, which represented the Council of Europe strategy, as well as the steps and activities about the people with disabilities' position in Europe. Then, the following 8 topics were presented :

• Milica Mima Ruzicic (NSUSH) Approaches to (Models of) Disability - from Ramps for the Disabled to Universal Design
• Miodrag Pocuc (NSUSH) Situation in the Environment from the Accesibility Aspect
• Damjan Tatic, M.A. (Center for Independent Living of Serbia, Belgrade) Legislation and Standards of Accessibility
• Milica Mima Ruzicic (NSUSH) Accessibility for All... Design for All, Universal Design - Theoretical Standpoints, Centres, Programmes
• Aleksandar Bogdanovic (USH Belgrade) Access to Information
• Alen Sajfar (Resource Centre for the Disabled People of the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organisation) Life Tool Equipment: Characteristics and Experiences
• Miodrag Pocuc (NSUSH) Construction and Constitution of Traffic Planning and Access to Buildings
• Ljiljana Vukajlov, M.Sci. (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad) Universal Design in Architecture

During the lunch break a short presentation was made of The Dictionary of Disability: Towards Equality in Public Speech by Milica Mima Ruzicic (Novi Sad, 2003)

Some 30 participants received the information about the seminar from NSUSH members and from those who work on its programmes and project. The rest were informed by the organisations they work for or by NSUSH invitation letters and posters. Most of them suggested more efficiant information spreading about such events, less text and more concrete material for participants. They were interested in topics, possibilities of receiving new information and knowledge. The most important topics were Construction and Constitution of Traffic System and Access to Buildings, The Access to Information and Universal Design in Architecture . The usefullness of the topics was graded with 4.72. The most interesting way of presentation were made by Miodrag Pocuc, Ljiljana Vukajlov and Milica Mima Ruzicic. The participants would like to have more information about the same topics, and particularly about the positive solutions to accessibility problems, about legislation and what has been done in this field in Novi Sad.

The accessibility of the seminar was marked with 4.40. This shows that the participants are more aware of what accessibility is. Besides, there still remains a lot of work to be done because there is still not a single public building in Novi Sad which provides all the elementary accessibility conditions. Considering all these facts, the general grade of the seminar was 4.64.

1. To spread the concept of universal design;
2. To introduce this topic into the curriculum of the Faculty of Technical Sciences and the Faculty of Law;
3. Multidisciplinary work of experts in the fields of arhitecture, planning, design, building, traffic and legislation along with the participation of different groups of citiizens in order to improve the experts' knowledge and to include different needs of citizens at the very beginning of the planning process connected with this;
4. Systematic approach to planning, design and construction of buildings and surroundings along with constant evaluation of quality, functionality and continuance for achieving equal conditions and possibilities creation for designing objects, products and services, and
5. Connecting the institutions, experts' associations and organisations that represent the different groups of citizens to co-operate in this field.

Association of Disabled Students of Novi Sad (NSUSH)
Association of Disabled Students of Novi Sad
Faculty of Low
Trg Dositeja Obradovica 1
21000 Novi Sad
Serbia and Montenegro
Tel/fax +381(21) 350-377 Ext. 374
e-mail: nsush@pf.ns.ac.yu

 printer-friendly format