International Universal Design Conference Presents Awards

The first Ron Mace Designing for the 21st Century Awards were presented on June 16 in Boston, as part of an international conference on universal design. Named for the creator of the concept of universal design and the Center for Universal Design, the awards are intended to honor Mace, who died in 1998, by recognizing those who have worked to make his vision of a universally inclusive society a reality.

Ron Mace was an internationally recognized architect and disability activist whose design philosophy challenged convention and provided a design foundation for a more usable world. He coined the term "universal design" to describe the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life. He was also a devoted advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.

Award Recipients (alphabetically):

American Association of Retired People (AARP)

AARP has been a huge contributor to the understanding and popularity of universal design, through its publication Modern Maturity, its sponsorship of a universally designed home to demonstrate how universal design can help people to stay in their homes as they age, and dissemination of a universal design information package to their membership that generated over 100,000 responses.

European Institute for Design and Disability (EIDD)

Founded seven years ago this supra-national organization has had an extraordinary influence promoting a wider appreciation of the social and economic benefits of universal design. The EIDD advocates for universal design by lobbying decision makers at local governmental and European Union level, through seminars, workshops, publications and their website. EIDD enjoys consultative status with the European Union and European Parliament.

Center for Applied Technology (CAST)

Founded in 1984, CAST is a pioneer in expanding opportunities for people with disabilities through innovative uses of computer technology. CAST has pioneered Universal Design for Learning and is the lead agency in the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. In 1996, CAST launched www.cast.org/bobby, acknowledged by Web experts throughout the world as the premier validation tool for disability access to the web. The Bobby project was named a finalist in the 1999 Computerworld Smithsonian awards. Wiggleworks, a software program that CAST co-developed with Scholastic Inc. is the first universally designed, commercially successful mainstream literacy series to use electronic media to make curricula accessible to a wide variety of learners. The CAST eReader(TM), a customizable text to speech program, is used in over 9000 schools throughout the country.

Media Access Group/WGBH Educational Foundation

The media access division of WGBH/Boston makes television, film and digital media accessible to 34 million Americans with sensory disabilities, using information technology and universal design principles. The Access Group includes the world's first captioning agency 'The Caption Center', and provides a descriptive video service, turning pictures into sound for blind and visually impaired audiences. Recently developed products include Rear Window Captioning, enabling people with sensory disabilities to attend films with their families and friends, now installed in over 50 conventional and specialty theaters; the MAGpie, a free application which enables website developers and multi media producers to make web-based video and audioclips universally accessible; a CD ROM with guidelines for accessible science and math; and an online physics course at MIT where students learn how to make materials and media more widely usable.

Microsoft Corporation

The accessibility group within Microsoft has grown to be the largest group of its size in any company in the world. This group has made Windows 2.0 accessible for people with impaired hearing and dexterity; created an Access Pack for Microsoft Windows, an add on package that includes features to enhance operating the keyboard and the mouse; improved Access Facilities for Windows 3.0 and 3.1; added closed captioning and audio description technology to make all of its multimedia products accessible to the deaf, hard of hearing and blind users. The group is developing measurable objectives to make future versions of Microsoft products more accessible, has established a 25-member council comprised of prominent members of the disability community to determine priorities, and is committed to establish an oversight mechanism by which product groups will rate themselves and be rated on how well they address accessibility, and a renewed commitment to hiring people with disabilities in product groups and upper management.

Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc., USA

MIG has been a leading practitioner and advocate of universal design for over 20 years, particularly in the area of children's environments. Through its work MIG has changed the way in which children's environments are designed, pioneering the concept that children with and without disabilities can, and should be, integrated. MIG also has a major influence on the design of manufactured play equipment and the way in which manufacturers and designers approach the context of a site for the integration of al children.

Universal Design Newsletter

The Universal Design Newsletter has been a unique and consistent vehicle to introduce, and deepen the understanding of universal design. This quarterly newsletter began in 1993, and has been an ongoing source of information and illumination on the variety of applications of universal design.

Individuals:

* Maria Benktzon, Ergonomi Design Gruppen, Sweden

Maria Benktzon was practicing universal design before it even had a name. She is an industrial designer who feels a strong commitment to design attractive products for people with disabilities. She is well known for her work to prevent physical strain in heavy repetitive work, the best example being her design of a coffee pot for SAS, the Swedish airline, and deeply appreciated by flight attendants worldwide. She has recently become involved in a project to develop clothing for women with osteoporosis.

* Roger Coleman, The Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art, London UK

Trained as a designer, Roger Coleman is an influential author and educator who makes every effort to show people how design can be done well and at the same time fulfill the dual purpose of being functional and aesthetically pleasing. He works with the Royal Collage of Art and played a central role in creating DAN-the Design Age Network in Europe.

* Sam and Betsey Farber, Oxo Good Grips, USA

With a simple idea, Sam and Betsey Farber launched a line of products that have become the icons of universal design in consumer products. The ongoing story of OXO Good Grips, already 10 years old, is so compelling from personal, design, and business perspectives, it is an icon of universal design.

* Yoshihiko Kawauchi, Access Project Japan

Kawauchi is a respected Japanese architect, disability advocate and author on universal design. He participated in a video project funded by the NED foundation for Thirteen WNET, a New York based cable station, titled "People in Motion." The production demonstrates the problems a person with a disability faces when using the Japanese Public Transportation system. He is a keynote speaker and will participate in a panel on Users/Experts and in the Mentoring Workshop for Disabled Designers

* Satoshi Kose, Building Research Institute, Tatehara Japan

Dr. Kose is a major force for universal design in housing in Japan. He was one of the first to recognize that the rapidly aging society needs to rethink the design of all homes. His research included private but publicly funded housing. His widely disseminated research and publications created a bridge from Japan to the universal design movement worldwide. Dr. Kose plays a crucial role of mentorship in Japan.

* Patti Moore, Patti Moore Designs, Inc.

Patti Moore is a remarkable industrial designer and gerontologist who over the years has brought an awareness and understanding of human needs of older people and the concept of universal design to industry, academia and the professional practice around the world. As a designer-consultant, her insights have improved countless consumer products. She is a fearless and engaging advocate who brings a human face to product design. She was the first person Oxo's Farber's turned to when they wanted to design kitchen tools that people with hand limitations could use. The resulting 'Good Grips Story' is a legend in the universal design industry.

* Jim Sandhu, Special Needs Research Unit, University of Northumbria, UK

Jim Singh Sandhu has been concerned throughout his professional career with developing designs for the widest possible constituency, including people with disabilities, older people and other marginalized groups. He founded and developed the special needs research unit at the university of Northumbria in Newcastle which is responsible for many innovations in informatics and industrial design. He founded the British Institute for Design and Disability, now the European Institute for Design and Disability (EIDD).

* Gregg Vanderheiden, Trace R& D Center

Gregg Vanderheiden was among the first to realize the critical need for consideration for users with disabilities in high-tech, fast-growing industries like telecommunications and data-processing technologies. For almost 30 years, he's played a leadership role promoting action by industry leaders as well as government policy innovation. He founded and directs the Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin -Madison.

For more information on Designing for the 21st Century II: An International Conference on Universal Design, please visit http://www.adaptenv.org/21century/.