Europe, Global, Transportation, July 18 2021 GENEVA:  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the launch of a global Mobility Aids Action Group to examine and improve the transport journey of mobility aids, including wheelchairs, with the objective of improving the handling of this vital equipment for travelers with disabilities. The Action Group will be the […]

Marie Pontini is a competitive bodybuilder who likes to keep active. But she’s frustrated that she cannot always get to where she wants to. There isn’t always access for her wheelchair, which she uses because she has multiple sclerosis. “New buildings, they have to be accessible,” she told Global News, “but there’s no guidelines […]

People living with disabilities say very little thought is given to making public and private spaces accessible. On Thursday, Global News reported on a man who was denied a permit to install a mechanical lift at his home for a wheelchair. As Phil Carpenter explains, advocates say the provincial law needs to be stronger.

A Montreal man living with multiple sclerosis has been denied a permit to build a wheelchair lift in front of his apartment. Claude Varin can’t leave his second floor apartment as often as he’d like.  There are 18 steps to get to his front door from the street. He’s in a wheelchair, so back […]

A 63-year-old Rosemont man is fighting with the borough in a bid to maintain his autonomy. Claude Varin has been living with Multiple Sclerosis for 15 years and needs the help of an electric wheelchair to get around. The borough, however, won’t let Varin install a mechanical lift outside his apartment, saying the “architectural qualities”…

Asia-Pacific, Assistive Technology, Universal Design, July 15 2021 INDIA: A Museum of Possibilities, a permanent exhibition on assistive devices and accessible technology for differently abled people, is getting readied in the city by the State Commissionerate for the Welfare of the Disabled and Vidya Sagar, a non-governmental organisation. The museum, which will open this year, will […]

At the July 6 council meeting, Nancy Carrol, the clerk and treasurer of Tudor and Cashel Township, gave the council a report on the results of a tender to complete the installation of automatic doors, a ramp and cover at the entrances to the municipal office, thus increasing accessibility. The tender was awarded to the […]

Assistive Technology, Europe, July 12 2021 CROATIA: The centre, the first of its kind in Croatia, is part of the “Network for all” project. Mulić said that digital literacy would ensure new opportunities for blind and visually impaired persons that previous generations did not have. “We put great emphasis on diversity as well as on creating new opportunities […]

Americas, Tourism, July 9 2021 Enjoying nature and attending events in hotels and restaurants in Guanacaste and the rest of the country is still a privilege that excludes people with disabilities. That’s why the Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network teamed up with the State Distance University (UNED- Universidad Estatal a Distancia), the Costa Rican Tourism Institute […]

Europe, July 8 2021 An Oireachtas committee has called for the publication of two reports to inform the Government how the disability sector needs to be funded in advance of the budget. The Indecon Report, which examined the cost of having a disability in Ireland and the implications for public policy, was commissioned by the […]