Workshops

The aim of the POLIS workshops (round table conversations) and conferences is to formulate recommandations with respect to the European and the Member States´ policies with regard to accessibility and universal design. Discussions are a.o. based upon the report from the Group of Experts set up by the the European Commission "2010: A Europe Accessible for All". By means, on the one hand, of direct contacts between Member States representatives, experts and other stakeholders during the workshop and thanks to intensive study work on the other hand, more and more knowledge is acquired concerning universal design policies in the Europe and its Member States. The final aim is to come to the formulation of a POLIS White Paper for policy action as regards building accessibility. Points of attention are amongst others:

• Equal opportunity policy
• Human rights and anti-discrimination
• Planning concerning integrated accessibility at rural, provincial, regional and national level
• Monitoring and follow-up
• Construction legislation
• Standardisation
• Construction licenses and control
• Voluntary agreements

The last workshop took place in Antwerp on 31 March 2006. Next workshops are scheduled for Watford, Brussels, Tel Aviv and Heraklion. In November 2006 a POLIS-BAS International Conference is taking place in Bruges-Gits, Belgium. More information on all these events can be found below.

1^st International POLIS-BAS Conference

16-17 November 2006

The POLIS-BAS International Conference will take place on 16-17 November 2006 in Bruges-Gits, Belgium. More information on the conference and the call for papers can be found under 'conference' or at the following page (please click here). 

• Click here to view the full programme of the POLIS Conference.
• Click here to view the proceedings of the POLIS Conference.
• Click here to consult the Evaluation Results of the POLIS Conference.

1^st Regional POLIS-BAS Workshop, Chersonissos, Crete - CRETA MARIS

29-30 September 2006

The Regional Workshop for the accessibility of the built environment and the urban space "Accessibility and Tourism" will seek to highlight  the social and the economic value of the accessibility of the built environment in the broader area of the SE Europe and Mediterranean. It aspires to develop into a catalyst for the establishment of a permanent discussion on the accessibility in the area, the cross fertilization of good practise as well as the development of business and research cooperation.

• The first day will be devoted to experience exchange and presentation of cases of good practise in the area, as regards accessibility. Tools, methodologies and policies for the evaluation and enhancement of accessibility will be the focal point.
• The second day will look into the relationship between Accessibility and Tourism, which is the core topics of this, first of a potential series event.

During the events a round table will be organized, bringing together people from the tourism industry, the disability movement, chambers of commerce, the press, authorities, businesses etc. to discuss on the issue "What is the roadmap to setting up credible and market oriented accessibility certification services?". This round table will also be combined with an official annoucement of the set-up of and an invitation to participate and to a social economy company, following an initiative of the Panhellenic Society of paraplegics, in the course of an EQUAL project.

• Click here to view the full programme of the Conference - also available in greek at: http://emttu.org/en/news.html
• Click here to consult the proceedings of the Conference.

The 4^th International Conference on Developmental Disability in Tel Aviv, Israël

4-6 July 2006

The International conference on Developmental Disability of Beit Issie Shapiro organisation is going to be held on July 4-6, 2006 in Tel Aviv. The aim of the conference is to raise interest, aspirations and service standards both in Israël and abroad. The objectives are therefore to share knowledge and experience, learn together, to build a better world for children and adults with special needs everywhere. This conference is presented under the banner of the 25th Anniversary celebrations of Beit Issie Shapiro organization, which has provided comprehensive services for children and adults with special needs, with developmental disabilities and their families. The organization is commited to building a caring and responsible community in which people with special needs enjoy full rights and access to social, educational, treatment and recreational services under one roof. Call for papers has been published recently in the area of Ethics, Rights, Legal issues, Educational and Developmental issues, Policy, Service Development and Leisure and Sport.

More information can be found at: http://www.ortra.com/beitissie/

 

6^th Israeli POLIS Workshop, Tel Aviv

2 July 2006

The Israeli Institute of Standard in collaboration with POLIS is organizing the Israeli/European experts seminar going to be held on 2 July 2006. The seminar will dealt with the Universal Design in the Built Environment. The programme of the seminar can be downloaded here.

 

5^th EC POLIS Workshop, Brussels

12 June 2006

POLIS is planning an EU event bringing together EC officers and European interest groups. The purpose of the meeting (on invitation only) is to present on the one hand the work in POLIS has regard to the Decision Support System, and on the other hand to discuss the POLIS ideas on European and Member States policy on building accessibility and Universal Design. The agenda can be downloaded by clicking here. A report of this workshop has been prepared (English version - French version).

4^th UK POLIS Joint Expert Meeting and Project Workshop, Watford

18-19 May 2006

BRE and POLIS are organising on the 18th of May a Joint Expert Meeting (only by invitation) and the 19th of May an open POLIS project Workshop and an Universal access seminar.

The ojectives of the workshop consised of:

1. To provide an opportunity for networking between UK and European experts in the field of accessibility.
2. To discuss the value of UK research to the POLIS project and vice versa.
3. To present a broad range of UK accessibility research and practice to EU colleagues and identify similarities, differences in approach in the UK and Europe and opportunities for collaboration.

The programme and the workshop's powerpoint presentations can be downloaded by clicking here.  Joint Expert Presentations can be found on the SPARC Website. You can consult the meeting's Minutes by clicking here.

3^rd Flemish-Dutch POLIS Worshop, Antwerp: Policy and Integrated Accessibility in Netherland and the Flemish Region

31 March 2006

POLIS organised  a workshop with bout 20Dutch and Belgian experts and policy makers. Policies, regulations, working habits, progresses and problems in both countries were discussed and compared. The main purpose of the meeting was to learn from each orther and to define the next steps in a long-term strategy aiming an accessible built environment. The BBRI is currently preparing a report of this workshop. In the meantime you can find here the invitation which was sent (only available in Dutch).

2^nd POLIS Workshop in Poland, Warsaw

16 September 2005

The second International POLIS Workshop in Warsaw took place on 16 September 2006 in Warsaw. The program can be downloaded by clicking here. The morning session was devoted to give information on the POLIS DSS methodology and to discuss it in order to optimize it. The different presentations can be found below.

• The introduction speech: the POLIS project and our experiences so far-POLIS suggestion about required policies presented by Nikos Sakkas (project coordinator). (English version - Polish version)
• Presentation of the BAM methodology, its advantages and usability presented by Juan Perez, Labein (English version - Polish version)
• Presentation of the demo version on the functioning of the DSS presented by Gempiero Centanni, COIN. (Presentation not available)
• Presentation of the application of the POLIS methodology: The technical user approach presented by Luigi Morruzi. (only available in English)
• Building accessibility audit by POLIS: Presentation of case studies presented by Nikos Sakkas, Juan Perez, Luigi Moruzzi. (only available in English)

The afternoon session was devoted to an open international discussion about "Making an Europe accessible for all with enabling policies, concepts and tools". About 40 experts and participants from Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, Luxemburg, Belgium, Israël and UK attended the Workshop. The international discussion was guided by four presentations:

• Different approaches towards the implementation of accessibility in Europe - Which solutions should be promoted? presented by Silvio Sagramola, Info-Handicap. To be downloaded: PPT-presentation and text, both only available in English.
• Specific problems of developing and promoting accessibility in new member countries. What can they learn from the older ones? presented by Ewa Kurylowicz, Warsaw University of Technology, Departement of Architecture (Presentation is not available).
• How to connect accessibility and profitability? How can governments support it? presented by Stephen Garvin, BRE. To be downloaded: PPT-presentation in English.
• How could legal instruments, standardisations and technical specification improve accessibility in the built environment? Is it possible to use unified policy tools around Europe? What are the conditions? What are the main barriers? presented by Jan Desmyter, Belgian Building Research Institute. Available for downloading: PPT-presentation in English.

An open letter summarizes the most important conclusions presented by the participants (only available in English)

1st Belgian-Luxemburg POLIS Workshop, Luxembourg

8 June 2005

BBRI and Info-Handicap have organised a workshop to discuss policy issues with regard to the accessibility of the built environment. About 15 experts coming from the Walloon Region and Luxemburg have discussed and compared their policies, regulations and working habits. The purpose was to learn from each other and to promote universal design towards government agencies. The program of the workshop can be downloaded Only available in French ). A report on this workshop has been prepared (English version - French version).