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Envisioning Universal Design: Creating an Inclusive Society -- October 2-3, 2003

II. Introduction and Meeting Overview

On October 2-3, 2004, a distinguished group of individuals (cf. Appendix A) met at the Arts Endowment in Washington, D.C. to review the last decade of progress in universal design and to identify ways to further advance the practice of universal design. Sponsored by the NEA, NIDRR, and the two NIDRR funded RERCs on Universal Design and the Built Environment in cooperation with the AARP; the meeting consisted of 37 select representatives in the fields of design, education, government, the arts, and consumer/community services.

The universal design movement has made dramatic advances. However, it is still marginalized and not integral to mainstream design education and practice. The challenge for this meeting was to build on earlier accomplishments and strategically assess opportunities for the infusion of universal design to ensure more inclusive communities.

Participants were selected by a broad range of criteria to reflect diverse representation from design disciplines, including private/public affiliation, academic, urban/rural/regional and socially oriented design organizations not previously identified with universal design.
One of the meeting’s goals was to develop recommendations that would serve as policy and funding guidelines for the NEA and NIDRR, as well as other government agencies, business and design groups, social service organizations and the education community. Participants received in advance a variety of articles and reports on universal design initiatives (cf. Appendix)--. The planning committee consisted of Ramon Garcia, Elaine Ostroff, Laurie Ringaert, Edward Steinfeld, Molly Story and Paula Terry.

Arts Endowment Chairman Dana Gioia opened the meeting, reminding participants that the NEA has a long-standing history of involvement in universal design, having called a meeting in 1990 to create a leadership initiative on the topic. A decade later, the Endowment’s 1999 Universal Design meeting consolidated much of the learning in the area that had occurred over the previous ten years.
Since these beginnings, the Arts Endowment has taken a leadership role in advancing the practice of universal design through its advocacy, support and sponsorship of policy/strategy meetings. For their part, NIDRR and the U.S. Access Board have long been in the forefront of supporting universal design research at the Federal level, much of which has been carried out by the IDEA Center/RERC on Universal Design and the Built Environment at Buffalo (hereinafter referred to as the RERC on Universal Design at Buffalo) and the Center for Universal Design/RERC on Universal Design and the Built Environment at North Carolina State University (hereinafter referred to as the RERC on Universal Design at NCSU.
The introductory remarks by Chairman Gioia underscored the commitment of the Arts Endowment to promoting universal design:

“In my travels around the country as the new NEA chair, I have seen the impact of these efforts in buildings that the Arts Endowment, the Humanities Endowment, and the Save America’s Treasures program have retrofitted with aspects of universal design.

“Although much has been done, there still remains much to do in the area of universal design. This is the reason for our two-day meeting. Too many architects continue to use the minimal ADA guidelines or are reluctant to incorporate universal design principles into their projects. The charge of this gathering is to recommend next steps for the public and private sectors in order to infuse universal design into the strategic thinking of community leaders, consumers and designers.

“The Arts Endowment has an obligation to serve all Americans—if they are hard to reach, that just means we have to do a better job of reaching them. The best art should be made available to the broadest possible cross-section of the American people. In this I am reminded of the achievements of the WPA during the 1930s in democratizing American culture.

“If our goal is to make art accessible to all Americans—a goal that has to be adopted both in the material universe as well as policy circles—we must make sure people, for example, can attend a theater and experience a performance or visit a museum with ease and dignity. The National Endowment for the Arts is the largest annual arts funder in the United States. But it represents only 1.5 % of arts expenditures. The Endowment works best when it provides leadership and catalytic funds, by building partnerships and consensus. Our mission is to find a message and provide the leadership so that people and organizations working separately on these issues will focus and work together for the cause of universal design.”

On Day One, after Chairman Gioia’s opening remarks, Ed Steinfeld, Laurie Ringaert, Molly Story, and Elaine Ostroff followed with presentations that described the major efforts of their organizations, the NEA and related national and international developments during the past five years. On Day Two, four working groups in the areas of research, development, dissemination and education determined the current needs facing universal design and made recommendations that were prioritized at a concluding plenary session.

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