PAST,
PRESENT, AND FUTURE
S.
Chaimovitz
Commission
for Equal Rights for People with Disabilities, Ministry of Justice,
We in Israel
public space is
being redesigned in order to make possible the full
participation of
people with a wide range of disabilities. Much more still
needs to be done,
but much progress has been made. As one of a
number of
individuals in Israel
entire process,
including direct responsibility for the area of
accessibility in the
Commission for Equal Rights for People with
Disability in the
Justice Ministry since its inception over ten years ago,
I would like to
take this opportunity to share with participants my own
"birds eye
view" of where we have been and where we are going in
this process. I
will discuss the range of factors that have facilitated
progress, including
advances in technology, new regulations,
expectations of
those who will benefit from the changes, and the
positive public
image of organizations that make themselves
accessible. I will
draw on our extensive experience in the Commission
to illustrate the
operation of each of these factors. Finally, I will discuss
the interface
between the fields of rehabilitation and accessibility, and
suggest that
rehabilitation professionals would do well to encourage
people in their
care to insist upon accessibility in the different spheres
of their lives, and
thereby to play an active role in promoting the
"accessibility
revolution".
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