Svayam Accessibility Awards 2018

‘Svayam Accessibility Awards 2018’ ceremony was held on 14 November 2018 at Taipei, Taiwan on the sidelines of 15th International Conference on Mobility & Transportation for the Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED Conference, 2018). The Awards were conferred by Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder, Svayam, during the official Gala Dinner ceremony of TRANSED 2018.

• Ms. Ann Frye, Director, Ann Frye Ltd., U.K. and Member, International Activities Sub Committee of TRB ABE 60
• Prof. (Ms.) Anabela Simões, Ergonomics Department, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal and Member, Research Sub Committee of ABE(60) TRB
• Mr. Rex CK Luk, Hong Kong Welfare Society, Member, TRB ABE 60 Committee
• Mr. Joey Goldman, Independent Consultant/Co-Chair TRB ABE 60
• Dr. Geetam Tiwari, Transport Research & Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi
• Mr. Mohammed Yousuf, US Department of Transport and Member ABE 60
• Mr. Anuj Malhotra, Centre for Green Mobility, India
• Mr. Amit Bhatt, Director – Integrated Transport, Sustainable Cities, World Resources Institute, India
• Prof. M. Balakrishnan, Computer Science Engineering Department, IIT Delhi
• Prof. Sheila Mitra –Sarkar, Founder, Future Trans Consulting and Member, ABE 70 – Women’s Issues in Transportation

Svayam Accessibility Awards 2015 at Lisbon, Portugal

Svayam Accessibility Awards were instituted on 25 October 2010 to promote and recognize the concept of Accessibility & Universal Design in all spheres of our lives to make way for livable communities - in both rural & urban scapes. The awards are conferred on the organizations in the TRANSED hosting nation, that have shown consistent commitment towards providing accessible infrastructure for all. These awards play a pivotal role in providing the right impetus to the development of inclusive infrastructure, related policies & practices so that such initiatives are sustainable and meaningful.

Svayam Accessibility Awards 2015 ceremony were held on 30 July 2015 at Lisbon, Portugal on the sidelines of 14th International Conference on Mobility & Transportation for the Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED Conference, 2015). The Awards were given away by Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder - Svayam during the official Gala Dinner ceremony of TRANSED 2015.

• Ms. Ann Frye, Director, Ann Frye Ltd., U.K. and Member, International Activities Sub Committee of ABE 60, TRB
• Prof. (Ms.) Anabela Simões, Ergonomics Department, Technical University of Lisbon Portugal and Member, Research Sub Committee of ABE(60) TRB
• Mr. Anuj Malhotra Chief Executive Officer, Centre For Green Mobility, India
• Mr. Amit Bhatt, Strategy Head, Urban Transport, EMBARQ India
• Dr. Billie Louise [Beezy] Bentzen, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Accessible Design for the Blind
• Prof. (Ms.) Rosario Macario, Associate Professor of Transportation with Habilitation, University of Lisbon, Portugal & Chair- Organizing Committee, TRANSED 2015 Lisbon
• Mr. Russell Thatcher, Sr. Transportation Planner, TranSystems Corporation, Boston, USA and Member & Former Co-Chair, ABE 60 Committee of TRB
• Prof. (Ms.) Lalita Sen, Professor, Texas Southern University, Co-Chair, ABE 60 of TRB
• Ms. Nina Frid, Director General, Canadian Transportation Authority, Canada & Co-Chair of the TRB International Committee.

Best Practice by a Municipality for their Project 'Accessible Itinerary System (SIA)'. The award was received by Arch. Ms. Lia Ferreira, Ombudswoman of Porto Municipality.

Porto City Hall, through its Municipal Ombudsman for Citizens with Disabilities, successfully implemented this 'Best Practice' project titled 'Accessible Itineraries System (SIA) Porto' - portal that comes to help all the citizens, specially the ones with reduced mobility, optimizing itineraries that meet their needs.

The project maps the city, identifies the barriers to seamless & accessible mobility on city routes and addresses them with active citizen's participation. In short, the project allows online consultation of optimized routes for accessibility (through map consultation), digitally calculated between two previously chosen points giving information not only about paths but also intermodal transportation connectivity, accessibility of important public buildings & spaces.

The project has been implemented with active partners like Associação de Surdos do Porto (ASP), Associação de Cegos e Amblíopes do Porto (ACAPO), Associação do Porto de Paralisia Cerebral (APPC) and Associação dos Deficientes das Forças Armadas (ADFA), plus Porto's Metro and FEUP (Porto's Engineering University).

Congratulations Porto City Hall! For more photos, visit Facebook

Best Practice by a Municipality for their Project 'Lisbon Accessible Pedestrian Plan' . The award was received by Mr. João Afonso, Deputy Mayor for Social Rights, Lisbon Municipality.

Municipality of Lisbon implemented the 'Best Practice' Project - titled 'Pedestrian Accessibility Plan' after its approval by the City's Assembly, in February 2014, and is expected to be completed in 2017. The project follows a participatory approach throughout the Plan's implementation, in the development and dissemination of data and tools, definition of priorities, and uptake of guidelines and solutions.

A key goal for the Plan is to change the way the City administration works. Therefore, while the majority of plan's actions are being executed by several city departments, a special task force 'The Pedestrian Accessibility Plan Team' has been formed which is responsible for coordination, monitoring, technical support and a few very specialized actions. Mr. Pedro Homem de Gouveia, Architect is coordinator of Pedestrian Accessibility Plan Team.

• Prevent the creation of new barriers;
• Progressively adapt existing buildings;
• Mobilize the community to create a city for everyone.

Instead of budgeting & addressing all infrastructural barriers in one go, the Plan defines an effort rate. Every year the City will invest 3% of public works budget in the adaptation of public spaces (e.g. sidewalks, crosswalks, bus stops, etc.) and public buildings (elementary schools, museums and libraries, public markets, etc.). And it hopes to address most barriers by 2017 as per the current plan.

Community participation is considered as a key. A high value is put on the collection of quantitative and qualitative data on the needs, difficulties and preferences of persons with disabilities and the elderly population. This project creates a safe, accessible and free of obstacles route for all pedestrians.

Congratulations Municipality of Lisbon! For More photos visit : Facebook

Best Practice by an NGO for promoting inclusive tourism through their website. The award was being received by Mr. Salvador Mendes de Almeida, the Founder of Association Salvador.

Association Salvador is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by Salvador Mendes de Almeida that is dedicated to social integration and improving the quality of life of people with reduced mobility (especially those in wheelchairs).

The website portugalaccessivel.com is today a national reference guide in providing information about the physical accessibility in different types of spaces in Portugal, also proposing accessible itineraries and enabling interaction and exchange of experiences between community of people with motor disabilities.

It counts with almost 5000 audited spaces. At the same time, it is a tool to raise awareness among public and private entities to promote the importance of accessibility. In addition to the website, the Association has also created a mobile application available for iOS, Android and Windows Phones.

Congratulations Association Salvador! For more photos, visit : Facebook

Svayam Accessibility Awards 2012 Conferred

The First ever "Svayam Accessibility Awards" were held on the sidelines of 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2012 Conference) that took place at New Delhi during 17-20 September 2012.

The Awards were given away on 19th September by Mr. Arvinder Singh, Hon'ble Minister of Urban Development, Government of NCT of Delhi, the Chief Guest for the occasion.

Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) received the award for introduction of Low floor accessible buses - both ac and non-ac models and for a sensitized fleet of drivers and conductors. The award was received by Sh. R.K. Kasana, Chief General Manager, DTC .

Archeological Survey of India (ASI) received the award for the WHS Red Fort, New Delhi. The award was received by Dr. D.N. Dimri, Superintending Archaeologist, Delhi Circle on behalf of ASI.

The award was conferred on the ITC Welcome Group for maintaining the most accessible luxury hotel chain and promoting universal design in the hotels. The award was received by Sh. Niranjan Khatri, GM- WelcomeEnviron Initiatives of ITC Welcome Group.

The award was conferred on The Lemon Tree Hotels for being the most accessible budget hotel chain. The award was received by Sh. R. Hari, GM (Human Resources) for The Lemon Tree Hotel Company.

• Dr. Sudhir Krishna, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India
• Ms. Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust, Govt. of India
• Ms. Billie Louise [Beezy] Bentzen, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Accessible Design for the Blind
• Mr. Russell Thatcher, Co-Chair, ABE 60 Committee of TRB
• Ms. Ann Frye, Director, Ann Frye Ltd. and Member, International Activities Sub Committee of ABE 60, TRB
• Dr. Lalita Sen, Professor, Texas Southern University, Co-Chair, ABE 60 of TRB
• Dr. K.K. Muhammed, Former Superintending Archeologist, ASI

Svayam Accessibility Awards were instituted on 25 October 2010 to promote and recognize the concept of Accessibility & Universal Design in all spheres of our lives to make way for livable communities - in both rural & urban scapes. The awards are conferred on the organizations in the TRANSED hosting nation, that have shown consistent commitment towards providing accessible infrastructure and services for all. These awards play a pivotal role in providing the right impetus to the development of inclusive infrastructure, related policies & practices so that such initiatives are sustainable and meaningful.

Over 600 attendees from 46 countries from across the world representing all aspects of the infrastructure and transportation value chain joined the TRANSED 2012 conference which was hosted by Svayam, in partnership with the Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India & Ministry of Transport, Govt. of NCT of Delhi and was co-sponsored by Transportation Research Board of USA. Canadian Transportation Agency also came up in a big way as one of the supporting organizations to the conference. Around 240 papers and 40 posters from 32 countries were presented during three-day long deliberations during 17-20 September 2012.