IUDA Grand Award for the JICA-NCDA NHE Project

I was so happy to learn that the NHE Project of JICA-NCDA—with APCD and UAP as far as I know— got the Grand Award from the International Association for Universal Design [IAUD]. I have not been to New Lucena and Opol after we made the short film A Blind Architect—The Vision of Non-Handicapping Environment* for them but I can imagine the changes that have been effected in those two municipalities upon implementation of the NHE project. It was just a plan to be implemented then — just a vision, so I was one of the witnesses on the condition of the structures before any implementation. And I am really glad that the sincere efforts of the people behind the project have been rewarded. Congratulations!!!

The following are excerpts from Dandee’s report last November 23, 2010:

The Filipino awardees with Mr. Daisuke Sagiya of JICA on the extreme right

“The 3rd International Conference for Universal Design was held on October 30 to November 3, 2010 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. This is one of the largest international conferences on Universal Design with thousands of participants from government institutions, private companies and universities all over the world. Six (6) Filipinos of the NHE Project, including Municipal Mayors of New Lucena, Iloilo and Opol, Misamis Oriental attended the conference.

Among a large number of applications from both private and public organizations, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) partnership project on “The Creation of a Non-Handicapping Environment (NHE) for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Rural Areas in the Philippines” received both the Excellence Award being one of the four winners and was presented with the Grand Award during the IAUD Award Ceremony of the 3rd International Conference for Universal Design on November 01, 2010, Act City, Hamamatsu, Japan.

The two (2) pioneering municipalities in Iloilo and Misamis Oriental, with technical assistance by JICA and NCDA, make their public facilities more accessible for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Such accessible facilities are based on the concept of “Universal Design”. It promotes the participation of people with various needs in the community including senior citizens and PWDs. Focusing to make physical environments barrier-free, the Project also endeavors to remove barriers in existing systems/regulations and attitudes of people towards PWDs.”

To read the full article, please click: IAUD Grand Award

*A Blind Architect—The Vision of Non-Handicapping Environment is incidentally scheduled to be shown in Daet, Camarines Norte tomorrow Thursday, December 9 as part of the “Forum on Inclusive Education and Disability: Towards an Inclusive Philippine Society.” Please see the previous post for more details. The event is sponsored by Mabini Colleges.

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