Bermuda Access Awards Winners

Today (Oct 18) the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged (NOSPC) acknowledged various establishments who are making Bermuda accessible to all.

There was one award given out per category. Categories and their corresponding winners included; Hotel (the Fairmont Southampton Resort), Retail (A.S. Coopers & Sons), Professional (s.h.y. architecture), Restaurant (Lido Restaurant and Complex), Supplier (D&J Construction) and Other (Marsden First Methodist Church).

The Awards were presented by Minister of Health Walter Roban at lunchtime today at the Bermuda Society of Arts gallery at City Hall.

Minister Roban said: “Disabilities come in many forms and different persons are impacted by the built environment. It is just not the traditional person who is seeing, hearing or physically impaired that require buildings to meet a certain standard. The elderly, pregnant women, persons carrying a load, and persons with temporary medical ailments are also impacted by the built environment. Just imagine having had a hip replacement and needing to go for physiotherapy. You would be challenged with transportation, entering a building as well as being in the building.”

The Minister added: “This award initiative is a way to encourage the business world to be conscious of the needs of persons with disabilities. It also brings into focus for the community that the associated issues are not for the Government alone to address. There is need for the entire community to play their part to achieve inclusion for all.”

Accessibility is defined as “the ability of potential users to use the facilities offered by a space, service or equipment in a free, safe and autonomous way and without any discrimination.”

The Bermuda Built Environment Access Awards were created to showcase, appreciate, and award the corporations, restaurants, and agencies on the Island that have put in the effort to make their buildings accessible. Accessibility is a very important and vital part of inclusion for all. Persons with disabilities should be able to freely access any building and participate in daily aspects of living within the community. Access for All encompasses visual, physical, and mental challenges. An accessible building may include wheelchair accessible ramps, lighting, stair railings, electric doors, signage, and elevators. All of these help to make the lives of persons with disabilities more active in the community.

Keith Simmons, Accessibility Officer for the NOSPC said: “I believe those that support a barrier free Bermuda- Inclusion for All, need to be recognized for their works and promoted as examples for the rest of the community. Access is universal. It benefits the whole community.”

Winners of the Built Environment Access Awards 2010

Restaurant: Lido Restaurant and Complex

• Reason for Nomination: updated renovations have been made to the Sea Terrace so that wheelchair users do not have to go across the grass to enter the accessible Lido Restaurant.

Professional: s. h. y. architecture

• Reason for nomination: s.h. y. architects regularly consult with the Accessibility Officer at N.O.S.P.C. on best practice for accessible design on the projects that they are involved in.

Supplier: D & J Construction Co. Ltd.

• Reason for nomination: The reality of a spinal cord injury hit home for the D & J family. The D & J Construction Co. Ltd’s office has had ramps installed so that work areas are accessible; the family homestead has been modified for wheelchair use, and plans are approved to rebuild a residential property to make it fully accessible.

Hotel: Fairmont Southampton Resort

• Reason for nomination: over the years the Fairmont Southampton Resort has upgraded accessibility and has furnished 6 accessible guest rooms.

Retail: A. S. Cooper & Sons Ltd.

• Reason for nomination: Recent renovations to the A. S. Cooper & Sons Ltd. Children’s Department on Front Street have made it both stroller and wheelchair accessible.

Other: Marsden First United Methodist Church

• Reason for nomination: To make Marsden First United Methodist Church accessible for all, a ramp has been installed so that people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility now have access to the church.

Minister Roban`s comments follow in full below:

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a pleasure for me to be with you for the second annual Built Environment Access Awards.

The Government is committed to and believes in the expression “Inclusion for All”.

This expression arises out of the vision of the Report by the Committee for a National Policy on Disabilities”. That Committee produced a Report with Recommendations in October 2006 which included 3 principles and seven goals.

The three Principles are 1) Guarantee Human Rights, 2) Compile Quality Research & Document planning mechanisms and 3) Promote Public Awareness & Societal Understanding.

The seven Goals are related to education, employment, health, transitional services, family life, community living and culture, recreation and sports.

These awareness awards are a part of our effort to promote public awareness and societal understanding of the issues confronted by persons with disabilities.

Disabilities come in many forms and different persons are impacted by the built environment. It is just not the traditional person who is seeing, hearing or physically impaired that require buildings to meet a certain standard.

The elderly, pregnant women, persons carrying a load, and persons with temporary medical ailments are also impacted by the built environment.

Just imagine having had a hip replacement and needing to go for physiotherapy. You would be challenged with transportation, entering a building as well as being in the building. So access is just not for the disabled.

During the past year the Ministry of Health assumed administrative responsibility for the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged. Since then, the Office has embraced the philosophy of “Inclusion for All”. Both aspects of the Office deal with persons who are vulnerable to the built environment. Seniors can be challenged simply due to the ageing process. Persons with disabilities are impacted in many ways. The Office is therefore working to encourage mainstreaming. That is to push for the inclusion of all persons by having programmes, policies and facilities flexible to accommodate all types of challenges.

Some of the activities the Ministry has been involved with include:

* The decision by Cabinet to look at the feasibility of Bermuda being a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Much work has been done and we are looking at what exemptions if any Bermuda should reserve on.

* A National Accessibility and Advisory Committee has been established. This is an outcome from the Report and recommendations for a national policy on disability. During its initial work, the Committee had approximately 19 persons. Now that the report has been accepted the Committee has been restructured to a more manageable size of 9 that includes representatives from all areas of the disabled community. The Committee is being chaired by Ms. Sita Ingram.

* A report on a continuum of care strategy for persons with developmental disabilities has just been completed. This cross ministry initiative was spearheaded by the National Office and included all of the government agencies that provide services to persons with developmental disabilities. I am in the process of studying the report and its recommendations.

* The Civil Service Executive has agreed that government should adopt a policy that all new buildings or buildings to be leased are assessable to persons with physical disabilities and are compliant with the spirit of the Commercial Building Code. Further it has established a taskforce to conduct a detailed assessment of Government buildings and the challenges they present to persons with disabilities and steps are to be proposed to reduce or eliminate these challenges.

* Another initiative being addressed is the employment of persons with disabilities. A Ministry staff member recently attended a UN seminar on Labour market inclusion of people with disabilities. The course programme offered the opportunity to discuss definitions, concepts, legislation and mechanisms for labour market inclusion of people with disabilities. It also provided the opportunity to get acquainted with different international experiences and best practice.

* The National Office has also been sponsoring the Ocean View Senior Golf League. This sports initiative being lead by Alex Madeiros permits seniors to compete against each other once a month. This league will finish in December. A part of our sponsorship saw on the weekend of September 27th Ocean View Seniors and the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged hosting Peter Longo. Peter is a senior golf instructor and trick shot artist. The visit was for Peter to share his knowledge of working with persons with disabilities with the Bermuda Professional Golf Association and show off his artistry. Peter also provided a trick shot demonstration and participated in a PRO-AM tournament with our local pros and seniors.

The Government is committed to addressing issues related to persons with disabilities. This award is a way to encourage the business world to be conscious of the needs of persons with disabilities. It also brings into focus for the community that the associated issues are not for the Government alone to address. There is need for the entire community to play their part to achieve Inclusion for all.

I would like to thank those who have participated; those persons and businesses who have made an effort towards accessibility and finally I would like to congratulate the winners.

Thank you.

#AwardWinners #Wheelchair

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