10.3
Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
11.3
By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
11.7
By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
A - Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development with equality and respect for human rights.
American Convention on Human Rights
• Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Summary
Mar al Alcance is a public policy promoting the rights of disabled people. To guarantee the presence of certain mechanisms ensuring the accessibility of all people, the accessible beach site was created and recreational-sport and touristic-cultural days were coordinated for groups and organizations of disabled people and senior citizens of all the territories of Canelones district.
Implementation Date:
Start:
01 / 1 / 2017
End: End: Currently in force
Interculturalism and non-discrimination - Fight against discrimination, xenophobia and racism HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE - Disabilities HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE - Aging Interculturalism and non-discrimination - Inclusion and building of intercultural societies
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Specifically, the Program Mar al Alcance sought to address problems related to discrimination and exclusion of people whose functional diversity meant that, in natural recreational public spaces, leisure and spare time areas (such as the beach), the physical and mobility barriers gave rise to a situation of impossibility, limiting and hindering their access.
The Program Mar al Alcance has the objective of democratizing the beach as a public space to enjoy and spend free time, as a generator of social cohesion and a driving force of coexistence, by strengthening it as a space for dialogue, learning and empowerment of inclusive culture. The Program intends to revert the “invisibility cycles” by ensuring access to the public beach space to disabled people and the elderly with reduced mobility, from a perspective of rights intended to break the exclusion-generating barriers. This implies a multidimensional approach covering the architectural issue but goes beyond, contemplating behavioral, methodological, communicational, instrumental and programmatic dimensions.
The entity in charge of planning and implementation of the Program Mar al Alcance, as part of a cross-sectional, departmental and local policy of accessibility to public spaces of the coast, is the Canelones Departmental Government.
In particular, the Departmental Committee of Accessibility of the Government of Canelones has driven this policy for which a workforce was formed that, led by the General Office of Human Development through their areas of Disability and Senior Citizens, has worked in the Program’s development.
The Departmental Committee of Accessibility has worked with different offices to give a comprehensive and integrating vision to the program, and they, from their political and technical know-how, have contributed to the planning, evaluation and redesign thereof. There was an active participation of the General Office of Culture through the Socio-Cultural Animation Unit, Social Circus and Zoo Division, the General Office of Economic Development, through the Office of Tourism Development; the Office of Communications in charge of diffusion of activities and their registration; the General Office of Environmental Management; and the General Office of Territorial Management, these last two basically dedicated to the design, maintenance and improvement of premises, generating accessible environments.
Law 18.418, enacted in 2008, ratifies the International Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Law 18.651, enacted in 2010, of Comprehensive Protection of Persons with Disabilities. This law sets forth that the State shall be in charge of the granting of benefits, advantages and stimulation allowing to neutralize the disadvantages caused by disability, and shall give everyone the opportunity to play an equal role in the community.
Resolution of the Municipal Council, of September 2016, whereby the Departmental Committee of Accessibility was created at the request of the Disability area in order to provide general guidelines of planning in matters of accessibility and universal design for the micro-region of the coast.
The elderly Persons with disabilities
Creation of entity/plan/programme Awareness and/or information campaigns Seminars/events
A disabled-friendly beach location was designed in Atlántida; an “accessible ramp” was located in Árbol de Judea with beach access mats, transfer station, amphibious chairs and accessible bathrooms. Likewise, these actions were supplemented with the placement of instructive signs for use of amphibious chairs and vests provided by the Program Uruguay A Toda la Costa of the Ministry of Tourism.
Educational and recreational workshops were planned and executed to promote, in addition to access, the integration of persons with disabilities in the use of beach space. This implied visits to the beach, zoo and iconic touristic sites’ tours in Atlántida adapted to the preferences of the participants.
In coordination with the Secretariat of Accessibility for Inclusion of the government of Montevideo, a training course in disability, inclusion and sport-recreational activities was organized for the team in charge of these activities. On the other hand, it implied a close coordination with the Office of Sports’ lifeguard team and the National Prefecture’s staff that allowed ensuring safety of the activities through their orientation and supervision.
Moreover, four seminars were held with emphasis on participation of groups and organizations of persons with disabilities, senior citizens and families belonging to the entire department of Canelones, in coordination with territorial teams that support the permanent works in this area. These seminars were planned in order to promote collective processes of integration from an inter-generation, inclusive perspective aimed at strengthening the comprehensive actions in the future, locally and micro-regionally.
The transformation of public spaces in their different aspects is basically characterized by driving the encounter that allows building from the collective standpoint, with integration spaces, favoring the democratic and free access for all people. In this sense, the beach, as it is an ecosystem associated to the symbolic and specific idea of socializing activities that cause pleasure and enjoyment, becomes a privileged area to generate actions of public policy on accessibility and inclusion. In this sense, it is innovative to have a multidimensional approach from which the Program is positioned, going beyond the approach that is exclusively focused on the architectural dimension of space, to promote a logic based on physical accessibility and development of inclusive activities for enjoyment and full space use. From this point of view, the space not only becomes an accessible and inclusive place, but also, it generates an educational and learning fact on co-existence of all people, promoting multiplier effects and broader scope. On the other hand, it is expected that the technical aid of amphibious chairs, the conditioning of accessible beach sites for the 2019 season, be developed within the framework of the Workshop of Technical Aids and Equipment for Accessibility of the Government of Canelones, thus, enabling innovation in the preparation of prototypes and design of these specific technologies.
This policy stems from the local and citizen drive of the Atlántida municipality, main touristic seaside resort of the department that, aimed at recovering the historical and social process around the design of accessible public spaces, wanted to be considered as an inclusive city. To such effect, the purpose was sought by means of the work performed by the teams from a territorial approach that enabled the definition of the methodological and conceptual strategy of social inclusion to be adopted by the proposal. On the other hand, for its implementation, the work with groups and people belonging to neighborhoods and institutions with a previous work was a priority, as a way of strengthening the established networks, generating synergy with other actions implemented and coordinated from the departmental government.
Contact with the beneficiary population is made through territorial networks of participation of civil society organizations, composed by groups of people with disabilities and senior citizens In these networks, the presence of technical teams of micro-regions of the department allows to develop specific jobs with techniques which purpose is to identify needs, from the concept of human basic needs of Manfred Max Neef (1987) to the discussion of, evaluation and decision-making on redesign in a participative manner.
The departmental Government intends to carry out a training course for service providers and businessmen of the tourism activity typical in the area, on identification of variables related to service quality requested by the segment of visitors with limited abilities. In this sense, involvement of the business sector shall provide integration to the strategy, through the territorial perspective that goes beyond the public roads and transforms the region in a benchmark and model of accessibility.
More works will be done in order to have tourist destinations with accessible resources minimizing, more and more, the existing architectural barriers. To such effect, a diagnostic survey was performed with professionals of the central Government’s National Disability Program (PRONADIS-MIDES); a report on the approach needs will be given as a way of redirecting actions towards the main barriers identified.
Additionally, a survey will be performed on equipment and facilities set up to generate other accessible beach sites, in the context of the design process of the Costa Canaria Accessibility Plan (PACC). In connection to this, the development of a production line of amphibious chairs and proper equipment shall be promoted by the Workshop of Technical Aids and Equipment for Accessibility of the Departmental government.
The Program performs the evaluation process through team planning meetings, whereby improvements in equipment, facilities and job proposals were made. The permanent exchange with groups composed by people with disabilities that participated in this experience has allowed continuous feedback of a policy that should be flexible enough to adapt to the existing diversities. On the other hand, the team leading this policy has prepared systematization reports with scope indicators and coverage in both seasons, that constitute supplies for evaluation and projection.
Subnational goverment
The main result is the democratization of the public space associated to the coast: more than 1,500 people used the “accessible ramp” and participated in activities related to the Program.
On the other hand, the contribution to the development of a comprehensive vision on accessibility by the community can be identified, through visualization of physical barriers and conceptual barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating in the daily life and naturalized situations of these kind of spaces. The work at the disabled-friendly beach site implied, also, the awareness of the population to generate a critical view on public space construction processes and challenges implied by elimination of every type of barrier.
The result that is worth noting is the mainstreaming process of a public policy with disability approach, that has generated learning that enables their addition to the work of different offices. The creation of an inter-office team that has developed management, planning and work actions enabling the full execution of scheduled activities and strengthening the internal and external work networks is also worth mentioning.
Throughout 2017, the concerned target population was 248 people from 11 different municipalities of the department (Pando, Canelones, Sauce, Las Piedras, 18 de mayo, Toledo, Ciudad de la Costa, Santa Lucía, Nicolich, Atlántida, Parque del Plata) through specific activities performed within the Program’s context. It is estimated that the accessible beach site was used by 402 people.
In 2018, from the lessons learned, support from other offices of the departmental government was added to the acquired know-how and this led to a larger coverage of the Program, that reached 658 people through their activities, from 19 municipalities (Pando, Canelones, Sauce, Las Piedras, 18 de Mayo, Toledo, Ciudad de la Costa, Santa Lucía, Nicolich, Atlántida, Parque del Plata, La Paz, Santa Rosa, San Jacinto, Tala, Suárez, Barros Blancos, Paso Carrasco, Empalme Olmos) and 472 people who used the accessible beach site on a daily basis.
Therefore, the total direct beneficiaries in two years of implementation of this public policy were 1,780 people. If indirect beneficiaries are taken into account, it is possible to establish that the Program reached more than 5,000 people.
The Program has a general dissemination mechanism through systems of communication provided by the departmental Government: website, social network, signage and brochures (with accessibility criteria) in the tourism information offices and local media such as TV and radio stations.
By the end of the season, audiovisual material was prepared to enable dissemination of this experience from a good practice approach, in order to share the methodology and learning for its adaptation to other territories. In this sense, an effort has also been made so that the Program is included in different press articles to enable its positioning as a local public policy empowering the tourist route of the seaside resort of the department from an inclusive perspective.
Also, a specific dissemination mechanism is developed to connect nearby teams that coordinate and plan activities. These teams are in permanent contact with municipalities where they work every day during summer and throughout the year. In this way, inter-institutional work networks are empowered as mechanism for dissemination of activities developed in the context of the Program, with direct impact on the target population.
Construir Igualdad Award (2018 edition) – CIPDH-UNESCO
10.3
Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
11.3
By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
11.7
By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
A - Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development with equality and respect for human rights.
American Convention on Human Rights • Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
