Greetings

Four years passed since the outbreak of COVID-19. It is about eight months since the risk was designated as the same level as the flu, but a large percentage of people walking around town still wear masks. Not only people still assume that the COVID-19 is still scary, but also warning is issued on possible flu outbreak. Most of the temperature measuring devices at the entrance have been removed, but disinfectants are still left in some places (large hospitals require people to wear masks, as they receive a variety of patients susceptible to infection).

As a result, it is still difficult to carry out various activities, and IAUD is no exception. I would like to report on IAUD's activities in 2023 under these circumstances.

First, I would like to remind you that IAUD celebrated its 20th anniversary on November 28, 2023 since it was established as a voluntary organization. It is unfortunate that we did not have a chance to officially come together to have a memorable event.

Originally conducted online with invited overseas experts to serve as judges, the IAUD International Design Award judgement was carried out as before. Results will be published soon.

Since the UD certification is now conducted online, both the beginner and intermediate level tests are progressing smoothly.

A new initiative in 2023 is an international UD course run by the International for Institute of Universal Design. Only one person has officially applied for the course, partly because there was not enough publicity to start the course, but the course is progressing smoothly online. We are trying to figure out how to conduct the UD course exercises to have the greatest effect to the society. We are pursuing various options for our next international UD conference, but unfortunately, due to COVID-19, currently no plan is on the horizon. We are well aware that short notice is inconvenient for you all, and we will do our best to notify you as soon as the plan is available.

To sum up, we are unable to act as active as we would have wished, but we will do everything we can to step further. We strive to move forward with the advice, cooperation and support of our members.

IAUD Chairman of the Board of Directors,
Satoshi Kose