Prospectus

Oct 1, 2015

This autumn the International Association for Universal Design (IAUD: Patron, Her Imperial Highness Princess Yohko of Mikasa) will hold The 6th International Conference for Universal Design in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.

Universal Design (UD) is the creation of designs for equipment, buildings, and the immediate living environment that can be used by as many people as possible irrespective of age, gender, race, culture, customs, nationality, or ability.　
The first international conference for Universal Design held in Yokohama in November 2002 was a great success and the participants at that conference issued the International Universal Design Declaration in Japan 2002. This declaration proposed that the creation of social environments which respect and support the dignity of humans be called Universal Design and stated that to realize this, there is an urgent need to establish user-centered systems applicable to all aspects of society. This proposal as it stands became the founding purpose of IAUD, which was established one year later.
The 5th international conference for Universal Design held in Tokyo last year adopted as its theme Glocalized Development for Universal Design – Towards Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and participants at the conference discussed the importance of developing urban infrastructures that are safe and comfortable for all kinds of people including the aged, persons with disabilities, children, pregnant women, and foreign visitors to Japan who have different languages and customs.

During the opening ceremony of the conference, we watched to a video message from Prime Minister Abe, who expressed his hope that visitors from all over the world would enjoy the Olympic and Paralympic Games and be impressed by how convenient and comfortable a country Japan is to live in as a result of not only the excellent sports facilities but also the application of universal design in all facilities of Tokyo including roads and train stations. Moreover, Minister Endo who was appointed in July as the Minister for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, clearly stated that he intends to retain the “Universal Design City” as the legacy of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The benefits of this legacy must be enjoyed as shared values not only in Tokyo but also every area of Japan including local cities and towns.

The area within a radius of about 100km of Nagoya City is known as Greater Nagoya (Greater Nagoya Economic Sphere) and, as an integrated hub of government, industry, and universities, today attracts blue-chip companies, technologies, human resources, and information from around the world and engages in initiatives to promote active international exchanges. The local governments of the nine prefectures in the Chubu and Hokuriku areas, tourism-related organizations and tourist business operators led by the Chubu Transport Bureau and the Chubu Wide-area Tourism Promotion Council have joined forces to enhance the profiles of the Chubu and Hokuriku areas, and are currently promoting various activities through the Shoryudo [the Dragon Route] Project to attract tourists from overseas.
This conference, which will be our 6th international conference, has adopted Creating Shared Value through Universal Design as the theme, and aims to realize a UD society of higher quality that focuses on community regeneration and development of the tourism industry for the creation of new industrial clusters in the Chubu area, which is an industrial agglomeration zone, and for the development of urban infrastructure resilient to large-scale natural disasters including earthquakes. Throughout the conference, participants will be encouraged to actively engage in exchanges of opinions and interact with other participants from Japan and overseas.

We sincerely ask for your understanding in our objectives and we look forward to the widespread support and cooperation from many people of various positions and backgrounds in our endeavors. We look forward to your active participation in this conference.