Purport
The International Association for Universal Design (IAUD) conducts activities aimed at achieving its basic objective: “To contribute to the healthy development of society, and improve the welfare of humanity as a whole, through further disseminating and actualizing of Universal Design (UD).”
In that vein, we will be presenting IAUD Award 2012, which will recognize groups and individuals who have conducted or proposed particularly noteworthy activities aimed at realizing a UD society in which everyone - regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, culture, nationality, customs, or other factors - can live comfortably, without feeling any undue inconvenience.
As a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011, cities, towns and villages in the northeast coastal areas were terribly damaged. The majority of the victims included the aged, people with disabilities, children, and other people in socially weak positions. Amid the calls that reconstruction be carried out as soon as possible, one can also hear voices saying that the reconstruction plans devised should incorporate the perspectives of UD and renewable energy, so that safe and secure municipalities resistant to earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters can be built to last for generations to come.
Accordingly, for IAUD Award 2012, we are seeking, both within Japan and the global community, innovative UD activities and proposals aimed at realizing a mutualistic, sustainable society, for example creating municipalities, organizations, products and more that will be conducive to reconstruction, restoration and recovery from any disasters that occur in the future. We will then judge these entries and formally recognize the finalists. We are also expecting entries involving activities and proposals relevant to the situation in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, as well as innovative, universal activities and proposals that can be applied to the diverse conditions in regions throughout the world.