in English - Handicap International

exclusion confronted by people with disabilities, but also understanding
that this situation will not change unless the general population’s quality
of life also improves.
From the perspective of people with disabilities, situating ourselves on the
road to inclusive development requires interrelating two key developmental
concepts associated with disability—human diversity and universal design—with
the concept of inclusion.
We need to begin to see disability as part of human diversity, and not as
a condition that is the object of discrimination and exclusion, as we experience
every day in today’s societies. The idea is to begin to see disability
as just another trait or feature, like size, skin color, and gender, rather than
a condition that defines and limits a person’s entire life.
Universal design means designing and building products and environments
that can safely be used by all people, and that to the extent possible do
not require special adaptations. The extensive use of universal design is
intended to simplify the lives of all people, making sure that products, services,
means of communication and environments are fully accessible, at
very low cost or at no additional cost.
This type of design (also called inclusive design) not only makes sense for
the progressive shift toward universal accessibility to environments and
services, but also will signify a growing economy of resources in the longrange,
because it will be geared toward seeking overarching, general
solutions rather than multiple specific solutions.
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