Universal Design: An Ethical Question

This past week I was fortunate enough to speak and attend The International Federation on Ageing 9th Annual Conference on Ageing and Design in Montreal. I was one of the few people there who were not a designer, architect, engineer or technologist. What astounded me about the event that while everyone there was praising how technology and particularly Universal Design was this great panacea that will solve many of the world’s issue when it came to how older adults and those with disabilities will be equipped by having greater ease of getting around to further participation in society it seemed to me that the focus was so much on the actual object that provided the assistance or bridge rather than focusing on the social repercussions of Universal Design and adaptive technology. These concepts are essentially just tools that provide human beings the ability to participate in a variety of ways giving one greater access to work, social connections to a host of other areas. The one critical issue that needs to be discussed is that Universal Design as a concept needs to expand its definition to inclusive social issues such as healthcare, employment and education. Universal Design as a social concept is vital for the future of both the global aging population and growing disability community. Agencies like the United Nations, The World Health Organization to private industry should expand the conversation to see the ethical question that we need to begin to ask of those who are in the Universal Design field – should we not see this as perfect opportunity as a way to not just solve basic physical and environmental issues but vital to the social contract that we as human beings of this world face- the ability to access basic needs – healthcare, education and the right to work!