The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD) is organizing an international conference at the University of Massachusetts Boston on Rebuilding Sustainable Communities with the Elderly and Disabled People after Disasters. It will take place from July 12 to July 15, 2010.
For more information, please see CRSCAD’s website: www.rebuilding.umb.edu and the conference website: http://www.rebuilding.umb.edu/rscepd.
Conference Objectives
While many conferences have examined challenges that the elderly and people with disabilities face in emergencies, no significant systematic post-disasters study has been undertaken with a focus on the long-term, sustainable community recovery and rebuilding needs of this population.
The conference will, therefore, address the following main issues:
The status of the elderly and disabled people in various communities after disasters and the continuing need for superior research and appropriate data.
The role and input of the elderly and disabled people in post-disaster reconstruction planning and implementation processes.
The roles of governments, institutions of higher education, the private sector, and non-governmental and community-based organizations in post-disaster reconstruction.
The promotion of human dignity in the creation of sustainable environments that empower the elderly and disabled people in the aftermath of disasters.
Integration of the elderly and disabled people into the larger community after disasters.
The promotion of the human rights of disabled people through full participation, equalization of opportunity, and development.
The role of women with disabilities in the formulation and implementation of reconstruction policies after disasters.
The participation of children with disabilities in the development and execution of post-disaster plans and programs.
The conference will seek to contribute to, and recommend, future policy formulation and implementation processes for local, regional, and national governments, as well as multilateral agencies and grass-roots organizations.
For further information please go to www.rebuilding.umb.edu/rscepd or call 617.287.7116
For disability-related accommodations, including dietary accommodations, please go to www.ada.umb.edu