GovWire

Support for the Built Environment Professional Education project on its first anniversary

Office for Disability Issues

December 17
11:31 2014

Mark Harper MP, the Minister of State for Disabled People, has given his ongoing support to the Built Environment Professional Education project as it marked the first year since its launch.

The project aims to embed inclusive design into the training and education of all built environment professionals. It was inspired by:

  • the achievements of London 2012, the most accessible Olympic and Paralympic Games ever
  • the continuing work in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, now a benchmark for achieving an inclusive environment

The minister said:

With the Built Environment Professional Education project, we are working on something which has the potential to make a real difference to our society. Embedding inclusive design into the initial and continuing education of built environment professionals is an important step-change it will lead to greater awareness and understanding, increased knowledge and skills, and ultimately, better access and inclusion for all a lasting legacy of London 2012.

I want to thank everyone who is helping to deliver the project. Your ideas and enthusiasm for this work are inspiring, and of course crucial in helping to achieve the aim we all want to see a more accessible and inclusive environment in this country.

First anniversary

The first anniversary of the project was marked by a reception for built environment educators, practitioners and professionals, hosted at City Hall by Sir Edward Lister, the Deputy Mayor for London with responsibility for Planning. In his welcoming speech Sir Edward said:

We have worked with a whole host of academic institutions to begin the dialogue of embedding inclusive design. Making changes to courses will be a sea-change but it will have enormous benefits, and those benefits will be long lasting We are fully on board with this this is what we want to achieve.

Speeches

Representatives from 3 of the professional institutions spoke at the reception:

  • Louise Brooke-Smith, President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
  • Gareth Tancred, Chief Executive of the British Institute of Facilities Management
  • Barry Clarke, Past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers

They outlined the steps they have already taken to embed inclusive design in their professions. The Greater London Authority has published a video of speeches made at the reception.

Read the BEPE reception speech transcripts (RTF, 129KB)

Supporters

Since the project was launched in December 2013, 14 key professional institutions have given their support, and the project is also working with the education sector.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park video

A short film made by the London Legacy Development Corporation shows how inclusive design principles and processes have made a difference in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It also shows how this approach is being used as new neighbourhoods are developed in the surrounding area. The video was released to mark the first anniversary of the Built Environment Professional Education project.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park video

The project is working with the professional institutions to develop a clear road map of actions to embed inclusive design into built environment education.

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