United Nations & World Bank - Expert Group Meeting



United Nations in collaboration with the World Bank

Expert Group Meeting

World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC

28 - 30 June 2010

Joseph Kwan (Hong Kong)

Background Summary of Involvement in Accessibility

JOSEPH KWAN received his architectural training at the Queensland Institute of Technology (1976) Australia, and later obtained a M.Sc. in Environmental Psychology from the University of Surrey (1979) United Kingdom.

He has more than 34 years of experience in international architectural practice having worked in Australia, United Kingdom, France and now 25 years in Hong Kong.

Joseph Kwan has been the Director of a Hong Kong NGO specializing in accessible built environments for 18 years. This Advisory Service is subvented by the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau of the HKSAR Government to help make Hong Kong more accessible for the elderly and people with disabilities, in particular to the built environment and public transportation.

He is the Founding Director of UDA Consultants Ltd. (Universal Design and Accessibility Consultants) in Hong Kong.

Joseph Kwan was a Consultant to the United Nations - Economic and Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Social Development Division, Bangkok, Thailand, on the preparation of a Technical Guideline on the “Promotion of Non-Handicapping Environments for Disabled and Elderly Persons in the Asia - Pacific Region”, and is a Resource Person for the UN-ESCAP on “The Regional Training of Trainers Course on the Promotion of Non-Handicapping Environments for People with Disabilities” for the past twelve years. He is also their current Expert/Consultant on the promotion of Barrier-Free Tourism in Asia and the Pacific.

He is the Region IV Director of the International Union of Architects (UIA), Work Programme on “Architecture and the Disabled” since 1999, and was elected a Council Member for UIA Region IV in 2005.

Joseph Kwan is also a Member of the ISO (International Standardisation Organization) Working Group on the drafting of the Standard: “Accessibility and Usability of the Built Environment”, the Global Chair of Rehabilitation International - International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (RI-ICTA), and a Member of the International Steering Committee for TRANSED (International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons) Conference since 2001.

He was a Resource Person to the Asia Training Centre on Aging (ATCOA) at the University of Chiang Mai, Thailand of HelpAge International.

In September 1990, he was the Keynote Speaker at the “International Accessibility Mini-Summit” co-sponsored by the Centre for Accessible Housing of North Carolina State University and the World Rehabilitation Fund’s International Exchange of Experts and Information in Rehabilitation (IEEIR) in the USA.

In 2007, the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research engaged the team of UDA Consultants & Associates, of which Joseph Kwan was appointed Project Director, to develop a Universal Accessibility Programme (UAP) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that focused on accessible built environment, transportation systems and infrastructure, and tourism programs, systems, products and infrastructure. The UAP project team comprised of architects, access consultants, universal design experts and specialists from Canada, South Africa and Saudi Arabia operating under the direction of Joseph Kwan from the Hong Kong office.

In 2008, he was appointed as Ambassador on Universal Accessibility by the Italian Order of Architects.

Joseph Kwan was a Member of the Hong Kong Government’s Rehabilitation Advisory Committee’s Sub-Committee on Access; a Member of the Transport Department’s Expert Group Forum and Working Group on Access to Public Transport by Disabled Persons, a Member of the Advisory Committee on Barrier Free Access of the Buildings Department, and also the Co-Convenor of the Ocean Park Disabled Advisory Committee. He is a current Member of the Building Committee of the Hong Kong Housing Authority.

Joseph Kwan was the Sub-consultant to the Buildings Department of Hong Kong on the drafting of the Design Manual - Barrier Free Access 2008; and is also the author of a number of papers and articles on various aspects of designing for accessibility/disability and universal design. He was the Accessibility Advisor on the preparation of the Hong Kong Housing Society publication: “Universal Design Guidebook for Residential Development in Hong Kong” 2005.

He has extensive lecture experiences in the field of access and universal design at the local, regional and international level. He has been a Speaker and as an External Reviewer for the universities’ Schools of Architecture and School of Design in Hong Kong. He was an Assistant Professor of the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong and the Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects.

In 2000, he was a Recipient of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Hong Kong Citation “in recognition of distinguished achievement as a community based consultancy service in promoting and implementing barrier-free accessible environments for the elderly and people with disabilities in Hong Kong”. On 1st July 2001, he was awarded the “Medal of Honour” (MH) by the Hong Kong SAR Government for “his valuable contributions in improving a built environment that caters for the needs of people with disabilities”.

JK/HK/Jun10

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