UCP AffNet Entrance
Life Without Limits
Life Without Limits is a national initiative to empower people with disabilities to envision and build a better future for themselves and their community. UCP, a pivotal advocate for people with all disabilities, is leading the Life Without Limits initiative in cooperation with former Congressman Tony Coelho.
The project was conceived in April 2004 in response to the realization that goals set many years ago that led to both the deinstitutionalization of many individuals with disabilities and the passing of the ADA have not been fully realized. The fact that there is a long way to go before individuals with disabilities are fully integrated into all aspects of society motivated UCP to jump start a far-reaching dialogue about how people with disabilities can become fully integrated in society and live life without limits.
Accomplishments include the distribution of a DVD "focus group in a box" to affiliates and other organizations to conduct their own focus groups to encourage discussions around the opportunities and obstacles facing people with disabilities and the creation of a custom forecast map designed by the Institute for the Future (IFTF) that identifies future forces that are likely to have major impact on individuals with disabilities over the next decade. To help facilitate conversations about Life Without Limits and better understand the map, IFTF has also developed a map glossary and UCP created a one-page summary and a flyer on navigating the map.
In April 2007, the Life Without Limits National Visioning Sessions and 2007 UCP Annual Conference was convened in Orlando, Florida. Conference participants had the opportunity for in-depth review and discussion of future forces that are likely to have major impacts on individuals with disabilities. The opening keynote address, delivered by Dr. Bob Johansen, Institute for the Future's Distinguished Fellow, highlighted the waves of change that will shape the lives of people with disabilities over the next decade. How these same people will use their abilities to explore the emerging edges of what it means to be human was also discussed.
During the conference, Life Without Limits convened three visioning sessions. The purpose of the sessions was to provide participants with an opportunity to identify key elements that should be included in a new vision of the future for individuals with disabilities. After much deliberation and discussion, the following key elements were identified:
- Believable Hope
- Navigating the World Across Generations
- Universal Access
- Agile/Potent Networks
- Meaningful Employment
- Community Not Government
All of the proceedings and discussions from the visioning sessions are now available on the Life Without Limits Visioning Sessions Web site, courtesy of Alegent Health. The Web site also includes the conference opening and closing presentations as well as the proceedings from the Straw Person Visioning Session convened in Omaha, Nebraska in February 2007. Visit the Life Without Limits Project Visioning Sessions Web page.
Although you do not need a password to access the site, you do need one to contribute comments and pose questions to the discussion board. You can sign in by clicking on "Sign In" in the far upper right hand corner. Your user name will be the first letter of your first name followed by your last name. For example, if your name is John Doe, your username is jdoe. Usernames have been set up for all conference participants. The password is pass@word1 for everyone. If you did not attend the conference and would like to set up a username, please contact Katie Martin.
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