The WAW association is convinced that wheelchair users would travel more often if general access was more appropriate. In order to facilitate their trips, our association wishes to act on three major aspects:

On land: Encouraging the authorities in charge of urban planning development and public transportation design to take PRM as a reference standard in construction plans. Drawing the attention of hotels and tourist services to the increasing demand of PRM adapted services.

At sea: Recommend shipowners and boat rental companies to make boating accessible to all. WAW supports the WellAbled initiative, the first fully wheelchair-friendly boat.

In the air: Promoting accessibility at airports and on board aircraft by encouraging airlines and aircraft manufacturers to take into account the presence of wheelchair passengers, particularly regarding the toilet access on board.

Our approach

In order to find the means to fulfill all its commitments, WAW extends its action to four categories:

INSTITUTIONS

Targeted by our lobbying actions to change mentalities at the systemic level, using a top-down approach. Encourage the competent authorities to use people with reduced mobility as a reference standard when developing public spaces.

INDUSTRIES

WAW wants to encourage service providers to adapt their offer to the needs of people with disabilities. We are particularly targeting the tourism, aeronautics and urban planning sectors.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Mechanisms of self-discrimination are at the source of many discouragements among wheelchair users. In order to deconstruct these reductive beliefs and encourage them to open up to the world, our foundation aspires to send a positive message to those people whose mental barriers impede their personal fulfillment and professional success.

ABLE-BODIED CITIZENS

Media support of our actions to allow higher visibility of people with disabilities in the public space and, as a result, allow general awareness. Promotion of education on accessibility issues so that they do not remain misunderstood.

WAW envisions a wide range of actions to achieve the goals it has set

Implementation of projects and specific actions to give media visibility to people with motor disabilities
Support of associations and initiatives through the establishment of partnerships
Additional team members advocating for better accessibility worldwide
Media interventions – Public speeches
Intercultural exchange promotion through traveling to provide an opening to the world for people who are often isolated
Creation of projects teaming an able-bodied person with a person of disability to help change perception in all involved parties.

CHALLENGES

As a source of inspiration, the challenges organized by Wheeling Around the World are intended to encourage people with disabilities to reach their full potential.
Our last major action perfectly reflected our philosophy : The Mont-Blanc Mission

Mont Blanc Mission

In partnership with the Paris Fire Department, WAW’s generous donors helped the ascent of three wheelchair users to the highest peak in Europe. Accompanied by a team of twelve firefighters, two nurses, four mountain guides and a cameraman to immortalize the adventure, our pioneers were able to face up the challenge common to hundreds of mountaineers who go every year to Mont Blanc, braving both the elements of nature as well as their own mental barriers.

The project has been a great media success, helping to send a positive message to people with disabilities as to their ability to achieve ambitious goals, since “nothing is impossible to someone with a walking mind”.

Small lexicon on mobility:

Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) represent a group of people with visible or invisible mobility difficulties, permanent or temporary. This definition includes not only people with a permanent disability impacting their mobility, but also pregnant women, elderly, etc.

Among people with permanent mobility impairments, are included wheelchair users, but also people affected by obesity, heart and breathing difficulties, people of small or large sizes, the visually and hearing impaired.

In Belgium, about 1/3 of the population has reduced mobility, which corresponds to the European average.

Wheeling Around the World has been emphasizing its actions on wheelchair users. However, the association anticipates that its mobilization will have a positive impact for all PRM whose needs coincide with wheelchair users.

According to a 2010 report from the World Health Organization, around 40 million people worldwide suffer from a disability that requires wheelchair travel.