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  • 25/11/2024

Norway Declaration on Universal Design, 2024

Participants at UD2024 Gala Dinner, held at the Oslo City Hall - the splendid venue of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and other significant events Participants at UD2024 Gala Dinner, held at the Oslo City Hall - the splendid venue of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and other significant events

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Declaration by delegates at the UD2024 Conference: "Universal Design – a prerequisite for achieving universal human rights, social and economic sustainability".

Logo of UD2024 with geometric letters spelling "Universal" and text, UD2024 UNIVERSAL DESIGN on a purple background  The UD2024 International Conference on Universal Design took place in Oslo on 20 to 22 November 2024.

Hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture, Directorate for Children, Youth and Families (BufDir), over 300 participants - practitioners, academics, representatives from public, private and third sector organisations - gathered to share and discuss policies, practices, achievements and experiences in the field of Universal Design.

At the final session, the participants of UD 2024 approved a Declaration, calling upon policymakers and design practitioners to demand that all nations commit to a Universal Design approach to ensure future environments, products, and services are inclusive across the broadest possible spectrum of people.

Read the full declaration

Read the Norway Declaration at the website of UD2024. 

Download the Norway Declaration from the Downloads section of this page in PDF format.

ENAT's endorsement

As one of the participating organisations at the UD2024 Conference, ENAT endorses the Norway Declaration, making our commitment to its aims, to achieve a sustainable, equitable, and resilient future by following principles that must guide the development of global, national, regional, and local policies and practices, namely:

  1. Implement Universal Design as a philosophy, strategy, and approach.
  2. Comply with the UNCRPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
  3. Promote and invest in research, development, design, and innovation that adhere to Universal Design principles, making products, services, and environments inclusive and affordable, by applying a human-centric and participatory approach.
  4. Strengthen civil society participation in design and decision-making, particularly involving persons with disabilities, older people, and their representative organisations, as well as the private sector.
  5. Introduce standards and policies based on Universal Design to eliminate fragmentation in the private and public sectors.
  6. Ensure a Universal Design approach to both digital and physical environments as an integral part of sustainable design.
  7. Integrate Universal Design into education to ensure equality of access, opportunity, and outcomes.
  8. Ensure that people can continue to live in their own communities by applying Universal Design principles to homes, public spaces, and transport.

As we seek to uphold these principles, ENAT also commends to others, either as organisations or individuals, to endorse and support the Norway Declaration on Universal Design.  

We encourage all readers to share the Declaration widely.