Cairo: Jasour – News Desk
The National Council for Special Needs Individuals signed a cooperation protocol with the National Housing and Building Research Center regarding advisory and technical principles for the Egyptian Code requirements for designing outdoor spaces and buildings for special needs uses.
The protocol was signed by Dr. Iman Kareem, General Supervisor of the National Council for Special Needs Individuals, and Dr. Mohammed Masoud Al-Saadawi, Chairman of the National Housing and Building Research Center.
Dr. Iman Kareem welcomed the cooperation with the National Housing and Building Research Center, as it is the official body responsible for establishing and overseeing housing and building research and urban planning legislation. She emphasized the work on implementing the Egyptian Code requirements in reality, whether for new buildings or retrofitting existing buildings to accommodate special needs individuals of all types.
She confirmed that the council collaborates with advisory bodies responsible for applying accessibility standards to create an environment that enables special needs individuals to access services and participate fully.
The General Supervisor of the Council emphasized that Law No. 10 of 2018 concerning the rights of special needs individuals referred to several acquired rights aimed at ensuring their full integration into society across all institutions, providing all services and facilities, and preparing units according to an engineering code that focuses on designing outdoor spaces and buildings for special needs individuals.
This code aims to establish the foundations, standards, and requirements needed in public spaces and buildings, including temporary constructions, to facilitate their use by individuals with mobility, visual, and hearing impairments.
The Egyptian Code achieves its objectives through two main axes: the first, public spaces, sidewalks, movement paths, and site coordination elements; and the second, architectural elements and details, including entrances and ramps, horizontal and vertical movement elements, doors and electrical installations, communication means, finishes, flooring, fixed furniture, complementary elements, signs, and guiding symbols. This was the driving force behind signing the cooperation protocol with the National Housing and Building Research Center.
Dr. Mohammed Masoud, Chairman of the National Housing and Building Research Center, valued the serious and future cooperation with the National Council for Special Needs Individuals, as it is the entity responsible for policy-making related to them. He confirmed that signing the protocol marks the beginning of working on the Egyptian Code requirements on the ground to achieve the targets of Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the directives of the President of the Republic regarding ensuring the ease and removal of barriers for special needs individuals to live their daily lives naturally and provide an environment equipped for their needs.
