Mikey
Carson City, Nevada
History & Mission
Mission
No Barriers is a powerful community of modern day pioneers who use the experience of nature to promote innovation, education and assistive technologies that create transformative life experiences and inspire people with challenges to live full and active lives.
History
Conceived by a group of friends with a passion for recreation in the beautiful natural places of the world, No Barriers USA is a not-for-profit organization which assumes that each person, regardless of age, state of mind or physical condition, has a thirst for adventure and a hope for the future which is worthy of igniting.
No Barriers is the facilitator for barrier breaking innovation in a world full of perceived obstacles, impairments and limitations.
In 2003, Jim Goldsmith, Mark Wellman, Wayne Hanson and Paolo Pompanin joined with a group in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Dolomiti senza barriere onlus, led by Ugo Pompanin and Miki Maioni, to create an awareness of the abilities of people with disabilities and to encourage the Cortina town fathers to increase the accessibility of their facilities to meet the needs of disabled people, including the aging local population. With funding from the Regione di Venito and the Cortina community, and matched by individual donors in the United States, NO BARRIERS / DOLOMITI was held in Cortina in July, 2004.
After a very successful first Summit, a not-for-profit corporation, No Barriers USA, was formed in the United States in 2005. Since then, No Barriers has produced three additional Summits and added components such as a science and technology symposium, a program of interactive clinics and roundtable discussions
Past Summits include:
- 2004 & 2005 - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
- 2007 - Squaw Valley USA, Olympic Valley, California
- 2009 – Miami, Florida
Who comes to the Summits?
- Professionals Include:
- Scientists, Inventors, Athletes, Researchers, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Manufacturers, Social Service Professionals, Artists and others.
- Individuals with Challenges include everyone, including:
- Amputees, Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries, Multiple Sclerosis, Sensory Impairments, Cerebral Palsy, Visual Impairments, Autism, Developmentally Delayed, Behavioral Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Challenged due to Weight, Challenged due to Age, Economically Challenged, Veterans and others.
There are no other programs like ours in the world. The purpose of No Barriers is to promote innovative ideas, approaches and assistive technologies which help people with challenges push through their own personal barriers to live full and active lives. Additionally, we partner with local and national agencies to ensure that once a participant comes to our program, they are able to continue to shattering their barriers through getting involved with local or national direct service organizations.
Past festival highlights seem more like science fiction than reality. A researcher demonstrated an amazing device called Brainport which some day may help blind people to "see." This technology consists of a postage stamp size tongue display, a control box, and a video camera. Visual information is collected from a head mounted video camera and sent to a control box. The control box translates the visual information into an electrical pattern which is displayed on the tongue. A blind sailor captained a sailing clinic for blind people using only a talking Global Positioning System to guide the group. A scientist from MIT demonstrated revolutionary prosthetic legs with computer-controlled knee and ankle joints which enable above-the-knee amputees to walk- often for the first time. Mark Wellman, the first paraplegic athlete to climb the 3000-foot vertical face of El Capitan taught other paras to rock climb using his one-of-a-kind pull-up system.
The bulk of participants are paraplegics, amputees, blind people and those with traumatic brain injuries many of whom are injured veterans returning from the current conflicts - but the audience goes beyond more traditional disabilities to include those who feel they are too old, too heavy or too disadvantaged in any way. We believe the message of No Barriers is universal.
The Summit brings together the inventors, scientists, technologists, athletes, teachers, outdoor enthusiasts and seekers -- people who are pushing the envelope, or hoping to do so, in their chosen fields. During the festival, ideas and technologies are explained and then put into practice through active clinics, demonstration venues and equipment available. Attendees leave empowered, not only with knowledge about particular equipment or techniques which will work for them, but in realizing that they need to be active participants in developing the solutions which will help them realize their potential. In addition, developers and end-users learn from each other and this interaction shapes the next wave of innovation.
