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October 28, 2011
Training Report : October 25, 2011 : Lectures : Contemporary Disability Movements in Japan
Today the participants attended two lectures on history of Japanese disability movement.
In the morning, they welcomed the chairperson of the Japan Federation of the Blind in Seminar Room 18.
After hearing self-introductions by the participants, the lecturer discussed the establishment of the Federation in the late 1940s with support from Helen Keller, the world-famous deafblind author and social activist, and how it evolved and impacted on society since then.
The disability movement in Japan was initially led by the blind, he said, but gradually involved people with other types of disabilities. He explained how people with differing types of disabilities raise a united voice and simultaneously campaign for individual needs.
The participants asked the lecturer a number of questions and keenly learnt how disability movements are organized in Japan.
In the afternoon, the deputy-editor of the Resource Center for Disability Issues - Ribon Publisher and the Editorial Committee "Let's Go Out Like the Wind" arrived to give a lecture on the disability movements with a focus on the period of the 1970s. He illustrated a couple case studies of protests carried out by those with cerebral palsy.
The lecture was informative with rish sources of visual information. It also covered philosophies underlying the disability movement in Japan and how the disabled have been mistreated in society.
The participants seemed highly interested in learning about the disability movements and the thoughts accompanying them. They were also reflecting the lecture on the situations of their home countries.
Many thanks to the lecturers for their time and very interesting talks…!
Posted by jicafriends at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
Korean Film That Changed Society - A Film Review by NY Times
The recent Korean film called "The Crucible" (or Dogani, in Korean) has impacted the Korean sociey and led to changes on rules for sexual crimes on persons with disabilities. Below is a review of the film by the New York Times, sourced from the "Disability & Development" mailing list with a consent of the publisher, the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE- JETRO).
The New York Times
Film Underscores Koreans' Growing Anger Over Sex Crimes
By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: October 17, 2011
SEOUL — At an appeals court in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 2006, a school official was convicted of raping a 13-year-old deaf girl and sentenced to one year in prison. When the verdict came, an outraged middle-aged man, also deaf, let out an incomprehensible cry from the galley, signaling frantically with sign language.
“It was clear that the man was shouting, ‘This is wrong! This is wrong!”’ Lee Ji-won, a newspaper intern, wrote in her blog later that day under the subject line, “I saw the foul underside of our society.”
The man was forcibly removed for disrupting the courtroom. And that might have been the end of it. Except that the intern’s blog inspired a best-selling author, Gong Ji-young, to write a novel based on the sexual assaults at the Inhwa School for the hearing impaired, the school’s attempts to conceal the abuses and the victims’ struggle for justice.
Now, a film based on that novel — “Dogani,” or “The Crucible” — has roiled South Korea.
Since its release on Sept. 22, 4.4 million people, including President Lee Myung-bak — nearly a 10th of the country’s population — have seen it. The film has tapped into widespread anger over official reluctance to take sexual crimes seriously, and over how justice is served, or not, in South Korea.
The cabinet has vowed to inspect all facilities for the disabled and minors to ferret out teachers with records of sexual abuse. The head of the Supreme Court admitted that “society is simmering with resentment” toward a legal system long criticized as “yujeonmujoe mujeonnyujoe,” or “not guilty for the rich, guilty for the poor.”
Lawmakers are pushing for tougher penalties for sexual crimes. The Education Ministry has said it will shut down Inhwa School.
For a low-budget movie barred to people under 18, “The Crucible” has had an extraordinary impact.
In a way, that reaction seems at odds with South Korean society. Here, disregard for the disabled is so entrenched that the subway authorities began installing elevators for wheelchair access only in recent years following protests by the handicapped in which they chained themselves to the tracks with signs that read, “We want to use the subway too.”
“What people see in the movie is a capsule version of their society,” said Chun Sang-chin, a sociologist at Sogang University. “There is anger over how the strong bully the weak, despair over how the system protects the well-connected, and fear that the same can happen to the rest of us.”
In the Inhwa case, four teachers and administrators — including its principal and his brother — were convicted of raping or sexually molesting at least eight students aged 7 to 22, some orphaned or mentally disabled, from 2000 to 2004.
But only two of the four served any jail time. The principal was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl and taking a bribe of 3 million won, or $2,630, from a teacher. But he was freed when an appeals court suspended his sentence.
“The Crucible” graphically depicts sexual and physical violence against minors. But just as sensational is the cynical collusion it portrays among the elite of the movie’s fictional town of Mujin. A judge gives a lenient sentence to defendants represented by a lawyer who until recently was his colleague on the bench. A police detective pockets cash from a school principal who is both a church leader and sadistic rapist.
Scenes in the film showing demonstrations in support of the defendants mirror events in the Inhwa case.
“When court was in session, members of the Protestant church the principal and his family attended rallied outside the courthouse,” said Park Chan-dong, a human rights advocate who campaigned for the children. “They called us ‘evil’ and ‘Satan’ and loudly prayed that ‘hell fires’ would consume us.”
Judges, defense lawyers and police detectives involved in the Inhwa case have denied any misconduct. But to many here, some of the movie scenes look all too plausible.
“I wanted to show that, although our society has developed a lot, barbarous things still happen,” said the film’s director, Hwang Dong-hyeok.
Underneath the vibrancy of South Korea’s young democracy runs an unease about what many consider deepening inequality — a problem the government recognized last year when it listed “building a fair society” among its top policy goals.
Kim Yeh-ram, a college student who saw the film, said its release had “added fuel” to public outrage. The release followed a series of high-profile incidents that bolstered accusations that the state was failing to protect the vulnerable while some of the rich and powerful acted as if they were above the law.
Last year, for example, Chey Cheol-won, 41, a trucking company owner and cousin of one of the country’s richest men, was convicted of hitting a 52-year-old former union activist 13 times with an aluminum baseball bat while his executives watched. He then wrote out a 20 million won check on a company account and threw it in the victim’s face. Mr. Chey received a suspended sentence.
The number of sexual crimes against mentally or physically disabled people reported to the police was 320 last year, up from 199 in 2007, according to the National Police Agency. But the government estimates that fewer than 10 percent of victims report sexual crimes to the police for fear of being shamed in public trials.
In South Korea, sex crimes generally can be prosecuted only if the victim presses charges, and charges are often dropped if a financial settlement is reached between the defendant and the plaintiff. Two years ago, the law was revised to require that all sex crimes involving alleged victims aged 18 or under be prosecuted, even if they have not themselves pressed charges. Following the uproar over “The Crucible,” the government has promised to extend this to cases where the alleged victims are mentally or physically disabled.
When sexual assault cases involving victims aged 13 and under come to trial now, roughly 95 percent of defendants are found guilty, but penalties are weak, with about a third receiving prison terms and the rest receiving suspended sentences or assessed fines. Half of the teachers who were convicted of sexually assaulting their students or others were given nothing more severe than a pay cut or a short suspension, according to the Education Ministry.
“Many of the facilities for the disabled are stamping grounds for human rights abusers,” said Ser In-whan, secretary general of the Korean Federation of Organizations of the Disabled. “It’s not just Inhwa School.”
The Inhwa case came to light in 2005 when a teacher alerted human rights groups. For that, the teacher was fired.
The police began an investigation four months later, only after former students talked to a national TV station. As the Gwangju city government and school board tossed the case back and forth, students and parents staged a sit-in for eight months outside their offices, calling for justice.
In a movie scene that highlights the disconnect between the authorities and the disabled, a judge slams his gavel and shouts “Silence!” to deaf viewers in the galley using sign language. In the early days of the Gwangju trial, no sign-language translation was provided in the courtroom, Mr. Park said.
Im Eun-jeong, a prosecutor in the case, wrote in her diary at the time of a courtroom filled with “deaf children crying out silently to society with their sign language.”
She noted in the diary, which she recently posted online, “Their anger and despair made every hair on my body stand up.”
Posted by jicafriends at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
Film Changes Rules for Crimes on Persons with Disabilities - Korea
The following information was downloaded from the "Disability and Development" mailing list, with a consent of the publisher, the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO).
The Korea Herald
Tougher rules for sex crimes on disabled
2011-10-07 19:42
Complaints no longer required for prosecution; first-time offenders to be tagged
Sexual crimes on the disabled will be prosecuted with or without the victims’ complaints and first-time offenders will be bound to wear electronic tagging devices under toughened rules unveiled by the government Friday.
Because prosecution of sexual crimes cannot proceed without complaints by the victims under the current law, the victims were often paid off by the offenders to agree on a settlement.
Prodded by a public resentment sparked by the box office hit “Dogani,”
the Prime Minister’s Office announced a set of measures against sexual crimes on the disabled. Most of the measures are already in a bill submitted to the National Assembly by lawmakers last year.
The film is based on a true story about a series of rape and other sexual assaults by faculty members on students at Inhwa School, a special education institution for the hearing-impaired in Gwangju, for five years from 2005.
Inhwa School will be shut down and the state sanction on the social welfare corporation named Wooseok that runs the school will be nullified, Yim Jong-yong, minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, said in a press briefing.
“All the necessary steps for legislation will be taken within the ongoing National Assembly session,” Yim said.
Whether to scrap the statute of limitations on sexual crimes against the disabled, however, will be subject to further discussion.
A prosecution investigation found 10 teachers at Inhwa involved in the crimes, but only six of them were indicted as parents of some of the victims did not press charges. Of the six, two received no punishment as the statute of limitations on their cases had expired and another two were given a suspended sentence. Only two were sentenced to jail terms of one year and two years, respectively.
Under the plans announced Friday, school faculty members slapped fines for sexual violence will be disqualified as teachers.
The government will also add coerced adultery, which does not require proof that the victim was unable to resist, to the list of sexual crimes against the handicapped, Yim said.
The current law acknowledges rape only when the victim was found to be in a state where resistance was impossible, stirring criticism that offenders are often nominally punished.
The government is set to submit to the National Assembly next month a bill that raises the jail term for rapists of the disabled from three to at least five years and allows the prosecution to seek a court order for an electronic ankle bracelet to be attached, starting from first-time offenders.
The government will also push for a revised bill which obliges registered social welfare corporations to name outside directors and disclose certain information to raise their transparency, Yim said. The government had failed to make the revision in 2007 due to opposition from the ruling Grand National Party and religious groups.
While taking steps to shut down Inhwa School as soon as possible, the government said it will arrange for 15 of its 22 students to transfer to neighboring schools and the remaining seven, who live in Inhwa, to move to another facility.
The teachers implicated in the sexual assaults will be barred from teaching for good, and a thorough investigation will be launched into the possibility of additional crimes and other irregularities of the school.
Facilities found with similar cases in the ongoing nationwide inquiry on institutions for the disabled will be closed down, Yim said.
The government will also introduce a system to provide victims of sexual violence with legal assistance, hire more sign language interpreters for investigations, and expand the counseling and medical treatment services for the disabled.
By Kim So-hyun
Posted by jicafriends at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2011
High Court Outlaws Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities - India
The following information was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development", with a consent of the publisher, the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO).
IBN Live, The New Indian Express
Oct. 26, 2011
Allow deaf-mute to contest polls
CHENNAI: A clause in the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, which prevented the deaf-mute from contesting polls, has been challenged in the Madras High Court.
L K Venkat, a physically challenged person and a law graduate, contended in his writ petition that in proviso 37(3) of the legislation, a person would be disqualified for election if on the last date of filing of nomination or on the date of election he was of unsound mind or a deaf- mute. He made a representation to the State Election Commissioner on October 4 regarding the exclusion. The petitioner said it was the State ’s duty to give protection and encourage such persons by giving enough opportunity to them as part of confidence-building measures.
These people do not need any sympathy, but only want recognition by way of equal opportunity. The legal provision was ultra vires of the Constitution, especially against Art 14, by denying equal opportunity.
Madras High court has ordered notice on the writ petition.
Posted by jicafriends at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
Ramps Block Votes of the Disabled - India
The following information was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development", with a consent of the publisher, the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO).
IBN Live, The New Indian Express
Oct. 18, 2011
Chennai
No ramps, no sensitivity for differently-abled
For the differently-abled at the local body polls, inaccessibility continued to remain an issue, like in previous elections. People with disabilities who went to cast their votes on Monday reported several problems that they faced.
Brijithammal (76), a Palavakkam resident, ended up not voting as the polling station at the ALM School in University Quarters had 10 steps to climb and no ramp to take her wheelchair up.
Mathan Gaberial, son-in-law of Brijithammal and also producer of the movie Maa taken on the differently- abled, who escorted her to the polling booth, said, “It was very disappointing that the election commission had made such arrangements without bothering about accessibility for the differently-abled. When I went and asked the presiding officer about it, I was told that I should contact the election commissioners’s office.”
In the polling booth at the Jafferkhanpet Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, the place where the EVMs were kept was too narrow and was impossible for a differently-abled person to squeeze inside. Simmachandran, a resident of Jafferkhanpet who is also the general secretary of Federation of Tamil Nadu Handicapped Association, said, “There is absolutely no space for disabled people like us to go inside and vote. As I couldn’t get inside, the poll officer turned the EVM to� face all the people waiting to vote. The whole idea of secret ballot was gone.”
At a polling booth at the Nadar Higher Secondary School in Kottur, Chidambaranathan, president of Federation of Tamilnadu Handicapped Association, could not take his wheelchair into the polling booth entrance. He said, “The passage is too narrow for the wheelchair. I had to tell the polling officer my choice and he voted for me. The secrecy is lost.”
In Poonamallee, the differently-abled (hearing and speech impaired) were made to wait in a regular queue.
Simmachandran said, “What is disappointing is that on October 3, we presented a list of differently-abled-friendly measures to the attention of the State Election Commissioner. He also promised us that it will be followed. But today, we are disappointed.”
Many booths in the city remained inaccessible for the differently-abled. But Gopalapuram booth had wheelchair access for DMK leader Karunanidhi.
Posted by jicafriends at 09:14 AM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2011
New Train Station Commended for Its Accessibility - Malaysia
The following information was downloaded from "Disability and Development" mailing list, with a consent of the publisher, the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO).
ITT commended for being disabled friendly
PUTRAJAYA: The new Bandar Tasik Selatan integrated transport terminal (ITT) has achieved a 75% score on disabled-friendliness from a recent audit conducted by the Committee on Universal Design and Built Environment.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the results were beyond satisfactory as the multi-transport terminal covers most of the needs of the disabled.
She added that the audit included the Express Rail Link (ERL) and Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) stations.
The audit was conducted on September 22 in collaboration with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), International Islamic University of Malaysia, RapidKL, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, ERL and associations representing the disabled.
The ITT, which was opened on January 1 this year, served primarily as a bus terminal for south-bound buses while the terminal is also an interchange for rail services such as KTM Komuter, Light Rail Transit (LRT) Ampang Line, ERL and RapidKL buses.
The development of the terminal is an initiative under the GTP's Urban Public Transport NKRA to alleviate the reliance of personal vehicles which contribute to the increasing city traffic congestion by significantly improving the experience of using public transport that would in turn make it a preferred method of commuting in the Klang Valley.
Posted by jicafriends at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2011
Training Report : October 19, 2011 : Fieldwork : Accessibility Check in Tokyo Metropolitan City
Training Report : October 19, 2011 : Fieldwork : Accessibility Check in Tokyo Metropolitan City
Today was an unforgettable day for the participants.
Three lecturers, the board member of DPI Japan, the chairperson of the Board of NPO Independent Living Support Network Tokyo and Deputy Manager, Division for Promoting Accessible Transportation of ECOMO Foundation were invited.
The participants were divided into two groups to carry out “accessibility check” of public transportation in Tokyo Metropolitan City.
Tokyo Tower, one of the most famous places in Japan, was set as the destination. Each group took a unique route, and met up at Tokyo Tower.
On their way to the destination, the participants observed various facilities and assistive devices provided not only for persons with disabilities but also for elderly people, children and parents with a baby carriage.
They took elevators and checked Braille blocks tiled on the platform and the street as well as automatic platform gates which prevent people from falling off the platform.
In particular, using staircase-lifts called “Escal” was a memorable experience. It gave the participants a good example of how to overcome barriers in existing facilities. There also was service available to wheelchair users. Staff of underground stations prepared a portable ramp to assist the participants using wheelchairs to get on and off a train.
The participants enjoyed the little trip a lot, and understood the meaning of “going to the place not only where it is access, but the place wherever we want to go” by actually experiencing it.
After returning to JICA Tokyo, a staff member of ECOMO foundation (Mission of the organization is to promote accessible public transport and to improve transport environmental issues) gave a lecture on history and the current situation of barrier free laws and regulations in Japan.
Two lecturers who were electric wheelchair users concluded the session with strong word, “The important things are voice and movement of persons with disabilities, and never give up spirit!”
Posted by jicafriends at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)
Increased Accessibility at Indian Metro Station
The following information was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO).
Metro stations are disabled-friendly
DEEPA KURUP
CHITRA V. RAMANI
First impressions indicate that there is hope yet for the disabled commuter
Public transport and roads in Bangalore have been patently disabled- unfriendly. The same holds true for a majority of public spaces that, barring a few ramps here and there, do nothing to help people living with disabilities.
First impressions of the Namma Metro stations indicate that there is hope yet for the disabled commuter. Apart from the mandatory ramps at the entrances, the stations have specially grooved-tiles to help the visually-impaired navigate their way into and about the station.
The ramps are wide, both at the entrance to the station and to the ticket counter. The grooved tiles ? one with circles and the other with cylindrical grooves aligned in a particular direction ? serve to indicate to the visually-impaired which direction to take.
The staff at the Metro station told The Hindu that the tiles with the circles would help the visually impaired realise that they were in front of a new level and would have to take either a left or right, while with the ones with the cylindrical groves, they would know that they can continue to go on ahead. The tiles with cylindrical groves lead from the Metro platform to the lift and the two escalators.
The lift too has buttons with Braille inscription to help the visually impaired. Though the station does not have public restrooms yet, there is a special restroom for the disabled in the staff rooms. To reach the platforms, commuters can either climb up 87 stairs, take either of the two escalators or take the lift. The swipe counters and ticketing booths too appear to be low enough for wheel-chair users to use them.
Metro officials claim that facilities and access for persons with disabilities have been provided in accordance with the Public Works Department norms. The ticket counters are low and gates are wide enough for persons on wheel-chairs to enter the stations.
While these are only the first impressions, once the stations open and persons with disabilities are able to use the station, a clearer picture of just how adequate these provisions are will emerge.
Namma Metro had also said that other facilities such as announcement and hooters for the visually-impaired and glow lights in prominent places and signals and tickers for the hearing-impaired will also be put in place.
CONTROVERSY
Earlier this year, the project had courted controversy when Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) got an exemption from providing jobs to persons with disabilities. The Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities took suo motu action against BMRCL for seeking such an exemption, following which two hearings were held after which the authority agreed to implement the mandatory reservation.
K.V. Rajanna, Commissioner for Persons with Disability, says that earlier this year he and disability rights activists had conducted an audit at the Metro stations, and suggested some improvements. He is confident that the Namma Metro project will indeed be friendly towards people with different kinds of disability and hopes it sets a benchmark for other public facilities too.
Posted by jicafriends at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2011
Latest developments of UNCRPD
República de Cabo Verde ratified the Convention on 10-10-2011
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
•153 signatories
•106 ratifications
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
•90 signatories
•63 ratifications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by jicafriends at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2011
Persons with disabilities asserting their rights to education and work - Afghanistan
The following information was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization(IDE-JETRO).
Bakhtar News Agency on 27 September 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011 Kabul (BIA) A number of special people gathered in front of the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of Parliament, on Sunday and asked lawmakers to help them find education and employment opportunities.
A number of special people gathered in front of the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of Parliament, on Sunday and asked lawmakers to help them find education and employment opportunities. Members of the National Deaf Association, including women and children, had inscribed their demands on banners they carried. “We want the president to provide us with education and employment opportunities,” one banner read. Another said, “Social integration of the deaf brings development”. The deaf were an underprivileged section of society which the government must provide equal rights, deputy director of education of the association, Nangyalay Nizami, told BIA. The association was provided with political, cultural, social and economic training by NGOs’ he informed, saying some of the deaf were imported shoe-making and tailoring skills as well.
Around 2.7 percent of Afghan population is suffering various disabilities. A new member of the International Convention on disabled Rights, Afghanistan has made no progress in improving living conditions for the special people. Alami Balkhi, head of the disabled and widows commission, said the convention guaranteed facilities and privileges for the special people.
Posted by jicafriends at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2011
The 34th Rehabilitation Conference on Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2011, Tokyo
The 34th Rehabilitation Conference took place in Tokyo over the period of two days on Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2011. The Conference takes place annually and is organized by the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (JSRPD).
This year, with a theme of "Towards Redevelopment of Rehabilitation II," the Conference attracted some 300 participants, who enthusiastically exchanged information and opinions with one another over the two days.
On Day 1, two Keynote Speeches were delivered in the morning by Mr. J. Monsbakken, a President-elect of Rehabilitation International, and Prof. Ueda, a former vice-president of the JSRPD. First, Mr. Monsbakken introduced his organization and its works, as well as giving an overview on the Norwegian experience in rehabilitation. Second, Prof. Ueda discussed the concept of "rehabilitation" and its historical developments, and shared his thoughts on how it should be interpreted in present-day society. Rehabilitation, he said, is not only about regaining one's physical functions but also, and importantly, about retaining her dignity and respect as a human being.
In the afternoon, the Conference hosted a three-hour symposium, inviting five individual speakers including a politician, activists, a medical doctor and representatives of organizations of/for persons with disabilities. The discussion was coordinated by a member of Japan Disability Forum. It covered a wide range topics including the impact of Great East Japan Earthquake on those with disabilities, Japanese disability policies at the national and municipal levels and decent work for persons with disabilities.
On Day 2, the participants were divided into a number of groups, each of which focused on a particular topic to discuss. More specifically, the grand topics that were covered here are "Employment of Persons with Disabilities", "Children with Disabilities", "Rehabilitation and Engineering", "Roles of Rehabilitation Centers"and "Reflections on the Earthquake from Viewpoints of Rehabilitation".
The Conference was closed in the evening of October 1 with great success. Of note, Japan is currently drafting a new national legislation that is to replace the hitherto Law for Supporting Independence of Persons with Disabilities (Shogaisha Jiritsu Shien Ho). The country has also been recovering from the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake since last March. In this regard, the Conference provided Japanese people with a very timely opportunity to re- examine the concept of "rehabilitation". In addition, it importantly emphasized their international networks in the field of disability.
Secretariat of jicafriends
Posted by jicafriends at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2011
Participants of Development & Networking arrived!
Six Participants of Development of Leadership & Networking of Persons with Disabilities arrived at Tokyo International Center(JICA Tokyo) on Tuesday, 11 October.
Another participant from Rwanda will arrive this coming Monday.
Yesterday, orientation was conducted by the facilitation of JICA and JSRPD.
Each participant introduced him/herself and shared expectations for this training course.
Posted by jicafriends at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)
ICT Facilitated Access to Information Innovations
From OneWorld Foundation India
We are pleased to inform you that the Daisy for All case study is now part of OneWorld's 'ICT Facilitated Access to Information Innovations' report published with support from the World Bank Institute and the Canadian International Development Agency.
The online version of the report is now publicly available at http://access2info.asia/.
Posted by jicafriends at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
CIDP Master's Application Opens for 2012 Admission
The Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP) is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for Fall 2012 admission to the Master's of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy (CIDP) program. Please disseminate the attached announcement throughout your institutional and professional networks.
We look forward to welcoming a second cohort of students into the CIDP program.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Thank you for your continued support of the IDPP.
Communications Associate | Institute on Disability and Public Policy for the ASEAN Region
COTELCO
http://aseanidpp.org
http://cotelco.net/maya.aguilar
+1.202.670.4143
(See attached file: CIDP Master's Application Opens for 2012 Admission.pdf)
Download file
Posted by jicafriends at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2011
UN Convention - Fourth Session of the Conference of the States Parties
Article 40 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted in 2006) requires the States Parties to meet up regularly to discuss all matters related to the implementation of the Convention. Accordingly, the fourth session of the Conference of the States Parties took place on September 7-9 at the UN Headquarters, New York.
The theme of this session was "Enabling Development, Realizing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" with sub-themes of “Realizing the Convention through International Cooperation," "Political and Civil Participation" and "Work and Employment."
Below is the statement made by the Japanese government:
* * * * * * *
Statement by Mr. Tetsuya Kimura
Minister, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
At the Fourth Session of the Conference of State Parties tothe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
7 September 2011
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
My delegation is honored to participate as a signatory in this fourth session of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Five years ago, we adopted the Convention by consensus in the General Assembly. Since then efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Persons with Disabilities have been made through its legal framework. Japan participated actively in negotiations to draft the Convention and signed it in 2007. Japan is now in the process of preparing for the conclusion of the Convention. Today, Japan would like to take this opportunity to share with you the positive measures we have taken in the last few years.
Firstly, the Government of Japan established the “Ministerial Board for Disability Policy Reform” through the Cabinet in December 2009. The Prime Minister heads the Board, of which all ministers are members. The Ministerial Board was established for the purpose of advancing intensive institutional reforms, including improvements to relevant domestic laws necessary for concluding and implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Furthermore, recognizing that not only governments but also persons with disabilities participated in the negotiations of the Convention, and also responding to domestic requests, we felt it was important to establish a mechanism whereby the voices of persons with disabilities can be heard and reflected in national policies. To meet this objective, the “Committee for Disability Policy Reform” of which half the members are either persons with disabilities or family members of person with disabilities, was convened under the auspices of the Ministerial Board.
Secondly, the Amended Basic Law for Persons with Disabilities was approved on 29 July 2011. The purpose of the law is to realize “a society in which all citizens co-exist and mutually respect personality and individuality without separation regardless of disability.”
Two features of the new law are worth pointing out. First, it sets up the Committee on Measures for Persons with Disabilities which oversees implementation and monitoring of on-the-ground measures taken for persons with disabilities. Second, it includes the negligence of ensuring to provide necessary and appropriate accommodation as discrimination based on disabilities, which is the first example of the legal concept of ‘reasonable accommodations’ to be included in our domestic body of law. These provisions are in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Lastly, we have been engaged in international cooperation as embodied in Article 32 of the Convention. The Government of Japan has been contributing to this through its official development assistance (ODA). For example, we have been promoting “barrier-free” railway facilities and university campuses, and have also been establishing rehabilitation and vocational training facilities for persons with disabilities.
Mr. President,
Presently, in addition to what we have achieved so far, Japan is in the process of drafting new legislative measures regarding the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. Despite many challenges, we will work closely with persons with disabilities and organizations that represent them, with the aim of protecting and promoting their rights.
I thank you for your kind attention.
* * * * * * *
Secretary of jicafreinds
References:
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1571
http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/COP/cosp4_statement_japan.pdf
Posted by jicafriends at 08:56 PM | Comments (0)
First Disabilities and Social Inclusion Congress, Mar del Plata Argentina
First Disabilities and Social Inclusion Congress, Mar del Plata Argentina.
Carlos Kaiser Mansilla, who participated in the 2003 Leadership training program, was invited to be a lecturer on a very important International Congress in the marvelous neighbor country of Argentina.
As a Chilean, it was a great pleasure to work with my Argentinean brothers, fighting for People with disabilities rights.
Argentina is a federal country, Buenos Aires Province Gobernor is a person with disabilities his name is Daniel Scioli. He commanded his government to make Buenos Aires Province a place with equal opportunities for all.
His lecture was about Independent Living and Public Policies. There were more than 3,250 people on this Congress. We are uniting effort to create Inclusive America.
Posted by jicafriends at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2011
Presidential Proclamation--National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Presidential Proclamation--National Disability Employment Awareness Month
"Utilizing the talents of all Americans is essential for our Nation to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we recognize the skills that people with disabilities bring to our workforce, and we rededicate ourselves to improving employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors for those living with disabilities..."
--Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
To learn more visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/03/presidential-proclamation-national-disability-employment-awareness-month
Posted by jicafriends at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
Ms. Judith Heumann makes a message for National Disability Employment Awareness Month
The following information was downloaded from the mailing list of "Disability and Development" with a cooperation of the publisher, Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization(IDE-JETRO).
Ms. Judith Heumann (Special Advisor on Disability Rights for the US State Department under President Obama) makes a special Disability Awareness.
please go to the website below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rfaH-oMlBI&feature=player_embedded
Posted by jicafriends at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2011
Mini-TRY event in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Below is a report by the Phnom Penn Center for Independent Living (PPCIL) on the mini-TRY event that they organized on September 10, 2011. Eleven people flu from Japan to participate in the event.
REPORT ON MINI TRY
ASIA TRY history!
In 1986, Mr. Kadota Sunji, the founder of Center for Independent Living Mainstream Association in Osaka, Japan had started ASIA TRY event in Japan. He had walking (by wheelchair) from Osaka to Tokyo for spreading concerning the needs of people with disability. When he started the first step at 30 years ago he always hope that the world will change on one day through this movement although he imagine that not only him to do this movement, all the people have to uniting together to create one society for all. After 25 years later, TRY event being the one of the greatest, the strongest, interesting, and hardest with most enjoyable among the KOKOROZASHI IL International Network and the world disability movement which leading by disabled people.
Every 2 years the Asia TRY has to conduct in the one country of KOKOROZASHI member, and the countries had conducted as follow:
2007 ASIA TRY in KOREA
2009 ASIA TRY in TAIWAN
2011 ASIA TRY in MONGOLIA
As we try to change our society through TRY movement in Cambodia, we have conducted the mini-TRY in Phnom Penh city on 10 September, 2011. As our strategies, the sprits showed by both disabled leaders and universities students. Through this perspective, we could like to report you about this wonderful mini-TRY as following;
Mini-TRY event activity
On the day before conduct mini-TRY event, the Phnom Penh city hall was not permission for conduct on the main street such as Nodorom boulevard and Monivong Boulevard, immediately we have conducted a staff meeting to find out good way to implement this such as wonderful movement, there was quickly to change a place as well as contents to carry out the whole event.
We was divided into four groups and circulated the leaflet which we wrote it about the situation of people with disability and rights protection, barrier-free campaign, the independent living movement and personal assistant service as well as other activity of disabled people to dissemination while we walking.
The severely disabled person wants to show to community people about if we have a serious disabled that could not be moved bodies along with cannot be perform something by themselves but they can use the PA service to live in equality as people non-disability. Particularly, to tell to the society and community people who had never met severe disabled people and to other people with disability know the main goal of the mini-TRY movement.
Team divided and members;
1. Member of city hall team: 2 severe disabled people and 5 disabled people with wheelchair user which can move by themselves, PA 2 and 3 Japanese. Unfortunately, when city hall team is walking to disseminate leaflets, the group members was separated into 2 groups as:
1-A): 2 severe disabled people and 1 disabled person with wheelchair user which can move by herself, PA 2 and 3 Japanese. These team members are walking from Wat-Phnom resort to Deum Kor market to distribute a leaflet.
1-B): 4 disabled people with wheelchair user which they can move by themselves these group members walking toward the popular places such as city hall, central market and Orussey market.
2. Member of Dangkor team: In the morning, 4 severe disabled people with wheelchair user and 1 staff who cannot move herself. However, 1 staff with wheelchair user he can move by himself. 3 PA and 12 Volunteers and 8 Japanese walking to disseminate handbill around Dangkor district.
The Japanese members separates from afternoon for return to Japan, and this team is divided into two more,
2-A). 2 severely disabled people, 1 staff with wheelchair user 10 volunteers to dissemination leaflet at Phnom Penh Thmey market.
2-B). 2 severely disabled people, 1 staff with wheelchair user that he can move by himself and 1 PA and 2 volunteers. This team members was distributed a leaflet and to negotiation with company at ATWOOD business center.
Four severely disabled people (1 man, 3 women) who were usually before event one day they have an opportunity to stayed overnight at the office, during their staying they have received personal assistant service to assisting them such as have meal together and interchanged, but along this report I just want to write briefly about some activity at night. Today was a big raining, we very much worried that we cannot contact to Mr Nam Kol by phone who is a PA volunteer, it very difficult for him to reach office because he lives at far distance from Phnom Penh CIL office.
However, 1 PA volunteer his name is Veayo, he had to be a PA for 1 night. Unfortunately Veayo he cannot take in part in mini-TRY in daytime because of his busy for study, but he can help us at nighttime that is a possible for a good relationship and his kindness.
Fortunately, the rain was stopped in morning, we felt relieved it seemed to be able to conduct an event smoothly. At 9:00’clock, the participants, mass-media and 11 Japanese people were gathered in the office.
Today is Saturday; the city hall closed 1 group member try to dissemination leaflet at universities and many popular places such as Central market and Orussey market.
1A team and 1B team are walking to disseminate and explained an activity of Phnom Penh-CIL and the real situation of the people with disability, rights protection, personal assistant system, independent living movement positively while distributing a leaflet.
The surprised thing is surrounding people never seen that the severely disabled people can go out and using the personal assistant like this. This surprising is will be possibility to change the image on disabled people in the future.
Leaflet that we have 1,000 pieces only but all groups were used leaflet is over 800 pieces.
The Dangkor group are walking and taking without micro-phone because this event was conduct without permission from Phnom Penh city hall. Moreover, during we walking we have appeal by mouth that "Please together! Would make the good society where the people with disability lived in equality and fully participation", with a natural voice and walked in strong of being a story and dissemination leaflet to the police while people with disability oneself had a personal assistant to push the wheelchair.
When walk along the road, we have take break time at gasoline station, the owner of this station family his son have a disabled is Down's syndrome and we also explained about the purpose of our activity.
After our explanation about our event, surrounding people is said “please do your best to change society” we are supporting your movement.
On the other hand, during we having lunch we have received a phone call from a doctor and he said he is interested with our campaign and he wants to be a volunteer with us that is why he can taking care the severe disabled person when they get sick or any problem during making a campaign.
About 2-B team which walking around many companies in afternoon at ATWOOD business center but on Saturday almost company were closed and we was sorry, but when we went around a company, a restaurant and some store was opened. We have give leaflet to the mobile phone branch office, restaurant, KFC and explained about the importance of barrier-free environment where is people with disability could go easy to various places by oneself.
All the building should be thinking about the fundamental rights of people with disabilities it must be build an accessible for facilitate to people with disability for example at the entrance, a step before entering must be made a slope.
According we conduct this mini-TRY, I do not understand how much the society can be changed, but we are sure that it will be changed even if a little.
Thus, all participants were fatigue caused by weather was so hot, and severely disabled people cannot patient under sun heat but they are all always keeping smile of satisfy with this mini-TRY. It was not all the members, but we were impressed to sympathize when we spoke about people with disability concept and our volunteers.
In addition, the people with disability went out and watched a figure to use an active action with using PA for their daily life there were many people surprised. In particular, thought this event was very important turn up severely disabled people to satisfy their disability.
We strongly hoping that, we can build the society for all and we believe that all types of disability will go out more.
Local sponsored by:
As a result of looking for the sponsorship,
1. Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) has supported drinking water 5 cases total amount is 120 bottles which is cooperated with ORAL Company.
2. Phnom Penh Bakery has given us a bread 40 pieces for breakfast and 40 bottles of drinking water. We were very happy to getting support from other company like this.
3. Association for Aid and Relief, Wheelchair for Development - AAR, WCD is the wheelchair factory has let us borrowed 5 wheelchairs for the participant used.
In addition, even if some sponsors cannot take a support this event because of financial crisis but it is will possible for the next event.
We will try of our best to enlightenment activity such as disseminating situation of people with disability, rights protection campaign and barrier free campaign.
Thank you!
Posted by jicafriends at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)