The First Session of the “Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022” was held in Incheon, Republic of Korea on 25-26 February 2014.
The participants discussed several topics, including “Consideration and adoption of the draft Rules and Procedure of the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022”; and “Review and adoption of the preliminary draft ESCAP road map for the implementation of the Incheon Strategy to Make the Right Real for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific”.
The composition of the Working Group in the first 5 years of the Decade (2013-2017) is as below:
15 Government Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati and Samoa share a seat (Samoa: first 2.5 years; Kiribati: second 2.5 years), Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakitan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Thailand.
15 Civil Society Organization (CSO) Members: Asia and Pacific Disability Forum, Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, ASEAN Disability Forum, Asia-Pacific DPO United, Central Asian Disability Forum, South Asian Disability Forum, Pacific Disability Forum, Disabled People’s International Asia-Pacific, Inclusion International Asia-Pacific, World Blind Union Asia-Pacific, World Federation of the Deaf Asia-Pacific, World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, Digital Accessible Information System Consortium, Rehabilitation International Asia-Pacific.
3 CSO Observers: ASEAN Autism Network, Christian Blind Mission, Community-based Rehabilitation Asia-Pacific Network.
The next session is scheduled sometime early in 2015 in India.
Southeast Asia
Grant Presentation Ceremony and Appreciation to the Sompo Japan Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand, 12 February 2014
Grant presentation ceremony with Sompo Japan Foundation
and project supporters
APCD presided over the Grant Presentation Ceremony and Appreciation to Sompo Japan Foundation on 12 February 2014 as the recipient of a grant that will aim at promoting the active participation and employment of persons with intellectual disabilities in Thailand. In addition to APCD and the Sompo Japan Foundation, the event was attended by the representatives of the National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Thailand Office, the Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability of Thailand, and the Dao Ruang Group (Self-Advocate Group of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities of Thailand).
Established in 1977, Sompo Japan Foundation identified APCD as one of three recipients along with two other organizations in the Philippines and Singapore this year. The Foundation has committed a total amount of 2.7 million yen, which will be divided among the three groups.
"Empowerment symbolizes that persons with disabilities are agents of change and active contributors to society. This empowerment project will further prove that persons with disabilities are capable and productive individuals," stated Mr. Akiie Ninomiya, APCD Executive Director, during the opening remarks.
Reference
http://apcdfoundation.org/?q=content/grant-presentation-ceremony-and-appreciation-sompo-japan-foundation-bangkok-thailand-12-fe-0
Southeast Asia
Capacity Building Training for APCD Staff "Let's Learn More about Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deafened", February-May 2014
Capacity Building for APCD Staff
In hard of hearing/deafened and deaf communities, various communication tools, including visuals and gestures with or without using vocal components such as sign language and lip-reading, have been utilized. It is important for APCD staff to know more about the perspectives of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deafened in order to communicate with them.
The proposed training aims to develop APCD staff in effective communication and facilitation with persons who are deaf, hard of hearing and deafened internationally. Upon completing the training, APCD staff will develop the capability to collaborate with persons who are deaf, hard of hearing and deafened in the multinational working environment.
The training " Let's Learn More about Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deafened" is conducted by Ms. Sachiko Flores, APCD intern who is hard of hearing, once a week from February to May 2014.
International
Report: UN High-Level Side Event -- Community, Rights-Based and Disability-Inclusive Development, UN Headquarters, New York, 23 September 2013
Report on UN High-Level Side Event: Community,
Rights-Based and Disability-Inclusive Development
The Report of the United Nations High-Level Side Event: Community, Rights-Based and Disability-Inclusive Development, held at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA, on 23 September 2013, is now available.
The Meeting’s theme was “The Way Forward: A Disability-Inclusive Development Agenda Towards 2015 and Beyond," and was attended by representatives of member states, UN agencies, civil societies organizations, Disabled People's Organizations, and the media. The Meeting was organized by the Royal Thai Government and the Government of Japan, in collaboration with the UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs and APCD.
The Report highlights the High-Level Side Event as a platform for discussion towards a disability-inclusive development agenda, and how the international community can galvanize efforts to promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Community-Based Inclusive Development as the main poverty reduction and empowerment strategies for persons with disabilities.
Reference
http://www.apcdfoundation.org/?q=content/report-un-high-level-side-event-community-rights-based-and-disability-inclusive-development
Southeast Asia
Report: Leadership & Empowerment Program 2013
Report on Leadership & Empowerment Program 2013
APCD's Leadership & Empowerment Program (LEP) 2013 is now encapsulated in a Report released recently featuring the intensive eight-month training of five young Thai potential leaders with disabilities, who are members of self-help groups and Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) from four provinces in Thailand.
LEP, a series of yearly trainings that began in 2012, teaches young people how to develop their understanding about disability and development, as well as English-language and professional facilitation skills. A model of good practice for human resource development, the LEP series aims to transform these young leaders to become agents of change in developing a barrier-free society.
The Report includes the sharing of “My Life Story” developed by the young participants over their eight-month training, as well as their performance output which was shared at the LEP 2013 Wrap-up Training in December 2013.
Reference
http://apcdfoundation.org/?q=content/report-leadership-empowerment-program-2013
South Asia
Summary Report: South Asian Disability Forum Strategic Planning Workshop, Islamabad, Pakistan, 18-19 November 2013
Summary report on South Asian Disability Forum
Strategic Planning Workshop
South Asian Disability Forum’s (SADF) Strategic Planning Workshop details can now be accessed via a Summary Report. Held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 18-19 November 2013, the Workshop aimed at unifying strategic plans that will empower women with diverse disabilities through capacity-building activities in South Asia. A draft of the “South Asian Disability and Development Initiative 2014-2016” was adopted to address the rights of women with disabilities who are facing multiple-fold discrimination.
SADF, a regional network of DPOs from eight South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), is one of the Working Group members identified by ESCAP’s Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real,” 2013-2022.
The Workshop was organized by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Government of Pakistan; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; SADF, Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) Network Pakistan; and Special Talent Exchange Program. The Workshop was also held in collaboration with Light for the World, CHEF International, Sightsavers, British Council, and APCD.
Reference
http://apcdfoundation.org/?q=content/summary-report-south-asian-disability-forum-strategic-planning-workshop
Now Brewing at Empowerment Café
Enjoy your coffee while you browse a variety of offerings this month at Empowerment Cafe. Highlights include a feature on "Elsie Gaches Village: A Refuge for Children with Special Needs" in the Philippines; "Lack of Ramps in Hostels Hurting Blind Students" in India; "Sae Hayashi: Wheelchair Dancer in the Spotlight" in Japan; to name a few.
Reference
http://disability-ecafe.net/node/15749
http://disability-ecafe.net/ramps4b
http://disability-ecafe.net/Yomiuri-Shimbun
