[page 1] Pacific acific Sub-Regional Training Seminar on Capacity-Building for Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (CBSHOD) The Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) organized a Pacific Subregional Training Seminar on Capacity-Building for Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (CBSHOD) at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 12 - 16 February 2007 with the Ministry of Community Development, Government of Papua New Guinea and Disabled People’s International, Asia-Pacific Region (DPI-APR), which was co-sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This Seminar, the first international seminar on disability and development in Papua New Guinea, made a valuable impact for policy formation on disability in Papua New Guinea, as well as developed the South Pacific Sub-regional mechanism in networking and collaboration among the self-help organizations (SHOs). Resource persons and representatives of PWDs from 13 countries in the Pacific Subregion that participated were leaders of PWDs in the region. The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Grand-Chief Sir Michael Somare, officially opened the Seminar, along with H.E. Dame Carol Kidu, Minister for Community Development, Mr. Kanji Hanagata, Ambassdor of Japan to Papua New Guinea, and Mr. Shoji Nakanishi, DPI-APR Chairperson, as well as Ms. Ormporn Nithayasuthi, Representative of the Royal Thai Government. At the opening, the Prime Minister emphasized that this is a new era for the persons with disabilities (PWDs), to create their empowerment and shift from paternalistic models towards a rights-based approach. Minister Carol Kidu announced that the Government of Papua New Guinea would adopt a National Plan on Disability Policy after the CBSHOD, and also expressed appreciation to the Government for their allocation of a ministerial budget for disability and development, the first time for the Ministry of Community Development. APCD adopted a process-oriented approach for the CBSHOD since its first preparation mission conducted one year prior to the Seminar. Mr. Topong Kulkhanchit, who is the Regional Development Officer of DPI-Asia-Pacific Regional Office and APCD Executive Board Member, was dispatched to research the feasibility of CBSHOD in Papua New Guinea. During the mission, he visited a fishing village, ‘Pari Village’, and met several persons with disabilities and encouraged them to form self-help organizations. The second mission was conducted six months prior to the Seminar to set up an Organizing Committee for the CBSHOD, consisting of Government representatives, as well as persons with disabilities. At that time, the first self-help group was organized in ‘Pari Village’, where they began research on accessibility. The villagers cooperated with the village authorities, including the local church and public health unit, culminating in an accessible village. The mission team also visited Lae, Morobe Province, to participate in the 1st National Leadership Training Seminar for Women with Disabilities and also the Fifth National Board for Disabled Persons. All participants of both meetings pledged to support the organization of the CBSHOD. [page 2] The third mission was conducted three months prior to the Seminar to implement the CBSHOD venue, program, and the detailed TOR for the Organizing Committee. Most arrangements were made by persons with disabilities (PWDs) along with Government Officials. The Seminar promoted empowerment of advocacy management. It provided information on the Convention on Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the United Nations and the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action by UNESCAP. Each country also reported the situation of their PWDs. Mr. Setareki Macanawai and Mr. Frederick Miller (Fiji) and Mr. John Suran (Vanuatu), shared how they created SHOs and promoted an inclusive barrier-free and rights-based society of PWDs in their own countries. Mr. Shoji Nakanishi and Mr. Topong Kulkhanchit shared about the disability movement and human rights in the Asia-Pacific Region. Ms. Cathy Ketepa gave a lecture on women with disabilities and emphasized the multiple discrimination against them. She organized the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Papua New Guinea during the Seminar since the Government invited 2 disabled leaders from each of the 20 provinces across the country. This was the first National Assembly of Leaders of PWDs in Papua New Guinea. UNESCAP will follow up on this CBSHOD with an Expert Group Meeting on Disability in the Pacific: Strengthening Implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework in Nadi, Fiji from 28-30 March 2007, in collaboration with the Pacific Island Forum and the Pacific Disability Forum. APCD will continue to support the enhancement of the South Pacific Sub-regional mechanism in order to empower PWDs in the isolated islands. PORT MORESBY DECLARATION - Summary - The participants from 13 countries of Asian and the Pacific region declare following statement: 1. We acknowledge the commitment and efforts of APCD towards the strengthening of self-help organizations of persons with disabilities, and encourage them for their continuous promotion of the disability movement in the Asian and Pacific Region. 2. We propose that Governments in the Pacific Sub-region as well as relevant partners in the Asian and Pacific Region support and recognize the formation of a national cross-disability as well as national single disability self-help organizations of persons with disabilities in each country of the Pacific Sub-region. 3. We encourage all Pacific Island countries to actively pursue the implementation of the targets, actions and strategies of the seven priority areas of the Biwako Millennium Framework (BMF), as well as to fully participate in its review and development of the Biwako Plus Five in 2007 as facilitated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Region (UNESCAP). 4. We appeal to the countries of the Pacific Sub-region to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 2006, and to ensure that persons with disabilities themselves are consulted, included and represented in this process including its implementation. 5. We declare our commitment to the building of the capacity of national grassroots self-help organizations of persons with disabilities in the Pacific Sub-region, the development of useful network arrangements among countries within the Asia and Pacific Region, and the effective collaboration of such organizations with the international disability movement. Further, we request the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) to facilitate the establishment and strengthening of Pacific Sub-regional cooperation and information sharing mechanism on disability-related concerns. 6. We strongly urge all national self-help organizations of persons with disabilities in the Pacific Sub-region to develop, support and promote future leaders both at the grassroots and national levels, and to ensure equal participation of women with disabilities as well as persons with hearing, psychiatric, and intellectual disabilities in their activities. We also recognize the potentials of persons with disabilities to actively engage in all areas and at all levels of society, including social, cultural, economical and political participation. Further, we appeal to the Government of Papua New Guinea to consider the following recommendations to build the capacity, strengthen the participation, and improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities in Papua New Guinea. 7. That Papua New Guinea National Policy on Disability be adopted by the Government immediately after the CBSHOD. 8. The Government to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in collaboration with persons with disabilities in the country. 9. The Government to recognize the Papua New Guinea National Assembly of Disabled Persons (NADP) as the national representative and collective voice of persons with disabilities in the country, and to provide necessary support, including financial, technical and others. 10. The Government of Papua New Guinea and relevant stakeholders to put into place policies, plans and strategies for people with disabilities in the event of natural disaster. (*Full content of the declaration is available at www.apcdproject.org/publications/2007/newsletter19/declaration.html) [page 3] ICT for All: Training of ICT for Persons with Print Disability 16 January – 2 February 2007 ICT for All: Training of ICT for Persons with Print Disability was held from 16 January - 2 February 2007 at APCD, Bangkok, Thailand, with 15 participants from 6 countries, namely Cambodia, China, Fiji, Lao PDR, Mongolia and Thailand. The objectives were to 1) understand the concept of information accessibility for persons with disabilities, 2) learn current ICT development for all and 3) produce a DAISY multimedia talking book. Participants learned how to produce a digital talking book based on the DAISY standard. Ms. Miki Azuma, JICA Short-tem Expert, the main resource person taught the basic concept of DAISY, DAISY Consortium and production methods of the DAISY talking book. Mr. Monthian Buntan, APCD resource person and Executive Board member, lectured on the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of PWDs, and the World Summit of Information Society. He talked about how the concept of information accessibility of PWDs has developed and been endorsed by the international community; Ms. Wantanee Panthachat presented recent development on Assistive Technologies for PWDs; Mr. Raksak Chairanjuansakun taught the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) for the DAISY book production. Two blind assistants, Mr. Kunchit Kumfong and Mr. Chatupol Nootathong assisted the participants to make their DAISY talking books. The training concluded with presentations of Action Plans and impressive DAISY talking books. All participants successfully made DAISY talking books in multimedia format including full text, full audio and images. Three participants from China showed exceptional performance. They clearly understood the key points and made precise summaries each day. Moreover, all participants including a Thai participant with autism worked very hard. Participants also made practical action plans for future development and the production of DAISY talking books, action plans in collaboration with other organizations and participants in order to effectively produce books with other organizations. APCD is confident that the participants will produce DAISY talking books to empower PWDs and promote a barrier-free environment for all PWDs including persons with print disabilities in their home countries. APCD is eagerly looking forward to hearing good news of their production of DAISY books. Interviews – ICT for All CHINA After I get back to China, I would like to do a summary of the whole training course including what I have learned as well as how DAISY standards are applied in Thailand and other developing countries. I will also give suggestions to organizations and persons who work on the production of Digital Libraries and some other projects to promote DAISY. LAO The DAISY topic is quite new for me but it is useful to develop disabled peoples’ lives. I will share knowledge from this training with persons with disabilities in my country especially blind persons to be able to access information more equally. THAILAND Prior to this training, we had little idea of what ICT for All is and the word DAISY. Now we realise the importance of it especially for persons with disabilities. So we have planned to promote DAISY, for example, by teaching our colleagues and volunteers as well as conducting a workshop or seminar. We also believe that materials can reach persons with different disabilities through DAISY. Interview – CBR 2007 MYANMAR In Myanmar, we still have some weaknesses in implementing CBR. CBR has not yet been added to the national policy but implemented by single organizations in their own way. Also, we lack awareness on disability, laws, resources and good cooperation among CBR stakeholders. However, we have some strength that we believe can help us move forward. In the last 5 years, CBR programs and their implementation have greatly improved. Now CBR is assumed as a cross-cutting theme for community development. From the knowledge we have gained from this training, we believe that we can further improve CBR in our country, especially with the new concept of the social model of disability. CAMBODIA In order to implement CBR more effectively, we also need a good regional network. Networking among CBR workers in the region will open the floor to share experiences, best practices, new development and other support. Information can tremendously help us work and move. We believe that most countries have common problems—not only one country that suffers. If we share lessons learned, we will also help others. Remember, more people will give us more power. [page 4] The Refresher Training to Strengthen the Communitybased Rehabilitation (CBR) through a Participatory Comprehensive Approach was organized by APCD in Bangkok from 27 February to15 March. The course was designed for APCD’s high-profile ex-participants, who had developed their CBR projects or Self-help Groups (SHG) of People with Disabilities (PWD) in their localities after their first training with APCD. The 18 participants came from five countries, Cambodia, Laos PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam (CLMV) and Thailand. The main purpose of this training was to strengthen CBR projects in these countries by enabling the above target group to: 1. Nurture their insights and attitudes to be effective managers of the CBR projects; 2. Equip themselves with practical managerial and training skills; and 3. Formulate strategies and action plans to ensure localization and sustainability of their CBR projects. To promote their practical learning, APCD arranged field visits to Pon-ngam Sub-district, Chainat Province and Jodnongkae Sub-district, Khonkaen Province, where CBR projects have been effectively implemented through the collaboration of stakeholders. In addition, APCD conducted a one-day seminar on a CBR sub-regional network, in which the training participants and invited Thai NGOs working for CBR shared their challenges and future visions, and agreed to initiate their network to further their experiences and learn from each other. Field ield Visit to Chainat: SHG of PWD and Excellent Collaboration among Stakeholders The field visit to Pon-ngam Sub-district, Chainat Province on 3 March was very successful; participants could learn about a comprehensive CBR approach through collaboration among various sectors and empowerment of PWD through SHG. Due to the recent decentralization of the Thai domestic administration, a Sub-district Administrative Organization (SAO) consisting of village representatives has the authority to make relevant decisions on their policies and budgets, and takes an important role to implement a CBR programme. The SAO in Pon-ngam works closely with professional service sectors such as health and education, and facilitates these organizations to cooperate in supporting PWD and their families in the community. For example, the Provincial Special Education Centre promotes inclusive education for children with disabilities (CWD) by providing supplemental educational assistance to the CWD and technical support to regular school teachers while it also refers some CWD to special schools and educates them at the Centre according to each child’s capacities. Also, the Community Health Centre develops a family and community health portfolio, which includes the number of PWD and their disability types, in order to provide appropriate medical/health care and prevent causes of disabilities. Approximately 10 SHG of PWD have been formed in the Sub-district so far. For instance, a SHG led by a person with physical impairment is engaged in embroidery; another SHG consists of blind masseurs. The members seemed to enjoy their SHG activities since they could communicate with other PWD, be financially independent through their income generative tasks and become more confident and content. The SAO has been supporting SHG by setting a policy and allocating a budget to strengthen them. Also, community volunteers support the development of SHG. These volunteers went through a basic training course organized by the Provincial Office for Social Development and Human Security. They have been active in home-visits to PWD who seldom go out of their home, provide information support for PWD and encourage PWD to form their SHG with income generative activities. In the Pon-ngam Sub-district, the SAO, service providers, volunteers and SHG of PWD work well independently and cooperate with each other. Field Visit to Khonkaen: Community’s People’s Participation and Sustainability From 7 to 9 March 2007, APCD arranged another field trip to Jodnongkae Sub-district in Khonkaen Province to learn about their CBR practice which has been recognized as an excellent project on Health Insurance for People with Disability by the Thai Ministry of Public Health this year. The CBR project in Jodnongkae Sub-district was initiated by its SAO late in 2003. They organized a seminar for representatives from SAO, the Health Center, schools, monks, PWD, their family members and other relevant community people to set up an action plan toward an “inclusive community”. After the seminar, a CBR Committee was established with various stakeholders including PWD, their families, and village leaders who have become volunteers. Currently the CBR project in Jodnongkae serves 98 PWD and pursues its mission to improve the quality of life of PWD concerning their medical, educational, vocational and social aspects. Since its inception, the CBR project has involved PWD, their families and village leaders as volunteers, and their participation has become a driving force to sustain all the positive changes occurring in the community. PWD and their families have been capable of articulating their needs and the community is also able respond to their needs utilizing their local resources and with appropriate referral. During the visit to Jodnongkae, the CBR Committee gave a presentation and APCD participants visited PWD; participants could clearly see how sustainability of CBR and active participation of various community people are related. The participants were also engaged in field work to enhance their skills as effective facilitators and trainers at the community level. They were divided into three teams and spent 2 days with their respective target groups such as village volunteers, parents of CWD, and SHG of PWD. Teams of the APCD participants analyzed the learning needs of each target group and conducted sessions to share relevant knowledge/skills according to their learning needs. The villagers appreciated the learning sessions organized by the APCD participants while the participants treasured this opportunity to learn about CBR practice with a participatory approach in Jodnongkae. [page 5] CBR Network Seminar: Forum among CLMV and Thailand In order to share CBR experiences among organizations of the APCD participants and other relevant NGOs in Thailand, and to build up a network among them, a CBR Sub-regional Network Seminar was conducted as part of the APCD training on 13 March 2007. Besides 10 organizations joining the forum, there were special observers from the UNESCAP, WHO and JICA. In the morning, a panel discussion was organized among representatives of five countries with relevant topics: challenges in their CBR projects, how to sustain CBR activities in community, how to empower PWD and strengthen the community, etc. Concerning their challenges, for example, the panelists raised issues such as insufficient information and resources, lack of the government policy and their support, people’s attitude toward disability and needs of a paradigm shift from the medical/charity model of disability to the social model, a holistic support for PWD, a systematic network among local stakeholders. In the afternoon, the participants had a group discussion to develop an appropriate manner for their sub-regional networking. They agreed that a network among them would promote the CBR movement in this region and improve respective CBR projects if they could regularly exchange relevant information and diversified experiences through their network. They concluded their discussion with concrete steps for their networking: setting a common goal, writing the term of reference of their network, developing a communication channel, setting up a basis for networking (e.g., via website), sharing of information and experiences, conducting meetings among members, field visits to members’ projects, monitoring this CBR network, etc. Throughout the Refresher Training, the participants developed significant insights on how to improve their CBR projects and are ready to take concrete actions by applying knowledge, commitment and network among the participants. As the APCD Director mentioned in the Closing Ceremony, APCD anticipates seeing all the participants sharing their learning with relevant people in their countries, and fully utilize what they gained to improve the quality and quantity of CBR in the Asia-Pacific region. APCD looks forward to an inclusive and barrier-free society through the continuous effort by these participants and their various partners. “They should not be treated differently because of his/her disability”, a special interview from Mr. Chapal Khasnabis Mr. Chapal Khasnabis, technical officer of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) disability and rehabilitation team was a guest lecturer for APCD’s Refresher Training to Strengthen the Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR) through a Participatory Comprehensive Approach 2007 and shared the United Nations and World Health Organization’s perspective on CBR. 1. From your perspective, please give us a brief definition of CBR. Mr. Chapal: I would say that there is no one concrete definition of CBR. The way CBR is introduced today will be different tomorrow. There will be many changes but we believe CBR is a community action or community initiative to ensure people with disabilities and their families have equal access to opportunity and rights like other citizens in the community. For example, they should have equal access to health care, education, opportunities for livelihood, a social life and political participation or whatever everybody else has in society; persons with disabilities should have the same. That is what we believe CBR is. 2. What do you think about the concept of the Medical and Social Models in CBR? Mr. Chapal: I think there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding these issues. It’s very difficult to give an answer in a short time and clarify these issues because much deep thinking is required to understand what has happened and come out of it. If you check the word rehabilitation in the Oxford dictionary, it isn’t associated with a medical model. Rehabilitation can be for anybody. Rehabilitation is a very common term which pushes you back into the mainstream but some medical experts have given it a varied medical definition. Rehabilitation is not a medical word but rather a generic word; even I need rehabilitation from time to time. We are trying to return to the generic term rather than the medical term. CBR came as a strategy if you see the original definition of CBR; it never said anything about a medical approach rather the optimum utilisation of community resources; it never said optimum utilisation of medical resources. It took 25 years to introduce the word CBR in the constitution or national plan of many countries as a strategy, to reach out into the community. If we’d like to introduce another word, will it take another 25 years? Is the word important or is the action important? People need to make a decision. When you see the new Guidelines come out, we define CBR as community-based inclusive development so actually CBR is a strategy for community-based inclusive development. Therefore, there is no social model or medical model as well as no other model in this world that can be appropriate for everybody. People’s needs are different. You cannot have the same approach or same model for everything. You should have some common approaches which are community initiative, inclusion, poverty reduction, and meeting basic needs; then you can develop further according to the needs of individuals or the group. I’m more interested in how I can make an impact in peoples’ lives, how I can ensure that disabled persons who live in a rural area can come out of poverty. They should not be treated differently because of his/her disability. 3. WHO initiated CBR more than 20 years ago. At the present time, what is the WHO’s role to support CBR? Mr. Chapal: When WHO first introduced CBR, there was no clear understanding of the needs of people with disabilities; we didn’t have the International Year of Disabled Persons, UN Standard Rules or UN Convention, so at that time I can say it was a small beginning. WHO realized that each existing specialisation we had, such as rehabilitation centres or institution based-care were not good for persons with disabilities. So in 1978, WHO introduced a concept called Health for All, to move away from the city to the rural areas and a primary health care programme. There also was the Alma-Ata Declaration about health for all. People realised if we depend on a city-based institution only, we are unable to reach many people. We then went to the community and CBR came as a natural consequence of that approach by going to the community from the city or going to a community initiative rather than an institution-based programme or institutional care. At that time, CBR was quite weak but now the disability movement is quite strong so CBR also has to change. Therefore, WHO is trying to work in partnership with other UN organisations and disabled peoples’ organisations to have a common ground to ensure the UN Convention can go to the community. For example, WHO is in partnership with ILO, UNESCO, and the International Disability Alliance (IDA), IDA members including DPI. We are developing CBR Guidelines which we plan to publish in 2008. We hope that the Guidelines will give more impetus to ensure CBR has a holistic social approach. We want to see CBR as a strategy for poverty reduction as well as inclusion. 4. How do you anticipate utilising the CBR Guidelines and implementing them? Mr. Chapal: When the CBR manual was developed and published 20 years ago, it was one of the most successful documents. WHO had it translated into more than 50 languages. We expect these Guidelines will also make a similar impact, maybe a larger impact because the Guidelines are not only being produced by WHO but jointly by ILO, UNESCO, IDA, and many international NGOs. All large agencies supporting CBR regarding disability rehabilitation are involved in this development so it has a larger ownership. You will also see that the basic minimum needs are health, education and livelihood which is why we brought ILO, UNESCO, WHO together so it is a larger group working on a document together for the first time; we will also try to develop a resource group who will support the implementation of the Guidelines in countries. For example, developing a global CBR resource centre with 3 continental resource centres in Asia, Africa and South America. Due to the problem of different languages, we will try to develop resource persons with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We are also developing a global database of the CBR programme and resource persons at the same time so when the Guidelines are launched, there will be a backup group. 5. What do you see in the future of CBR in the Asia-Pacific region? Mr. Chapal: The future of anything depends on the needs, the people, and the leadership. As far as our understanding goes, needs increase everyday and the population growth require CBR Guidelines to have a more comprehensive approach rather than a one track approach. Since there is a strong group in this region with UNESCAP, JICA or APCD, that all are quite interested in promoting CBR, I see a very good future. [page 6] International Conference on Tsunami Preparedness of Persons with Disabilities 11-12 January 2007, Phuket, Thailand The International Conference on Tsunami Preparedness of Persons with Disabilities was organized by the DAISY Consortium in collaboration with several organizations working in both the disability and disaster prevention fields from 11 – 12 January 2007 at the Royal Phuket Hotel in Phuket, Thailand. Approximately 100 participants from 12 countries, namely Bangladesh, Denmark, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand and the United States of America participated. Mr. Tri Akaradecha, Deputy Governor of Phuket Province gave the opening remarks followed by presentations by resource persons from various countries; presentations included the Asian tsunami 2004, the World Summit of Information Society (WSIS), tsunami evacuation, disaster & disability, disaster warning/prevention technologies, etc. Two men from the Morken tribe, victims of the Asian Tsunami 2004 shared their experiences with the tsunami disaster. Participants were taken to Patong beach, one of the most devastated areas by the Asian Tsunami 2004, to see an evacuation/rescue demonstration by the Phuket Administration in the event of a coastline disaster/accident. Currently, the Phuket administration does not have any plans on how to evacuate people with disabilities. The Phuket Declaration 2007 which was adopted states that the tsunami disaster can be prevented by: 1. sharing knowledge and best practices on tsunami and other disasters, 2. a strong commitment and active participation for contribution of all stakeholders including in particular persons with disabilities to eliminate the loss of lives, 3. local community-based initiatives for disaster preparedness and 4. infrastructure building including an early tsunami warning system at all levels to disseminate timely disaster warning to all people concerned. [page 7] Mission to Myanmar, 5 – 8 February 2007 Since APCD’s inception in 2002, Myanmar has been prioritized as one of the target countries and has strategically developed human resources in the fields of Self-help Groups/Organizations of People with Disabilities (SHG/SHO of PWD) and Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR). Totally, 29 persons, including 2 deaf persons and 4 teachers from the schools for the deaf in Yangon and Mandalay, participated in the training of these fields at APCD, Bangkok. Since APCD has had a trust relationship with the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) as a Focal Point and former deaf participants shared their needs for a standardized Burmese sign language, APCD linked them with the JICA Myanmar Office to consider possible relevant cooperation. In 2006, APCD advised the DSW to draft a project proposal for a standardized sign language to promote social participation of the deaf community and facilitate closer cooperation among various stakeholders (e.g., DSW, schools for the deaf, deaf people) through their collaborative work. APCD had facilitated former deaf participants and their deaf peers to be involved in the project formulation and work closely with DSW. The Director of APCD and a JICA Expert were dispatched to Yangon and Mandalay from 5 - 8 February 2007 to participate in a series of meetings between a JICA HQ Mission Team and the Burmese authority/persons concerning a new domestic project entitled “Project for Supporting Social Welfare Administration - Promotion of Social Participation of the Deaf Community”. This project is noteworthy since it is the first time for the DSW to implement a project with international cooperation by JICA, and that non-governmental stakeholders such as deaf persons representing their SHG/SHO have been participating since the project formulation began. The JICA HQ Mission included deaf resource persons recommended by the Japanese Federation of the Deaf. Through meetings, a Project Design Matrix developed which included: ?Overall Goal: Promote full participation of deaf persons in society in Yangon and Mandalay. ?Project Purpose: Strengthen joint planning and implementation of activities between social welfare administrators and the deaf community. ?Expected Output: 1) The deaf community acquire the capacity to assess the vocabulary of the existing standardized sign language (SSL). 2) The SSL grammar develop through the initiative of the deaf community. 3) That deaf persons and their families, prospective sign language interpreters and teachers at the schools for the deaf acquire SSL. 4) Improved awareness among community members (general public) of deaf persons. According to APCD Project’s Terminal Evaluation in October 2006, APCD needs to make further effort in accommodating a variety of disability groups in its future activities. A draft proposal for the APCD Project Phase II includes further cooperation with deaf stakeholders. Although the details of the Phase II Project will be discussed further, the following options seem possible for APCD to collaborate with the above New Project in Myanmar: 1) Inviting the New Myanmar Project personnel to relevant regular training courses at APCD. 2) Organizing training in Myanmar (Thailand) especially for the New Myanmar Project personnel. 3) Relevant information support and exchange. This Mission opportunity enabled APCD to monitor former deaf participants with in-depth information, and it is strongly hoped that former APCD participants will continue to actively participate in the project. [page 8] APCD Mission to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan 2-10 March 2007 The Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) dispatched a mission team to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan from 2-10 March 2007 to create a sub-regional mechanism on disability and development. Due to time constraint and transportation difficulties, the mission was unable to include Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan The APCD mission paid a courtesy call to the Office of the Prime Minister in Kyrgyzstan, where Mr. Stalbek Asakeev expressed a willingness to support Capacity-Building for Self-Help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (CBSHOD) in Central Asia in the future and to invite three other countries. The mission team visited self-help organizations, including the Independent Association of Disabled Women (Ms. Asipa Musaeva); the Union of Young Disabled People (Mr. Shamyrbek Ydyrysov); the Association of Parents of Disabled Children (Ms. Tamara K. Dyikanbayeva); a blind lawyer (Mr. Tolkunbek Isakov), who organized legal support services for persons with disabilities called “Independent Life” with 13 organizations to promote human rights and advocacy for PWDs; and the Young Disabled People’s Movement (Mr. Mirbek Asanqariev). The Public Fund DAO (Mr. Alexander Dubina) in Tokmok City, is a grass-root organization to promote civil rights for PWDs and cooperation with other civil rights movement groups. The Mission also visited the Children’s Rehabilitation Center and Public Mental Health Center (Ms. Aigul Kyzalakova), that coordinates social and legal support for persons with psychiatric disabilities, and also the Association of Deaf and Blind (Mr. Kalyk Mambetakunov), which is a heritage of the Russian and workplace for disabled people. During the Russian Regime, the Government purchased all products from deaf and blind persons. However, after Independence, the majority of people lost their jobs, suffered from economic depression and had to seek government funding. There are many self-help organizations (SHOs), as well as community-based self-help groups in Kyrgyzstan, that are seeking a more inclusive society and social security based on human rights. APCD is encouraging all SHOs to unite, support each other and form a National Assembly to promote a barrier-free and right-based society. APCD is seeking the possibility of holding a Central Asia CBSHOD in Bishkek in the future and would support the organization of a Preparation Committee including all stakeholders if CBSHOD would be held in Kyrgyzstan. The expected outcome would be a National Assembly of cross-disabilities of self-help organizations, as well as the supporters. JICA Resident Representative in Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Satoshi Nakano, expressed keen interest in supporting disability and development by inviting a JICA Expert for 2-3 years who would collaborate with APCD/CBSHOD. The Mission Team also visited the Japan Center, which conducts computer courses for persons with a hearing disability. The Mission also met the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer, who was assigned to the National Rehabilitation Center and the Special Education Center for information exchange. Uzbekistan In Uzbekistan, the Mission Team visited the Ministry for Labour and Social Protection of Population and met the Minister and high-ranking Government Officials, including the Vice Minister and discussed possible collaboration with APCD in the future. The APCD team visited an Associate Organization, the Youth Social-Legal Rehabilitation Center for Disabled People – Millennium, which organized several self-help organizations related to persons with a physical disability, blindness, women with disabilities, youth and culture groups of persons with disabilities. Ms. Mahmadkulova Guljahon organized a half-day session of information exchange with those stakeholders. The National NGO Association showed a keen interest to cooperate with APCD. All non-governmental organizations have to be members of the National NGO Association to report their activities. The Mission Team visited the World Vision Japan (Mr. Hans Bederski) to exchange information on the community-based rehabilitation in Tashkent, which will be supported by the JICA grass-root partnership program for three years. Finally, the Mission Team visited the Japan Center to observe computer courses for deaf persons. The JICA Resident Representative, Mr.Noriaki Nishiyama, promised to support the APCD Project and seek the possibility of translating the APCD Newsletters into the Russian language once a year since most of the Central Asians are unable to read English. This is APCD homework for future information support with local languages. [page 9] APCD Mission Report to India 18 – 21 March 2007 APCD sent a mission team to India from 18-21 March 2007 to strengthen the system of information networking, gather information on disability and monitor how information from APCD is being utilized in India. The mission team visited the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and met with the Secretary and Deputy Director General to discuss implementation of the SHG project in India. Regarding training, APCD can provide relevant training courses for the implementation of SHG in India. The mission team also met with Mr. Sanjeev Sachdeva and Ms. Anjlee Agarwal, representatives of Smarthya, the National Center for Promotion of Barrier-free Environment for Persons with Disabilities as well as former APCD participants from the Non-handicapping Environment 2004 at the Central Secretariat Metro Subway Station, New Delhi. Both former participants reported that the subway station is accessible for disabled, pregnant and elderly persons. The mission team was taken to see 3 additional examples of their efforts in promoting accessibility in built environments which included the first-ever low-floor buses and bus shelters, Dilli Haat tourist spot and audio-talking meters. The mission team also visited the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in New Delhi where Mr. Javed Abidi, APCD resource person of the Accessible Web-based Information Networking 2004, has been working; they met with Ms. Niveditta Datta, Programme Officer of the National Disability Network to discuss information networking. NCPEDP agreed to help update the APCD country profile and would like to join the APCD mailing list for information sharing on disability in the Asia-Pacific region. This organization has great potential to be a center of excellence in distributing APCD information to its network and forwarding grass-roots information in India to APCD. The mission team visited the National Association for the Blind (NAB) in New Delhi and met with Mr. Dipendra Manocha, Director of Education and Mr. Ashok Bhattacharya, Director of Administration and Finance. The NAB (Delhi branch) established in 1979 has a very strong network with 19 states and 65 autonomous district level branches across India. Its main activities are education for blind/multi-disabled students and accessible information networking on disability, especially blindness. [page 10] APCD Activities in Brief (January - March 2007) Networking and collaboration has been APCD’s highlight in this quarter. APCD collaborated with various external organizations to organize training courses to empower persons with disabilities in the region. The big event was the Pacific Sub-regional Training on Capacity-Building for Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (CBSHOD) held in Papua New Guinea to expand the disability network with the South Pacific Sub-regional countries. Tremendous outcomes were expressed from the regional training. In addition, APCD networked with other disability-related organizations to fully support the International Conference on Tsunami Preparedness of Persons with Disabilities held in Phuket. Apart from trainings, APCD followed-up with focal point and associate organizations in several countries to monitor activities implemented. APCD’s stakeholders were impressed with the networking and collaboration to empower persons with disabilities in Malaysia, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Lao PDR, India, and China. As for APCD’s training courses, APCD has succeeded in hosting the ICT for All: Training of ICT for Persons with Print Disabilities, Refresher Training to Strengthen Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR) through a Participatory Comprehensive Approach and the CBR Network Seminar with participants from Cambodia, China, Fiji, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. In this quarter, APCD networked with disability-related organizations in China and India to expand the development of the information networking. From this, APCD has received fruitful coordination to exchange information and improved the techniques to localize disability-related information to the grassroots organizations. APCD has also promoted and support our stakeholders the highlights and the ratification procedures of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. April Newsletter Volume 19 30 April - 2 May Seminar on Networking for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities * May 15 - 18 Seminar on Peer - Counseling * 21 - 30 Training on Education Material Production * June 6 - 8 UNESCAP-APCD High-level Stakeholders’ Workshop on Empowerment of People with Disabilities and a Barrier-free Society through Networking and Collaboration 11 - 15 Training on Non-handicapping Environment * 20 - 21 Meeting of Disability Equality Training (DET) Curriculum Designing * 25 - 29 Training of Trainers on DET * July Newsletter Volume 20 12 The First Seminar on DET * 24 The Second Seminar on DET * August 6 The Third Seminar on DET * 16 The Fourth Seminar on DET * 29 - 30 DET Evaluation * [page 11] APCD Counterpart Training in Japan 4 – 10 March 2007 Ms. Manassawee Rawiwan, APCD Information Support Officer, attended the Counterpart Training on Information Management and Networking in Tokyo. The objectives were to understand information management for NGOs and study the way to collect/disseminate information for outstanding information activities for Associate Organisations of APCD Ms. Rawiwan visited five organisations of/for persons with disabilities, the Japan National Assembly of Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI –Japan), Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (JSRPD), Japan Federation of the Deaf (JFD), Japan Council on Independent Living Centers (JIL) and the Tokyo Voluntary Action Center to learn about information to support activities of organizations for persons with disabilities, guarantee of information for persons with disabilities, and the role of the information centre. The knowledge and experience from the counterpart training is beneficial in developing the APCD Information Support more efficiently. Methods such as having various channels in the sending/receiving of information, both online and offline, can be adapted to the utilisation of existing information as well as responding to the needs of persons with disabilities more widely and directly. They can be a tool to guarantee information and reduce barriers through information for persons with disabilities which is the objective of APCD, to promote empowerment of persons with disabilities and a barrier-free society. Regional News January – March 2007 1. Year of Access 2007, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka January 2007 The Government of Sri Lanka announced the year 2007 to be the "Year of Access" towards the promotion of a Building Accessibility Policy in Sri Lanka. Source: M.Charles Mendis JP, ICIOB, AAIQS, Professional Quantity Surveyor and Building Access Advisor, Motivation (USAID), Sri Lanka 2. School of Leadership Launched a Bakery. Pakistan January 2007 The School of Leadership trained deaf students to bake and managment skills, then established a bakery in January 2007. This is the 2nd project for the deaf in Pakistan following the KFC project. Please check www.pad.sdnpk.org or email to Ms. Urooj Mazhar for more details. Source: Report from Mr. Muhammad Akram, Pakistan Association of the Deaf 3. A Sign of the Times Thailand 3 January 2007 An innovative online sign language interpreting service has been successfully used in trials that have started to operate officially. The project was initiated by Mahidol University's Ratsuda College with support from the private sector. Located at Ratsuda College, the online sign language interpreting room is equipped with five stations where interpreters sit in front of computer monitors and web cameras. They are joined by deaf students, who sit together with the interpreter to convey sign language. The interpreter will then talk to the remote party to convey the message. The web cameras can display everyone's faces and actions so that the communication is accompanied by visual cues. Please check www.bangkokpost.net/030107_Database/03Jan2007_data001.php for more details. Source: Bangkok Post 4. Efforts on for Barrier-free Culture for Disabled Pakistan 3 January 2007 Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education is working on several projects to provide an enabling culture that would allow full realization of the potential of disabled persons through their inclusive mainstreaming. In this regard, the Ministry has been organizing a number of dialogues and seminars to finalize recommendations for design manual, model projects and building a by-laws report for creation of a barrier-free environment for challenged persons. As a first step, five major cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta have been declared disabled friendly cities. Please check www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content& task=view&id=1433&Itemid=2 for more details. Source: Associated Press of Pakistan 5. Sights Set on Autos that Say Thank You India 7 January 2007 A Delhi-based NGO, Samarthya has designed a voice-enabled fare meter - for autos and taxis - that not only displays the fare and the distance travelled, but also announces the same to the passenger. The NGO hopes that apart from the users benefiting, these meters will also bring the city much prestige and goodwill from the international community. This technology will also make public transportation more accessible for the blind. The company whose factory brought Samarthya's idea estimates the cost of the product would not be more than Rs 500. Please check www.samarthyaindia.com for more details. Source: Samarthya, National Centre for Promotion of Barrier-Free Environment for Disabled Persons 6. When an Intellectually Disabled Girl Becomes a Star Thailand 13 January 2007 An aspiring painter with a love of pink grass gets her own art show. For Viriya or "Nong Vee" Tangpornpakkul, a 12-year-old girl with Down’s Syndrome, the present she was given for Children's Day was an exceptional one she has never had before - an art exhibition of her own. Her exhibition entitled "When a Down Becomes a Star," the first of its kind for children with a mental disability in Thailand, featured 43 paintings she made in the past two years; she has taken courses at the Art Laemkom School in Bangkok with full support from her parents and teachers. Please check www.bangkokpost.net/130107_News/13Jan2007_news03.php for more details. Source: Bangkok Post 7. Toward a Universally Accessible Environment Thailand 14 January 2007 The landmark Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities emphasized that facilities and opportunities for persons with disabilities are an integral part of sustainable development, writes Kim Hak-Su, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP based in Bangkok. Please check www.bangkokpost.net/Perspective/14Jan2007_pers48.php for more details. Source: Bangkok Post 8. Tax Collection Software Written by People with Disabilities Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam 19 January 2007 Eighteen people with disabilities had to work hard for one year to create software for tax declaration and collection, which will help taxation agencies, enterprises and individuals save time and effort. The software written by the 18 people with disabilities can alert taxation staff to errors in the figures in the tax declaration and collection procedures. In 2006, the good software helped the taxation agency in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City to collect taxes for a total of VND1 Tril ($62.5mil). Please check http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/01/655672 for more details. Source: VietNamNet Bridge 9. A Translation of the Disability Convention Viet Nam February 2007 Viet Nam has translated the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into Vietnamese. On 14 December 2006, the National Coordination Committee on Disability (NCCD) submitted the translated Convention into Vietnamese to the government and requested an early ratification of the Convention. NCCD is following up on this matter. Source: Report from Huong Duong, Viet Nam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) and Nguyen Bich Thuy through Disability Forum 10. Consultative Committee Meeting of Social Justice and Empowerment Meets India 13 February 2007 The press release concerning the education of children with disability was launched as part of the Consultative Committee Meeting of the Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment. It is now available at http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=24758 . Please check http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=24758 for more details. Source: Press Information Bureau 11. Turkish Sign Language to Be Formulated Turkey 28 February 2007 Turkey is taking action to devise a national sign language; signs frequently used by the hearing-impaired in Asian Turkey will be looked into as a part of this project, whose purpose is to minimize communication problems for the hearing-impaired and interpreters caused by the current use of differing sign language expressions. The Disabled Law, passed in 2005, reminded Turkey that it has no national sign language and decided that a "Turkish Sign Language System" will be formed for the education and communication of the hearing-impaired people. Please check www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do? load=detay&link=104030&bolum=101 for more details. Source: Today's Zaman 12. Preliminary Draft on the Biwako Plus Five Bangkok, Thailand March 2007 The "Preliminary Working Draft of the Biwako Plus Five" was adopted by the Expert Group Meeting on the Promotion of Social and Economic Participation of Persons with Disabilities towards the Biwako Plus Five, on 28 February 2007 in Bangkok. Source: Ms. Aiko Akiyama, Project Expert on Disability Population and Social Integration Section, UNESCAP 13. Human Functioning and Disability United Nations March 2007 In March 2006 the United Nations Statistics Division initiated a systematic and regular collection of basic statistics on disability through the existing Demographic Yearbook data collection system. This website is a statistical reference and guide to the standards and methods and available data on human functioning and disability. Please check http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/ sconcerns/disability/default.htm for more details. Source: United Nations Statistics Division 14. A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities United States of America March 2007 Women with disabilities often discover that the social stigma of disability and inadequate care are greater barriers to health than the disabilities themselves. A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities will help women with disabilities overcome these barriers and improve their general health, self-esteem, and abilities to care for themselves and participate in their communities. Please check www.hesperian.org/index.php for more details. Source: Hesperian Foundation 15. Visually Impaired People Exercise Their Franchise Independently India March 2007 In a shining example for all other states to follow, the Election Commission has set up a separate polling booth for visually impaired people at the National Institute for Visually Handicapped (N.I.V.H.) in the Rajpur Assembly constituency of Uttarkhand, where they can cast their vote independently. It is the first one of its kind in the country. Please check www.dnis.org/news.php?issue_id=5&volume_id=5&news_id=825 for more details. Source: Disability News and Information 16. Afghan Disabled Union's Activities Afghanistan 5 March 2007 Afghan Disabled Union (ADU) organized workshops on Capacity Building, Awareness-Raising and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during the second quarter (December 2006 - February 2007). The great outputs from ADU were conducting advocacy and awareness-raising training workshops for persons with disabilities and community leaders, conducting 5 trainings on leadership and management training for persons with disabilities, and producing a disability-focused publication. Please check www.aduafghanistan.org for more details. Source: Omara Khan, Director of Afghan Disabled Union 17. Malaysian Public Transport to Be More Disabled-friendly Malaysia 12 March 2007 Malaysia will increase accessibility and facilities for the disabled in its public transport system under an upcoming "master plan" for capital cities in the country's 13 states. Consultants hired by the government to run a nine-month study of the country's public transport systems have been told to include requirements for disabled people in their report to the Cabinet, which will form a basis for the master plan. Please check www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/13/asia/AS- GEN-Malaysia-Public-Transport.php for more details. Source: The International Herald Tribune 18. Disability Treaty to Correct Injustices Opens for Signature United Nations 13 March 2007 A new human rights treaty that will protect the rights of the world's 650 million persons with disabilities opened for signatures at the United Nations on 30 March 2007. Over 40 countries have already indicated they will sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities when it opens for signatures by States and regional integration organizations at a solemn ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall. Please check www.un.org/disabilities/convention/ma13mar07.shtml for more details. Source: United Nations 19. The Opening of New Independent Living Center Thailand 19 March 2007 Mr. Santi Rungnasuan, the ex-participant in APCD training on independent living, and JICA Training on peer-counselling has stepped further to become the founder and director of new Independent Living Center (ILC) in Bhudamonthon District, Nakornpathom Province, Thailand. The new ILC was formally opened on 19 March 2007. Its types of services include peer-counseling, information sharing and advocacy movement for persons with disabilities in the area. Source: Mr. Santi Rungnasuan, Director of Nakornpathom Independent Living Center 20. UN Expert Calls for All Children - regardless of differences - To Be Educated Together United Nations 21 March 2007 Children with disabilities have the right to an inclusive education and Member States must increase efforts to ensure that all children, regardless of differences, learn together, the United Nations independent expert on the right to education said. Vernor Munoz Villalobos, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that educational systems should stop seeing children with disabilities as problems, but rather as an opportunity to enrich schools. Please check www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21941&Cr=rights& Cr1=council&Kw1=UN+EXPERT+CALLS+FOR+ALL+CHILDREN+&Kw2=&Kw3= for more details. Source: UN News Centre 21. Record Number of Countries Sign UN Treaty on Disabilities on Opening Day United Nations 30 March 2007 Eighty-one Member States and the European Community signed a landmark new treaty at the United Nations that aims to improve the lives of the world’s estimated 650 million people with disabilities, a record for the first day of signature of any convention. Jamaica also ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the first country to go beyond endorsement and adopt it as law. The pact, the fastest negotiated international human rights instrument in history, needs 19 more States Parties to enter into force. Some 44 countries signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which will give individuals recourse to an expert committee on the rights of persons with disabilities when all national options have been exhausted. Please check http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22085&Cr=disab&Cr1=&Kw1=RECORD+NUMBER+OF+COUNTRIES+SIGN+UN+TREATY+ON+DISABILITIES+ON+OPENING+DAY&Kw2=&Kw3= for more details. Source: UN News Centre [page 12] Regional News: Upcoming Events April – June 2007 1. International Conference for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Singapore 23 - 26 April 2007 The Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC) and the Singapore Therapeutic, Assistive & Rehabilitative Technologies (START) Centre have jointly organized an International Conference for Rehabilitative Engineering & Assistive Technology (i-CREATe 2007). The Conference addresses current and future developments in the areas of Rehabilitative Engineering and Assistive Technology. Topic areas include the universal design, inclusive housing & the work place, transportation, accessibility issues, social issues, policies, political issues related to disability and the aging population. Please check www.i-create2007.org for more details. Source: International Conference for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology 2. The 1st International Conference on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing Impairment China 26 - 28 April 2007 The Conference on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing Impairment will be hosted by the China Rehabilitation Research Center for Deaf Children (CRRCDC), and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF). The purpose is to further develop the prevention and rehabilitation of hearing impairment, and to strengthen international communication and cooperation. Please check www.chinadeaf.com/prhi/list/list_59_1.html for more details. Source: China Deaf Editorial Message Welcome to the 19th Volume of APCD Empowerment Newsletter! Time flies so fast with APCD almost 5 years old! Looking back, we have worked diligently to achieve the worthwhile goal of empowering persons with disabilities with close ties of support from all of our friends; we have been able to play a meaningful role in various events in this region. Some such events featured in this volume are the Pacific Sub-Regional Seminar on Capacity-Building for Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (CBSHOD) in Papua New Guinea, and 2 regional trainings on Community-based Rehabilitation and ICT for All:Training of ICT for Persons with Print Disability conducted at our Center in Thailand. We would like to thank all of you who have given much of your time and resources to support us through the years. There are definitely many challenges along the way for years to come; your continued support is appreciated so we can continue to improve our newsletter.