During the last quarter of 2005, APCD continuously worked to empower and create a barrier-free society for persons with disabilities in the Asia and Pacific region.
In October, Ms. Judy Heumann, World Bank Advisor on Disability and Development, shared her experiences in the area of Independent Living with APCD staff, stakeholders, and trainees. Another activity was APCD's participation in a Public Seminar on "Disability and Global Development Issues" co-organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs - FASID/ NGO Forum on Disability, and the World Bank. It was a TV conference held in 4 countries, namely; Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand. APCD received the honor of H.E. Mr. Tanin Kraivixien, Chairperson of the Foundation for the APCD as the head representative for APCD.
APCD Networking and Collaboration has worked hard on building and following up on networks and partnerships in the region starting with follow-up missions to Bangladesh and Malaysia. APCD was very active in the earthquake recovery process in Pakistan by holding the Disaster Recovery & Disability Workshop in Pakistan.
APCD Human Resources Development program successfully held the Regional Workshop on CBR and the Regional Training on ICT for VIPs. APCD not only provided training for its stakeholders, APCD's staff also joined and participated in several training courses; 1) the Disability Equality Training held in Malaysia and 2) Community-Based Training in the Rural areas held in Bangalore, India.
APCD Information Support continues to develop and support more information exchanges with focal and associate organizations as can be seen in the amount of information on the website which has increased rapidly signifying an a effective and active information network.
Moving towards the last quarter of 2005, APCD has implemented several activities in close collaboration with disability-related organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.
APCD was honored to have HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn preside over the Grand Opening Ceremony of the APCD Buildings on 25 July 2005.
APCD Networking and Collaboration program has been developing further collaboration with focal and associate organizations by sending missions to Mongolia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia. APCD co-organized two regional training courses regarding Networking and Collaboration; 1) UNESCAP/APCD Seminar on South-to- South Dialogue; Regional Decade Activities and 2) Regional Training Seminar on Capacity-Building of Self-Help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities. In this quarter, APCD attended several regional "Pacific Regional Workshop on Disability" held in Nadi, Fiji.
APCD Human Resources Development (HRD) Program conducted two major regional trainings and one sub-regional training. The two major regional trainings were: 1) Regional Workshop on Accessible Web-based Information Networking and 2) Training of Initiatives of Self-help Groups of Persons with Disabilities towards Rights-based and Sustainable Community Development. The HRD Program also followed-up with ex-trainees in Sri Lanka. APCD HRD in collaboration with the Japan Program, Inter-American Development Bank organized the Training to Empower Youth with Disabilities from Latin America and Caribbean Countries; this is a good starting point for disability resources in the Asia-Pacific region supporting other regions.
For the second quarter of 2005, APCD has continuously implemented various effective activities towards empowerment and a barrier-free society for persons with disabilities in the Asia and Pacific region.
APCD is networking and collaborating with governmental and non-governmental organizations in Pakistan for the preparation of the upcoming Regional Training Seminar on Capacity-building of Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities that will be held in Pakistan in September.
APCD Human Resources Development program sent follow-up missions to Viet Nam, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
The APCD Information Support is researching on how to improve the disability-related information network in the region along with the APCD Information Resource Room. In addition, APCD was honored with a visit by Mrs. Sadako Ogata, President of JICA, on 18 June 2005 during her official visit to Thailand. Mrs. Ogata acknowledged the APCD project activities and also met with a group of Independent Living members from the 3 pilot projects in Thailand who shared their experiences.
APCD is proud to announce the Grand Opening Ceremony of the APCD Building with HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn scheduled to graciously preside over the ceremony on 25 July 2005 (full details will follow in the APCD website and the 13th APCD Empowerment Newsletter).
At the beginning of 2005, APCD started organizing a training course on "Information and Communication Technology for All: Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) for Print Disability" from 1-18 February 2005. The next training courses held were the "Refresher Training Course in Peer Counseling for People with Disabilities" from 1-4 March & 14-18 March 2005 and the "Training of Managerial Personnel of Independent Living Centers for Persons with Disabilities" from 1-18 March 2005.
APCD Networking and Collaboration sent a mission to co-organize a National Workshop "Towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free & Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities" in Santo, Vanuatu from 13-19 March 2005. APCD also co-organized the "Training of Trainers on the Promotion of a Non-handicapping Environment for Persons with Disabilities" with the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons in Manila, the Philippines. Accordingly, the Networking and Collaboration team send a mission to Pakistan to attend the preparatory meeting for the 2nd Capacity-building of Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities.
The APCD Information Support team continues to provide disability-related information network to focal and associate organizations in the Asia and Pacific regions as well as other disability-related information network centers. The next activity is to add three new country profiles, Bhutan, Samoa, and Sri Lanka as well as updating the previous 15 countries, which are available on the APCD website. To promote APCD information locally, APCD uploaded the Thai Version of the APCD website as a model.
