Mission to India & China
18 - 24 March 2007
India
APCD sent a mission team to India and China from
18-24 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 met with Mr. B.N. Yugandhar, member of the Planning Commission, and visited the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and met with Ms. Veena Chhotray, Secretary of the Ministry, to discuss implementation of the SHG project in India.
The mission team also observed accessibility of Delhi
Metro, a new subway system in Delhi, with Mr. Sanjeev
Sachdeva and Ms. Anjlee Agarwal, representatives of
Smarthya and former APCD training participants of the
Non-handicapping Environment 2004. They said that the
subway station was designed accessible for disabled,
pregnant and elderly persons.
The mission team visited the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and National Association for the Blind where former APCD training participants and resource persons are working. In NCPEDP, we 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. At the National Association for the Blind (NAB), we met with Mr. Dipendra Minocha, Director of Education and exchanged information of visually impaired persons and followed up on ICT training participants.
China
In China, the mission team visited China Disabled
Peoples' Federation (CDPF) in Beijing and met with Mr. Eric
Zhang, Director of the Department of International Affairs and
representatives of the CDPF Information Center, and
associations of deaf, physically disabled and intellectually
challenged persons.
APCD discussed collaboration on information exchange and suggested promoting accessible information through an accessible website and a DAISY talking book on the occasion of the upcoming 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. CDPF agreed to exchange information on disability with APCD and promote accessible information in China.
The mission team also visited the China Braille Press
(CBP) and met with Mr. Han Zhongyi, Vice-president and
Mr. Ji Hong, the Director and observed their activities. CBP
provides Braille and Audio books for 13 million visually
impaired readers across China free of charge.
The Tianjin Disabled Persons' Federation invited the mission team for a field visit to disabled peoples' organizations in Tianjin City. Mr. Zuo Tie Chang, Vice-chairman of the Board and Mr. Jiang Yan, Director welcomed the mission team. The mission team observed community activities in Tianjin, such as volunteer service for a self-help organization for persons with disabilities in the community and also visited a homecare project for children with intellectual disabilities and autism.
The mission team received a variety of information from both China and India, and expects to further collaborate with them. APCD looks forward to working more closely with both countries.
