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] [ ] APCD has been promoting empowerment of persons with disabilities and a barrier-free society since August 2002, in collaboration with 32 focal points and more than 140 associate organizations in 32 developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the last 4 years, APCD focal points and associate organizations, especially former APCD training participants have made great achievements in society in order to bring about "Full Participation and Equality of Persons with Disabilities". Such achievements were shared at the Seminar on South-to-South Cooperation on Disability, 22 September 2006, Bangkok, Thailand, as "The Best Practice on Collaboration with APCD". Reviewing these case studies, we can see the development of the disability movement in the Asia-Pacific region in collaboration with APCD.
The National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP) in collaboration with NGOs, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and APCD, conducted the Training of Trainers on the Promotion of Non-handicapping Environment for Persons with Disabilities from 1-4 March 2005, with 32 representatives participating from the 17 regions of the country. This was a follow-up program of the actions of seven former APCD training participants.
NCWDP in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) and APCD, organized a series of ICT trainings such as the National Webmaster's Interface on Accessible ICT for Persons with Disabilities, May 2006, and Cebu Workshop on Accessible ICT for Persons with Disabilities, October 2005. Through these workshops, more than 75 webmasters were trained and a Manifesto of Commitment to advocate Accessible ICT for All, based on the Manila ICT Design Recommendations, was adopted.
One of the associate organizations said that the involvement of APCD as a technical support provider has been a great support to the country's campaign towards full implementation of existing laws to open the general system of Philippine society. In addition, APCD through its training programs provided the opportunity to upgrade the skills and knowledge of people who are involved in the empowerment of Filipinos with disabilities.
NCWDP has envisaged a five-year pilot project entitled "Towards a Barrier-Free and Rights-Based Philippines: Creation of Non- Handicapping Environment for Filipinos with Disabilities in the Rural Areas". This project will bridge the gap between persons with disabilities in urbanized centers and rural areas in terms of access to services.
Regional Training Seminar on Capacity Building of Self-Help Organizations of Disabled (CBSHOD) was held in Islamabad, 22-26 September 2005, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education, Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP) and APCD, in which more than 70 representatives participated from 15 countries in the region. Furthermore, an Accessible Environment Seminar, December 2005, was also held to promote a barrier-free society in the earthquake affected areas.
In total, more than 30 Pakistani people participated in APCD's training such as CBSHOD, Independent Living and Web-based Information Networking. Due to the tireless efforts of former participants, the Special Session on Independent Living in Islamabad in collaboration with STEP, and an Assistive Devices and ICT Accessibility Seminar were held in July 2006 in Karachi in collaboration with the Pakistan Association of the Deaf with more than 60 representatives from all over Pakistan participating.
Through these activities, network and collaboration among NGOs and the government became much stronger with a large number of self-help group/organizations of persons with disabilities in Pakistan being empowered.
For future development, the Government in collaboration with NGOs is implementing a National Plan of Action for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, and the Islamabad Declaration of CBSHOD. Further, accessibility to the built environment as well as ICT will be widely promoted, and Independent Living Centers are being established in Islamabad and Lahore.
There were two best practices presented from Thailand; 1) The Christian Foundation for the Blind in Thailand (CFBT) and 2) Thailand Council for Independent Living (IL).
CFBT established collaboration with APCD in 2004 mainly through sending trainees and resource persons for various ICT trainings. Through this collaboration there have been positive outcomes in various aspects. For example, CFBT personnel who received training have gained wider knowledge in the field of ICT accessibility, and expanded it to other colleagues and students of CFBT through its training program. The fruitful experience of instructing in a workshop at an international level resulted in more expertise and confidence. CFBT will extend its objective in working side by side with other related organizations especially APCD in promoting ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities.
The Thailand Council for Independent Living was established in 2006 after several trainings on IL and Peer Counseling since 2002. The Council of IL dispatched trainees and resource persons to the trainings to develop their skills and knowledge to establish a standard for a Thai IL Center. Through the training of APCD and the establishment of a Council, a number of persons with disabilities who have been home bound have come out in society and been empowered by living a more independent life.
Fiji Disabled Peoples Association (FDPA) dispatched participants to various APCD trainings such as the Non-handicapping Environment (NHE), ICT for Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) and Web-Based Information Networking. The participants have made great achievements in Fiji society. For example, they organized a workshop on NHE in the Pacific region and started an access audit to evaluate building accessibility for persons with disabilities; computer training for VIPs has been conducted and an accessible website of FDPA was also developed. Also, FDPA produced a 4 page information paper and 7 brochures of the Biwako Millennium Framework according to each of the 7 priority areas for the Government and other stakeholders.
Furthermore, FDPA in collaboration with UNESCO and APCD organized the first ever ICT workshop in the Pacific region to which representatives from 7 island countries participated. They learned about information accessibility and assistive technologies for persons with disabilities and developed an action plan to promote ICT accessibility based on the situation of each country.
The collaboration between APCD and FDPA has been very productive. FDPA gained much information and knowledge from the APCD training and information support. FDPA hopes to continue working on ICT accessibility, a barrier-free environment, and Human Rights for persons with disabilities for Fiji as well as the Pacific.
Forty-five persons with disabilities among 66 government and NGOs representatives from Viet Nam have taken APCD training courses. They have been promoting empowerment of persons with disabilities and a barrier-free society in Viet Nam.
The National Coordinating Committee on Disability (NCCD) in collaboration with NGOs and APCD organized a Training Seminar on Capacity Building for Self-help Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, in Hanoi, 13 - 17 December 2004, to which more than 60 participants from 21 countries participated.
APCD also contributed in the drafting of a law on persons with disabilities in Viet Nam, which will be submitted to the National Assembly in 2008. Information provided by APCD through newsletters and their website is circulated to many NGOs; some useful information such as training materials have been translated into Vietnamese by the Disability Forum.
As the result of these activities, the leadership skills of a number of young persons with disabilities have been strengthened; 100 self-help groups have been established; a CBR network has widely expanded and an e-network of persons with disabilities has rapidly increased. A National Association of Disabled Persons is expected to be established in 2007.
For future development, Vietnamese focal points and associate organizations expect more effective network and collaboration with APCD, especially on training and information sharing. NCCD is planning to organize a national seminar/workshop on ICT accessibility, with the Disability Forum willing to share information in Vietnamese and then expand information network; Danang Rehabilitation and Sanatorium Hospital is hoping to train more persons with disabilities and strengthen its CBR network.
We can see that APCD's focal points and associate organizations have been actively motivated to empower persons with disabilities and promote a barrier-free society. Pakistan Association of the Deaf, one of the APCD associate organizations, said "The major change was mobilizing/activating NGOs and the government. Now the disability movement is much more active due to APCD". APCD is honored to hear this and at the same time, proud of the achievements and efforts being made by APCD's focal points and associate organizations. APCD is particularly happy to see a young and new leaders' disability movement emerging in the Asia-Pacific region which will enrich the future of disabled persons. We wish you all the success and happiness for a bright future of persons with disabilities in the near future.
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