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The Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD), Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, located in Bangkok, Thailand, is a legacy of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993 - 2002). Its objective is to promote the empowerment of persons with disabilities and a barrier-free society in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
APCD was jointly established with the collaboration of the Government of Japan and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand on 1 August, 2002. APCD is also working in close cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), other United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations whose work is related to persons with disabilities.
Recently, the number of persons with severe physical disabilities has been increasing in developing countries due to more traffic accidents, improvement of emergency medical care and advanced surgery, etc. However, many surviving persons with severe physical disabilities are often abandoned at home by desperate families and lose hope to live in their communities where there is no know-how or system to support them. They often have very low self-esteem and less confidence while their families and society in general, regard them as "dependent" burdens and sometimes overprotect them.
The "Independent Living (IL)" Movement, which highly values a disabled person's self-determination on his/her life, started in the U.S.A. in the 1970's and has so far spread to many developed countries, where a number of Independent Living Centers (ILC) have been established to support the community life, human rights and dignity of persons with severe physical disabilities and other needy persons. It is believed that persons with disabilities can enjoy IL in their community with support from personal assistants, make decisions and take responsibility for their own lives as much as possible. ILC enable them to do so by providing services such as dispatching personal assistants and through "Peer-counseling", which is counseling by a trained and experienced person with a disability to a person with a disability in a similar condition (e.g., types of disability, gender). These ILC are managed by people with disabilities.
Despite the difference between developed and developing countries in terms of their national budget for disability issues and social security schemes, the fundamentals of the IL concept are still equally important. Peer-counseling has been effective in helping people with disabilities with the issues of self-esteem, self-determination and empowerment.
In this sense, Training of Managerial Personnel of ILC and Peer-counselors for People with Disabilities will be organized to target new/planned IL Center's managers and potential peer-counselors in the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand so that they can initiate or strengthen their IL Center and peer-counseling.
| Course Title | Training of Managerial Personnel of Independent Living Centers (ILC) and Peer-Counselors for People with Disabilities (PWD) |
| Duration | I. ILC Course: February 28 - March 7, 2006 II. Peer-counselor Course: March 9 - 17, 2006 |
| Deadline for Application | January 31, 2005 * Application forms must be submitted to the Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate in each invited country. |
| Countries Invited & Participants | Malaysia, The Philippines, Pakistan *Maximum 6 persons from each of the above listed countries *Some of the participants will be invited only for I. ILC Course and return *See the REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION on page 4 |
| Language | English |
| Target Group | Leaders/core-members of self-help groups (SHG) or organizations (SHO) of PWD, who I. (will) initiate/manage an ILC, and/or II. (will) provide peer-counseling for PWD through an ILC. |
| Course Objectives | I. ILC Course To help initiate or strengthen ILC by training the above target group to:
II. Peer-counselor Course To develop peer-counselors to effectively conduct and teach peer-counseling to other people with disabilities by training the above target group to:
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| Training Venue |
Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) Training Building 255 Rajvithi Road, Rajthevi, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand Tel: (66) 02 354 7505 Fax: (66) 02 354 7507 URL: www.apcdproject.org |
| Accommodation | Same as above |
| Expenses & Allowance | The following expenses for each selected participant will be borne by APCD:
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An applicant should:
Be a person with a disability who is a leader/core-member of self-help groups (SHG) or organizations (SHO) of people with disabilities (PWD)
*For an applicant who needs to have an accompanying personal assistant or a sign language interpreter for the training, s/he needs to inform APCD of the details through his/her APPENDIX OF APPLICATION FORM (Article: Disability). Necessary expenditures (e.g., travel expenses, etc.) for the selected participant's personal assistant or a sign language interpreter can be borne by APCD, after APCD confirms the need.
Apply as a team with a minimum of 2 persons from the same SHG/SHO of PWD below:
| Invited Countries | Malaysia | The Philippines | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended Organizations to Apply for the Training |
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*The above SHG/SHO should apply to become an Associate Organization of APCD if not yet applied.
Have basic knowledge/skills of the English language
*Training applicants, who are NOT fluent in English but committed in the training field, must consult with APCD through e-mail/fax/phone before applying so that APCD may consider about necessary interpretation arrangement.
Each applicant needs to fill out three (3) sets of the Fellowship Application Form, stipulated by the Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA), the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand, and three (3) sets of Appendix, provided by APCD. Completed documents should be submitted to a Government agency responsible for Official Development Assistance (ODA) or to APCD's Government/semi-autonomous focal point in the country of each applicant as follows:
Each applicant must fax or mail one (1) copy of the completed Fellowship Application Form and its Appendix in advance directly to:
Director, Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability,Please note that the copy sent directly to APCD is advance informal information only. For the selection, APCD will consider application forms which have come through the official channel (from the Royal Thai Embassy to APCD via TICA).
Governments of invited countries, who have received three (3) completed Fellowship Application Forms and Appendixes from each applicant, should submit all of the documents by the due date to the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in their respective countries, who will then be responsible for forwarding those documents to TICA in Bangkok, Thailand.
The due date for submitting the application documents to the Embassy/Consulate is January 31, 2006.
After the training participants have been selected by APCD, TICA will notify the Governments of the selection results no later than two (2) weeks before the commencement of the course. Each Government will be responsible to inform their nominated candidates about the selection results.
Notification of the selection results will be approximately by 15 February, 2006.
Participants who have successfully completed the course will be awarded a certificate issued by the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability.
Prior to arrival in Thailand, participants must first obtain a NON-IMMIGRANT VISA from the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in their respective countries. (For nationals of ASEAN countries, please check with the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate for the necessity of VISA application.) Please be aware that your passport must be valid for at least 6 more months to apply for a visa.
Upon arrival, the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) will provide airport reception and transferal to the accommodation for the participants.
The Royal Thai Government, the Government of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and/or the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability(APCD) shall have no liability whatsoever for the participant or his/her personal representatives for injury, illness or death suffered or contracted by the participant arising out of or in the course of his/her participation in the program/course; nor shall The Royal Thai Government, the Government of Japan, JICA and/or APCD have any liability whatsoever towards third parties for compensation for any loss of property, injury, illness or death of such third parties caused by the nominee during the course of his/her participation in the program/course.
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