News from 11 Ibero-American Countries
Argentina
From Integrando (an Argentine interactive web portal devoted to integration). The National Center for Community Organizations in Argentina (CENOC) has been named the organization responsible for compiling and systematizing all of the information on Civil Society Organizations (OSC) on the national level. This is in an attempt to unify all NGOs devoted to Civil Society on the national level. Contact cenoc@desarrollosocial.gov.arfor more information on CENOC (which is part of the Mission of Social Development in the President's Office).
On October 3-4, 2001, in the city of Buenos Aires a conference was held regarding "Citizenship and the Right to Social Integration for Disabled Persons".
More information on this conference and the proposals that were generated there can be accessed by sending an e-mail to jornadas_discapacidad@hotmail.com or by writing to Foro Pro: Venezuela 584 - CP.:1095- Buenos Aires - Argentina - Tel/Fax: 4331-7469 / 4331-5256.
On October 11-13,2001 the First Congress of Argentina convened about adults with mental disabilities and their right to education, held at the University of Buenos Aires. More information is available from Asociación Amar, Cochabamba 3242, Capital or by calling (011) 4931-7200.
After 3 years of planning, the 60 million dollar Institute of Therapeutic Rehabilitation opened in Escobar, Province of Buenos Aires, on December 3, 2001. It will be the largest of its kind in Latin America. This project was developed through efforts of FLENI, or the Fundación de Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia, with the major portion of funds being donated by Fundación Pérez Companc. The health center will be equipped with the latest medical technologies. FLENI is now in the process of training 50 high-level professionals from Europe and North America to serve in the center when it opens.
Resources in Argentina:
http://www.samfyr.com.ar/
This is the website in Spanish of the Argentinean Society for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. It offers a list of events and conferences within Argentina that focus on rehabilitation issues. It alsprovides useful summaries of the different branches of physical medicine and rehabilitation services.
http://www.integrando.org.ar
This is a website devoted tissues of integration within Argentina and other Spanish-speaking countries. It provides daily news, chat function, an Internet search engine, as well as other resources on integration of people with disabilities. This interactive website not only provides a link tthe bulletin, but is alsa general resource for interviews, videos, employment and publishing opportunities, and provides general information pertinent tthe social integration of disabled people.
http://www.discapacidad.org.ar/
This is a general web resource on disability in the Spanish language, based in Argentina. It has such features as an organization and institution database, names of professionals in Argentina whprovide services regarding disability issues, as well as information of interest tdisabled people. Those whare interested can become members of an online forum to discuss disability issues.
Chile
An international seminar was held in Santiago, Chile on October 25-26, 2001 in preparation for a global forum on aging in civil society in Madrid in 2002. Among the participants were: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, England, Nicaragua, Perú and the Dominican Republic. During this seminar a document was produced outlining the extent to which aging is an increasing concern in Latin America, what the problems are, and how civil society is combating the problem, which is a societal population composed of more elderly persons than ever. The issue was also raised that with an increasingly elderly population, the concern for disability issues will also grow. The contents of the document are open to preliminary debate and discussion in preparation for the Madrid forum.
As part of the worldwide December 3rd celebration, Programa jurídico sobre discapacidad organized a celebration at the Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Diego Portales. This event was the result of one year of planning by the Judicial Program on Disability, and included various materials, which were handed out to all of the participants. Among the speakers at the event included: Ricardo Fabrega, Director of the Social Organization Division at the Ministry of the Secretary General of Government, Pamela Molina Toledo and Francisco Fernández, President of the Presidential Advisory Board for the Defense of the Rights of People with Disabilities in addition to various people in the judicial profession within the program. One of the major events during the celebration was the presentation of a new investigation being conducted within the program. This investigation, written by María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, is entitled La discapacidad frente a la necesidad de profundización democrática en los procesos electorales (Disability and the Need to Increase Democracy and Participation in the Electoral Processes). Copies of the documents on Perspectives for the New Year and disability and election processes can be accessed by e-mailing mscisternas@entelchile.net.
http://www.umce.cl/magister_educ_diferencial.htm
This link takes you to the announcement of a program for teachers of differential education to gain more expertise in the area. The participating institutions are from both Latin America and the United States. The seminars are offered at various times in Chile at La Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de Educacion. Check their website for additional information.
Costa Rica
The 16th Iberian-American Seminar on Disability and Social Communication was held November 12-14, 2001 in San Jose, Costa Rica. This year's theme was " Image of Vitality and Empowerment of People with Disability", presented by Dr. Federico Montero M. He spoke about the historical development of the disability movement for equality, and the perception and attitude toward disability in Latin America in a historical perspective. One major focus of his presentation was the anti-discriminatory legislation that has been passed regarding the issue in Latin America, paying specific attention to the equal opportunity acts. As a conclusion to his presentation he challenged the participants by discussing goals and plans of actions to further the empowerment of persons with disabilities and equality in civil society.
El Salvador and Central America
http://www.ortotec.com/
This website is the homepage of a new institute which is part of the UDB that specializes in preparing students for careers in Orthotic and Prosthetic devices. It is the only technical school of its kind in Central America offering a certificate/degree in this field of study, which is vital in serving the disabled community. For those whwould prefer other Spanish language education, they alsoffer coursework in Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Medical Biology, as well as classes suitable for those wanting a career in computers, industry or as an electrician. The university itself alsoffers coursework in Education and Communication. Financial aid and scholarship information is alson this website.
Ecuador
In Quito, during July 18th to the 21st, the first Latin American consultation on Disability, Role of the Church and Future Strategies convened. This meeting focused on the church's attitude towards people with disabilities and involved participants from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Puerto Rico and Cuba. According to Rev. Noel Fernández Collot, Latin American coordinator of EDAN, they proposed the following actions to integrate the disabled into the church:
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To eliminate the architectural barriers that not only will be of benefit to people with disability, but also to the elderly, pregnant women, children and others.
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To propitiate means that allow to blind, deaf and deaf-blind persons not only participation in worship services, but in church life.
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The use in services of an inclusive and appropriate language and liturgy that do not exclude them.
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To use didactic materials that facilitates the understanding of the Gospel for all the people that need it.
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To promote the training of church leadership for appropriate pastoral care of the population with disability.
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To eliminate the over protection and sorry feeling and to propitiate accessibility to population with disability to training that will allow the arrival to positions of leadership.
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To set special interest in the pastoral care to people with disability in the indigenous sector.
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To facilitate, according to the necessities of each country, the development of Disability Prevention Programs.
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Whenever the conditions allow it, this work should be based on an ecumenical effort.
Mexico
The Technology and Superior Studies Institute (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico launched a program in which Latin Americans with visual disabilities can pursue higher education with their school via the Internet. Scholarships are available. The project founders and directors say that Mexico does not have facilities that are geared toward persons with disabilities, particularly visual ones, to pursue higher education, whether undergraduate or postgraduate. This is the first step to providing educational opportunities within the school to better the quality of life for disabled people. More information on this program can be found on the program's website.
Peru
CONFENADIP, The National Confederation of Disabled People of Peru, through its website at www.confenadip.cjb.net , provides information about legislation in the Peruvian Congress related to disability issues. For more information, contact: Luis Miguel del Aguila Umeres, Vice Presidente, Confederacion Nacional de Discapacitados del Peru - CONFENADIP; E-mail: confenadip@confenadip.cjb.net.
Portugal
A Conference on "The Information Society and Visual Impairment" (ConferÍncia "Sociedade da Informação e Deficiência Visual") was held on November 19, FIL - Parque das Nações. This conference focused on societal inclusion of people with visual disabilities through access to information technology resources. Speakers at this event included Sessão de Abertura of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Tim Crammer, past president of the U.S. National Federation for the Blind. For information about the proceedings please contact: ACAPO, Susana Venâncio, Rua de S. José n. 86 1. andar, 1150-324 Lisboa, Portugal. Telf: 21 342 20 01 / 21 342 55 42, Fax: 21 342 85 18, e-mail: rp.dn@acapo.pt
Spain
José Luis Vázquez-Baquero, director of the Clinical and Social Psychiatry Research Unit of the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital is now coordinating the International Functional Classification for Disability and Health. This international document has been ratified by 191 countries and states "everyone is disabled in some way during one period of their life, because man is limited by humanness. However, limitations do not have to be defined the same way as sickness, because it is all a part of nature". This document was supported in part by the World Health Organization and is now considered to be the new international "standard" for the description of disability and health, with the aim of revolutionizing our concept of disability for the future, both for psychiatric and physical disabilities. The document also makes the distinction that people are not disabled; rather, they may have some disability.
Servimedia, a Spanish news agency has recently launched a website dealing with disability issues. You may access this new site at web www.solidaridaddigital.com or at solidaridaddigital.discapnet.es. The news site focuses predominantly on happenings within Spain but it also contains international news related to disability.
The Galician Confederation of People with Disability now has a homepage (www.cogami.es) where you can find resources on disability issues particular to Spain, as well as news. One issue that has been a focus lately is the plan to remove architectural barriers in the city of Santiago de Campostela while maintaining its architectural and historical heritage. The website is available in Spanish, Gallego and English.
The Health Studies Institute of Catalunia, Spain (Instituto de Estudios de la Salut, de la Genralitat de Catalunya) offers courses/training on issues of sexuality that concern people with disabilities. The courses, offered throughout the year, vary but are centered around the idea that sexual action and the display of emotion is a right for all people, including the disabled, and can be a means of integrating disabled individuals into the larger society. The coursework is geared toward educating people and raising awareness of these issues, including psychiatrists, social workers, and educators More information on the courses can be found by calling (34) 93 457 24 29. You may find information about costs and schedules on their website: www.ictnet.es/+iesp/discap/portada.htm. Costs of receiving the certificate in this field depending on the region of the world in which one resides. The site also provides links to other media resources dealing with sexuality issues.
Asociación de Difusión de la Comunidad Sorda, founded in 1999, is committed to teaching the deaf and the deaf-blind European languages. Their website has an e-mail list that provides subscribers with journal articles and other resources pertaining to their area of study. If you would rather not get the articles via e-mail, the website also provides links to the journals which can be found online. For more information about their efforts, write to them at Marqués de Sentmenat 37, local 808014 Barcelona, España or fax or e-mail them at +34 93 405 23 58, difusord@terra.es. Their website is located at http://www.difusord.org. All resources from this Asociación de Difusión de la Comunidad Sorda are available in print that is easily read by persons with visual disabilities as well as in Braille.
Venezuela
The Venezuelan Foundation to Cure Paralisis (Fundación Venezolana Pro-Cura de la Parálisis) is working hard to make parks in Venezuela accessible for children with disabilities. If you would like to aid in their efforts by informing them of parks that are accessible and the characteristics of these parks, send an e-mail to elvira@telcel.net.ve from Paso-a-Paso.
Resources in Venezuela
www.pasoapaso.com (an information bulletin specific to social integration)
You can find a list of events that may be of interest regarding social integration in November at http://www.pasoapaso.com.ve/cartelera.htm For information regarding education on diversity issues and integration within schools, visit these links: http://www.pasoapaso.com.ve/gemas_27.htm, http://www.pasoapaso.com.ve/gemas_28.htm
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