Independent Living Briefly

UK Disability Rights Commission wants people to have the right to live independently
BBC News Online recently reported that the Disability Rights Commission in the UK is urging the government to guarantee disabled people the right to live independently, rather than being forced into institutional care. The article covers the movement in the UK towards control by the individual over personal care for persons with disabilities needing assistance to live independently. Read the article online.

Slovaks with intellectual or mental disabilities denied identity by Slovak government
Inclusion Europe recently reported that disabled persons with intellectual or disabilities or mental disabilities are denied the right to an identity card, because they can be declared legally incompetent. If a person is declared legally incompetent, he/she is deprived of a legal instrument and essentially has no right to personal identity. According to Inclusion Europe and the Association for Help to the Mentally Handicapped Persons of Slovak Republic, this is a breach of an individual's fundamental human rights. Disability groups in the Slovak Republic continue to work towards changing this practice, but so far, there has been little response from the government. To download Inclusion Europe's newsletter with the entire article, please visit the Inclusion Europe website and click on the October/November 2003 issue.

New Australian Federation of Disability Organizations
The inaugural board meeting of the Directors of the Australian Federation of Disability Organizations was held in Canberra in January 2004. The Federation's goal is to champion the rights of people with disabilities in Australia and help them to participate fully in community life. As the newly formed national body funded and recognized by government as the peak body in Australia representing people with disabilities, replacing the National Caucus of Disability Organizations, the Federation is unique, because it is the first cross-disability national body in Australia whose Constitution specifies that all its Directors and staff must be people with disabilities. Founded by members from the Australian Association of the Deaf, Blind Citizens Australia, Brain Injury Association, Deafness Forum Australia, National Council on Intellectual Disability, National Ethnic Disability Alliance, National Indigenous Disability Network, Physical Disability Council of Australia and Women with Disabilities Australia, membership will be opened up to other national consumer-based disability bodies following the 2004 Annual General Meeting. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.disfed.org.au.

Pacific Human Rights Awards won by disability groups for the first time
For the first time in the history of the Pacific Human Rights Awards, two out of six awards were won by disability organizations. The annual Pacific Human Rights Awards are offered by the Regional Rights Resource Team, a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project. The Fiji Disabled People's Association won the first prize under the Fiji category while Disability Promotions and Advocacy of Vanuatu was first runner-up under the regional category. Both organizations are member national assemblies of Disabled Peoples' International. Read more about the awardees on DPI's website.

DPI Asia-Pacific Regional Training Seminar held in Nepal
Disabled Peoples' International's 21st Regional Training Seminar was held in Kathmandu, Nepal in February 2004 in Kathmandu as part of the JICA Third Country Training Program. One participant each from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, East Timor, Myanmar, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kiribati and Bhutan was invited to participate in the Capacity Building Training/Seminar for People With Disabilities In Asia Pacific Region [CBTS], with the theme "Towards Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for People with Disabilities." The 50 delegates from 28 countries and more than 50 local participants attended the Training Seminar and wrote the Kathmandu Declaration. Each Regional country also presented a report with the situation of the disability movement and disabled people in their countries. Read these country reports online. Read a report about the training seminar and download the Declaration, please visit and scroll down to Nepal: Regional Training Seminar.

Building an Inclusive Development Community: a new manual on including people with disabilities in international development by MIUSA
Mobility International USA (MIUSA) has published "Building an Inclusive Development Community: A Manual on Including People with Disabilities in International Development Programs," which is a toolkit for development agencies and others concerned with the inclusion of people with disabilities at all levels and in all areas of the international development process. The manual includes expert opinion, techniques and guidelines, resource lists, and examples of best practices from around the world. Topics covered include: accessibility issues; inclusion of disability in programs and service; budgeting for inclusion; international policy; disability and development from regional and international perspectives; Disaster and emergency relief; gender and disability; community based rehabilitation (CBR); school inclusion; and microfinance. More information.

Mobility International USA seeks success stories for upcoming publication highlighting inclusive development projects
MIUSA is preparing to publish a compilation of stories that highlight practices that have successfully included people with disabilities in development projects as a companion to their manual, Building an Inclusive Development Community.MIUSA wants to find as many examples of accomplishment and achievement as possible and is asking for collaboration in this project from organizations that have had successful experiences in this field. They want both vignettes and more in-depth case studies but would like all pieces to be written in informal colloquial language that avoids excessive use of professional jargon and especially inspirational field stories as well as pieces that relate to an exceptional organizational commitment to including people with disabilities in the development process. MIUSA wants representation from projects happening all around the world as well as from many different development areas. (Agriculture, micro finance, education etc.), and pieces should be between 250 and 2000 words. If you would like to be a part of this publication, please send an email to intern@miusa.org. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2004.

New online library: Literacy for Independent Living
Literacy for Independent Living (LIL) is the first bilingual (English and French), centralized online library that houses literacy information and resources useful for people working with adult learners with disabilities, including information on assistive devices and disability awareness. LIL is housed at the web site of the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centers (CAILC), funded by the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS), Human Resources Development Canada, and has current information from Canada and around the world on literacy and disability issues that respect the Independent Living Philosophy. CAILC's goal is to continue the development of LIL and encourage more networking between the literacy and disability communities so that the needs of adult learners with disabilities will be realized. Explore the free online literacy and disability resources of Literacy for Independent Living (LIL) at http://www.cailc.ca/lil/

Disability Studies Quarterly announces changes to journal and call for papers
The Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ), the scholarly journal of the Society for Disability Studies (SDS), recently announced its new web location at http://www.dsq-sds.org, hosted by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) server. Founded by disability studies pioneer Irving Kenneth Zola, the 24-year-old Disability Studies Quarterly is a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities, disability rights advocates, creative writers, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities. DSQ is committed to developing theoretical and practical knowledge about disability and to promoting the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society. In addition to launching the new website, the editors are strengthening the journals peer reviewing process, expanding the book and video review section to add an emphasis on popular commercial films and theatre, and guaranteeing the highest level of online journal accessibility for blind and visually impaired readers.

DSQ is calling for papers in the following categories: original research for peer review, research in progress, pilot studies, commentary/essay, fiction, and poetry. Letters to the editors, news from the disability studies field, and calls for papers are also welcomed. For more information about the journal and the call for papers, please visit http://www.dsq-sds.org.

Making homeownership a reality for Americans with disabilities
"New Beginnings: Making Homeownership a Reality for People with Disabilities" reviews programs and resources available to assist people with disabilities in the US build their assets and pursue independence via homeownership. Read this article published in a recent issue of the National Housing Institute's Shelterforce Online.

The Strength Coach Radio Show
Greg Smith, host and founder of the nationally syndicated radio program, On A Roll Talk Radio on Life & Disability, has inspired and motivated people with disabilities across America with his weekly Sunday evening program. In January, Smith launched a new radio venture targeting a general-audience, "The Strength Coach Radio Show," broadcast by the Radio America Network. According to Smith, The Strength Coach Radio Show™ is a "feast of positive mental nourishment for listeners on Sunday evenings as they establish the mindset to take on the challenges of another week." More information.

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