Demonstrations on disability rights concerns are taking place all over the globe, from Niamey to Boston to Melbourne to Beirut to Tokyo to Washington, D.C. This awareness raising approach seems to be successful in gaining widespread media coverage, which at the very least these days, thanks to the web, means that news of the event will be conveyed worldwide. In just the last six weeks, disabilityworld staff have learned about the following peaceful, but forceful demonstrations:

• On August 17 in Niger, according to BBC News, several hundred disabled people staged a protest in the capital, Niamey. They gathered outside the Assembly building to protest broken promises by politicians who, most recently, had reneged on support for a national Day of Disabled Persons.

• On September 2, a small but determined group of experienced civil rights advocates representing "Not Dead Yet," blocked traffic in Boston, USA. They were there to protest the meeting of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, a group they have identified as developing policies that endanger people with disabilities. A full story by Laura Hershey can be found at the Advocacy section of the web site www.cando.com

• On September 13 around 100 people demonstrated in Melbourne, Australia against that city's inaccessible trams and a full story appears in the Access & Technology section of this issue of disabilityworld.

• On September 24 the New York Times reported that about 2000 women marched that Sunday in Beirut, Lebanon for women's rights and a halt to sexual discrimination and violence. Organized by the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women, the march included women of all ages, including those in wheelchairs, who carried Lebanese flags and banners, singing popular songs asking men to listen to the experiences of women.

• On October 1 in the crowded Shinjuku train station in Tokyo, Japan many disabled persons and their allies demonstrated for the 13^th year in a row against that nation's limited response to the need for accessible public transportation. The demonstration, organized by Disabled Peoples International÷Japan, pointed out that more than 70% of Japan's train stations are still inaccessible. A full story can be read at www.japantimes.co.jplcgi-bin/getarticle.p15?fl200000928a2.htm

• On October 3 the U.S. disability rights community organized a "March for Justice" in Washington, D.C., USA to coincide with the opening session of the Supreme Court. The main concern is to call national attention to upcoming cases that will attempt to define upon how much latitude the 50 U.S. states have to interpret their responsibilities to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court is expected to hear arguments October 11 and issue a decision in early 2001.

Who were those disabled speakers at the U.S. political conventions in July & August?

It's difficult to assess whether the disabled individuals featured at the U.S. Republican and Democratic political conventions in July and August were being paraded to score points in a diversity competition by each party or as more serious symbols of outreach and inroads achieved. Whichever is the reality, some milestones were reached: Windy Smith of Tennessee, a 26 year old woman with Down Syndrome, gave a short but poignant speech the night of Governor George Bush's nomination in July in Philadelphia.. She noted her financial contribution to his campaign and read her letter of support, receiving a standing ovation.

In August, at the Democratic Party convention another "disability first" was achieved when 14 year old Kyle Glozier, who uses both a wheelchair and a voice synthesizer, challenged the delegates to shift resources towards community-based services and away from institutions such as nursing homes. Several other disabled speakers were featured at both conventions and political analyses issued by the disability rights community interpreted the prominence of disabled spokespersons as evidence of its growing influence on a national basis.

And this just in from the White House

On September 21, U.S. President Clinton gave a well-received speech on "Digital Opportunities for Americans with Disabilities," in Flint, Michigan. Referring to the Olympics, he told the story of Terence Parkin of South Africa, a deaf athlete who had just won a silver medal in the men's 200 meter breast stroke. The President described the adaptation for the athlete who cannot hear the starting buzzer: "He can now watch for a yellow starting light"by installing this simplest of technology, the officials gave this determined and gifted athlete his shot at glory"aren't you glad he got the chance to race?" Request the entire speech from jfa@jfanow.org
 
 

The Sydney Paralympics et al

Without doubt, the premiere international disability media event for the next month is the Paralympics and unprecedented resources and public attention are being focused on this October 18-29 competition. Most of the attention is on the sports competition that, for the first time, will be given substantial daily television coverage from the European Broadcast Union, Japan (NHK-TV) and the USA via www.Wemedia.com

However, serious attention is also being focused on allied events, such as the October 13-29 Arts Festival, being organized on the theme, "Invincible Summer," and featuring disabled and non-disabled artists from over 20 countries. The predictable, but heated dialogue about the appropriate status of the athletes who "perform" in the demonstration events (wheelchair races) for the Olympics is also taking place and an exceptionally well-written article is referenced in the September "Quote of the Month" in this issue of disabilityworld. Articles and press releases about the Paralympic events can be read at www.sydney.paralympics.org
 
 

The Senate of Canada & Disability

The first annual celebration of people with disabilities in Canada will take place in late October, sponsored by the Canadian Senate. Planned activities include an October 26-27 information fair, a November 1 partnership day where Senators will exchange experiences with disabled individuals, and a November 14 recognition event called, "Making a Difference." Details from Andre Reny via email renya@sen.parl.gc.ca
 
 

Finally, an honest conference description?

Reading our way around the web we noticed the following description of a European Disability Forum meeting: "The Conference will be addressed by the European

Commissioner responsible for Social Affairs and Employment"and figureheads of the employment and disability fields."

That's Not Funny

In his September 14 column in the New York Times, columnist William Safire managed to slip in a reference to a new protest group, DAM (Mothers Against Dyslexia).