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What's New/disabilitybuzz

dot.commerce & disability is what's new new for sure. In recent months leading disability advocates & wordsmiths have been cyber-stolen from their non-profit perches by the new for-profit disability.coms. So far we have heard about: Mikki Lam of New York's Just One Break, joining WeMedia.com and writer Laura Hershey, most recently of Denver's CIL, becoming advocacy editor at Spinewire.com. John Kemp, Executive Director of VSA (formerly known as Very Special Arts), has now joined HalfthePlanet.com, formerly known as Adaptz. All of these relatively new disability portals on the web offer a variety of services and content with the objective of defining and capturing the disability marketplace. Together with WeMedia.com, these portals feature partners from both the business and non-profit sides of the disability arena, and offer services ranging from free email & bulletin boards to news, online magazines & research.

Many of the disabilityworld founding team members have been in the news in the last few months. Project Director Kathy Martinez of WID in California has been named to the board of US Women Connect, a group of influential women's organizations dedicated to implementing the goals of the UN 1995 Beijing Conference, known as the Platform for Action"".Lex Frieden, director of the Independent Living Research Utilization program at TIRR in Houston, organized the February ceremonies for the George Bush Presidential Awards, which honored (among others) Joshua Malinga of Zimbabwe, Chairman of Disabled People's International. The annual awards herald those who have done the most to advance goals of the ADA, hallmark legislation of the George Bush Administration"".Early in March, Rosangela Berman-Bieler, director of the Inter-American Institute on Disability, was part of the Organization of American States (OAS) team that won a World Bank sponsored competition for innovative development projects. The team will train volunteers to offer high technology training and solutions to entrepreneurs and job seekers with disabilities in the Latin American region (we hear Rosangela stole the show when World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn had to come down off the dais to congratulate her since there was no ramp on-site).""The Ralf Hotchkiss Chair in Appropriate Technology for Disability in the College of Science & Engineering has been announced by San Francisco State University. According to the University, this recognition of Ralf Hotchkiss, founder of Whirlwind Wheelchair International is " the first academic chair dedicated to the intersection of disability, design of appropriate technology and engineering from a human perspective."

Recommended Conference: international reports are again a major part of the Society for Disability Studies annual conference, June 29-July 2 in Chicago. Hot topics include: sessions on disability culture and politics in Germany, from the 1930's through the contemporary scene; disability studies programs in Japan, Canada & Eastern Europe; a session on Peter Singer (most likely person to have his Green Card revoked, if the disability community had a vote); and a sexuality session featuring a report from South Africa on disability sex & films. (Program now on web at www.uic.edu/orgs/sds)

Go Grrrls: some encouraging news from the distaff side is that Kicki Nordstrom of Sweden, who has put the World Blind Union women's projects on the global map, as of right now is running for the WBU presidency unopposed".Harilyn Rousso of the U.S., pioneer in projects to support young women and girls with disabilities, received in March a WiseWoman award from the prestigious Center for Women Policy Studies in Washington, D.C"".All during March the Disability Caucus has been working the halls of the United Nations to convince the issues groups planning the Beijing+5 event to insert disability language into the documents. The Disability Caucus is an informal grouping of the international disability organizations in consultative status with the UN: Disabled People's International, Inclusion International, Rehabilitation International, World Blind Union and World Federation of the Deaf".Members of the Caucus will be conducting a three-day training for young women with disabilities in late May to provide background information and skills development in how to integrate disability concerns in to UN agenda and events. Details on training, contact Kathy Martinez: kathy@wid.org

Reading around the web: when clicking in search of some specific information, it can be impossible to stop and explore some gem unearthed by diligent disability researchers. We will go back (we always say) , but, then"This monthly feature will remind all of us to pause, and enjoy some disability history.

Louis Braille÷revolutionary, but, who was he?
Louis Braille (1809-1852) has just been written up in wemagazine.com as one of the most revolutionary figures in France in this period. Authors Anisio Correi & Vicki Ward describe in evocative style how many hurdles had to be overcome before the sighted professors and administrators looked objectively at the Braille system and realized that this system could be adopted widely by both consumer and professionals.