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Há 7 meses
20090723
Blogue em destaque
"Uma vida em Timor, mais precisamente na quarta montanha à esquerda, quem vem de Dili... perdida algures numa vila chamada Aileu, Aisirimou"
É com as palavras anteriores que Clarisse apresenta o seu blogue ao qual se recomendam visitas!
Imagem em Novas mafarriquices (blogue da Clarisse)E deixo um apelo, expresso no blogue referido:
"Ajudar Timor:
Para ajudar os projectos do G.A.S.Porto em Timor-Leste, poderá efectuar um donativo, consultando o site http://www.gasporto.pt/ OU através do número 962 256 450
Não perca a venda de produtos artesanais. Consulte http://clarisse-ajudaatimor.blogspot.com/
A respectiva compra reverte totalmente a favor dos projectos do G.A.S.Porto em Timor-Leste."
20090715
Do you or your organisation have an interest in DISABILITY?
"The Timor Leste Disability Working Group (DWG) is holding it’s 1st Annual General Meeting:
The DWG has a role of co-ordination, and acts in a professional advisory capacity to policy makers on issues affecting the welfare of people with disabilities in TL.
The DWG has a role of co-ordination, and acts in a professional advisory capacity to policy makers on issues affecting the welfare of people with disabilities in TL.
DATE: Tuesday 21st July 2009
TIME: 08:15 – 17:00
PLACE: Joao Paul II, Comoro
WHO: Both government and NGO sectors or individuals with an interest in disability sector
RSVP/ INFORMATION: 3310373 or 7275618 | dwgtimorleste@gmail.com
This event is supported by UNMIT Human Rights and Justice transition Department, Disabled People Organisation (DPO) Timor Leste, Camara Enterprise, ASSERT and some private donors.
--
Best Regards
Dulce Da Cunha
ASSERT Country Director
+ 670 7275618"
This message was distributed via the east-timor news list.
20090714
Timor Leste Disability Working Group | Annual General Meeting
Disability Working Group to hold its Annual General Meeting
The Timor Leste Disability Working Group is holding it's first Annual General Meeting on Tuesday the 21st of July at Joao Paul II, Comoro, with registration starting at 8:15am.
People with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups of people throughout the world. They are more likely to be sexually or physically abused, and have reduced access to healthcare and education when compared with the general population. It is estimated that approximately 10% of people throughout the world have a disability.
Timor Leste 2004 Census data reveals that 12% of households have a household member living with some form of disability. Currently in Timor Leste, services and opportunities for people with disabilities are extremely limited. Timor Leste is one of the countries yet to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Without significant development and co-ordination within the disability sector, life for people with disabilities in Timor Leste will only become increasingly difficult.
The Timor Leste Disability Working Group (DWG), is an umbrella group made up of national and international representatives from both government and NGO sectors. It has a role of co-ordination, and acts in a professional advisory capacity to policy makers on issues affecting the welfare of people with disabilities in Timor Leste. The aim of the DWG is to bring together all people involved in the disability sector and advocate to ensure the development of a comprehensive national approach to rehabilitation, equalisation of opportunities and prevention of disabilities.
Anyone working on disability related issues or programs, or with a particular interest in disability are encouraged to attend the AGM. Nominations for a new executive committee are now open. For further information please contact: dwgtimorleste@gmail.com
July 2009
The Organising Committee For the AGM of DWG TL" (Dulce Da Cunha, ASSERT Country Director, + 670 7275618)
[This message was distributed via the east-timor news list. For info on how to subscribe send a blank e-mail to info@etan.org. To support ETAN see http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm ]
20090629
'Special children who make my day '
Legenda: Nipa Bhuptani, right, the head of the Autism Department of Future Centre For Special Needs. Philip Cheung / The National
"Wednesdays, Nipa Bhuptani concedes, can be a bit boring.
This is the day the children from the autism department she heads at Abu Dhabi’s Future Centre for Special Needs are taken out to a mall. So Mrs Bhuptani is left with the paperwork in her tiny office beside the classrooms.
“When I am an hour into work, I start to think, ‘This is too quiet’,” she says. “It is the most dull day because they’re all gone.”
It is 18 years since Mrs Bhuptani, 43, moved to the UAE capital from her native India. For more than 10 years she worked in mainstream kindergartens but finally decided that she needed “something more”.
“I’ve found that in what I’m doing,” she says now. “I don’t know why I’m here, but I know that I love doing this job. My job is a challenge every day, and I need that.”
Most days, the challenge involves managing and motivating the eight staff who look after the 12 children, aged five to 14, in the autism department.
It is not easy work. Children with autism tend to have difficulty communicating and poor social skills, and some can be aggressive. This makes it difficult for the teachers, teaching assistants, speech and language specialists and occupational therapists whom Mrs Bhuptani supervises.
The key, she says, is to set small goals each day and celebrate when they are achieved.
“We make a big deal of any success that we see,” she says. “Motivating staff is a very important part because this job can take a lot out of you.”
On a typical day, Mrs Bhuptani arrives shortly before 8am, when the children come in. She sits with her staff and discusses each child and the progress he or she making. After lessons start, she spends much of her time in the classroom with the children and coaching the teachers.
If a teacher is not doing things right, she says, “I have to do it for her so she can do it. It’s completely hands-on, and it makes me stay in the classroom a lot.”
Mrs Bhuptani is a board-certified associate behaviour analyst, a title she gained after several years of studying and 1,000 hours of experience. She employs the techniques of applied behaviour analysis, taking ideas derived from experiments and using them to improve individual behaviour.
For the past year at the centre she has been employing the Competent Learner Model, a scientific regime that uses applied behaviour analysis to teach individuals with special needs. Mrs Bhuptani trained in the technique in California.
This programme, she says, has had “a lot of success” in improving behaviour and is being expanded at the centre.
At the start of the year there were many children with aggressive or self-harming behaviour, she says. One child would hit a person on average every 30 minutes, even cracking someone’s rib once.
“At the end of the year we brought it down to very, very low intensity,” she says, explaining that children would be taught to say “I must keep my hands to myself”, and ask for things appropriately.
“These are the rewards.”
After the children leave, at 1.15pm, Mrs Bhuptani stays behind for a couple of hours, doing more paperwork. She often receives visitors in the hope that raising the centre’s profile will encourage financial support. The centre relies on charitable contributions as well as fees and, because there is insufficient provision throughout the country, there is a waiting list for places. The need for more centres like hers, she says, is “vast”.
“I can be with the CEO of a company one minute, and the next minute be in the toilet with a child who’s having a tantrum,” she says, laughing. “I have to jump from one thing to the next quite quickly.”
Counselling parents “to let them not give up on their child” is another duty. Autism can be hard for them to come to terms with, Mrs Bhuptani says, because a child may look normal and be capable of impressive feats, such as completing a complex puzzle, yet be unable, say, to ask for a biscuit.
“It’s not like other special needs, where all their skills are below a certain level. It may be patchy,” she says. “Some will repeat the whole Shrek dialogue with the exact intonation, but if you ask a question such as: “What did you do yesterday?’ he won’t be able to answer,” she says, referring to the computer-animated comedy film. “That’s something parents find very difficult to cope with.”
Mrs Bhuptani, originally from Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, is married to a banker, Ajay, and has a 16-year-old son, Arjun, who does not have special needs.
While she says being away from family in India is one of the few downsides of life in the UAE – she visits her mother in Ahmedabad only twice a year – she has strong family connections in the Emirates. Five years ago, her younger brother Nilesh Gandhi, married with two sons, moved to Dubai, and she often visits him at the weekend.
“We also have a lot of family spending time with us here,” Mrs Bhuptani says. “My husband’s dad lives a couple of months with us each year. The house is always full of people.”
Mr and Mrs Bhuptani have remained in the UAE because of the quality of life and education, and the benefits this has brought their son. Other than the separation from her family in India, she says, “being here fulfils everything”.
Mrs Bhuptani believes that living in the UAE has given her son, born in Abu Dhabi, a unique outlook: “My son was fortunate to be born here and to go to school here because from the first year he met so many different nationalities and cultures.
“I would ask him where his friends were from and he would say: ‘From Abu Dhabi. Everybody is from Abu Dhabi.’ He believes it doesn’t matter where you’re from. That’s the biggest thing we’ve been able to give our son from being here. He sees the world very differently from us.” (Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC | dbardsley@thenational.ae)
... some want to speak but can't, some want to hear but cannot and there are some who want to ...
"My inspiration come from these children. I see them every day, some want to speak but can't, some want to hear but cannot and there are some who want to walk but cannot. [...]" (Fiji Times Online)
Teaching Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings
Imagem: Capa | Teaching Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings Embracing Diversity: Toolkit for Creating Inclusive, Learning-Friendly Environments Specialized Booklet, 3
Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2009, 109 p.
ISBN 978-92-9223-243-6 (Print version)
ISBN 978-92-9223-244-3 (Electronic version)
Download PDF 2.3MB
* Defining “Disabilities”
* Barriers to Learning, Development and Participation and How to Overcome Them
* Accessible School Environments – Universal Design Principles
* Hearing Impairment
* Visual Impairment
* Physical Impairment - Motor and Mobility Impairments
* Developmental / Intellectual Impairment
* Specific Learning Difficulties
* Other Impairments and Disabilities
* Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
* Deafblindness
* Multiple Impairments
* Where to Learn More – Internet Resources
* Contacts for Publications
* Glossary
Related Link:
'Just published: regional reports on adult learning and education'
Imagem: © UNESCO/K. Anis"Four regional reports on adult learning and literacy have been published focusing on the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa between 1997 to 2007. These regional reports will inform discussions at the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) to take place end of 2009 in Brazil.
Compiled by UNESCO Member States, the four reports include national information on the situation of adult learning and education since the fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) in 1997.
The Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) was to be held 19-22 May 2009 but was postponed by the Brazilian government due to health security concerns about Influenza A (H1N1). The new dates for the conference will be confirmed shortly." (UNESCO | 24-06-2009)
Related links
United Nations Human Rights Council recognises maternal mortality as human rights concern
Governments commit to promoting women and girls health and rights
Author(s)/Editor(s): Human Rights Council
Publication date: 17 June 2009
Language: English
17 JUNE 2009 | Geneva - The Human Rights Council, at its eleventh regular session, has adopted a landmark resolution on ‘Preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights’ in which governments express grave concern for the unacceptably high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, acknowledge that this is a human rights issue and commit to enhance their efforts at the national and international level to protect the lives of women and girls worldwide. Over 70 UN member states co-sponsored this resolution, led by Colombia and New Zealand.
20090615
A palavra a Paul Stewart via Friends of Balibo: um relato impressionante!
Guitars to Timor-Leste, Five to Balibo
From Paul Stewart
"WHEN my band mate Gil Santos lost his father in the 1975 Indonesian invasion all he was left with was his Dad's ``soccer ball and guitar.''
It was fitting really because music is such a vital part of life too many Timorese as we found out on a recent return visit to East Timor where Gil and I distributed 30 donated guitars to groups of blind, disabled and struggling musicians.
Giving a kid a guitar in Timor is like giving them a car, such is the joy and wide eyed rapture at such a gift.
Amongst the 30 guitars, we thought it only fitting to take five guitars up to the Balibo House to donate one for each of the journalists lost there in 1975.
It was a great trip and house manager Rogerio gladly accepted the instruments.
Once again, though any visit to East Timor only opens you up to other worthy fund raising tasks,
For example in Dili we met the Alma Nuns who look after the disabled kids of Timor Leste.
Unfortunately for the Sisters their work load is an equation that just does not add up.
Afterall, there are hundreds of disabled children, four nuns and they own only one tiny motor scooter.
The spirit may be willing but it just does not add up for the ALMA nuns.
The four nuns of this religious order, inspired by the work of Mother Teresa, fight a constant battle against the numbers in their inspirational work looking after the disabled children of the former Portuguese colony who are described in social terms as ``the lowest of the low.’’
Raising a disabled child is hard enough to contemplate in well to do Australia but in one of the world’s newest and poorest nations it is just a nightmare.
The nuns of the ALMA order are attempting to help the parents of disabled children with their help but because of their limited means of transport they just cannot get around to visiting enough kids.
ALMA is an acronym for " Asossiasi Lembaga Misionaris Awam", which means Association of Lay Missionaries for the poor and the disabled).
The Nuns who consecrate themselves completely to Christ and the Kingdom of God, serve only the most disadvantaged children (the poor, the abandoned, the disabled) and live amongst them in togetherness in the community.
The sisters task is to help and to empower the abandoned, poor and disabled helping along the way to change the mentality of the community towards them.
They are under the jurisdiction of Bishop Dili and their mission has been operation in for three years.
At the homes they do visit the Sisters perform physiotherapy on the disabled children and then instruct the parents of the disabled child to do the same.
Their work is showing great results.
On a recent visit around the back blocks of Dili with the Sisters I met a young chap called `Lorenzo’’ who could now sit in a chair and perform tasks his crippled body just would not let him perform until he started therapy with the nuns.
Unfortunately, the Sisters say they cannot keep up with the huge demand for their services.
East Timorese Alma Nun Sister Justine said the order had only the use of one tiny motor scooter.
``If we had a four wheel car with a tray we could do a lot, lot more work,’’ she sighed.
``We could even get out into the countryside to visit the really disadvantaged disabled children.
``It would be a miracle if Australian Christians could help us get a vehicle. Not brand new just one to help us with our work.’’
A leading East Timorese Government official Joaquim Santos has said he would purchase a good vehicle for the nuns from a credible Dili second hand car dealer.
``We would just need about $10,000 in funds,’’ he said.
``While the world is going through tough economic times and money is tight for everyone these kids need a lot more help than most.’’
The Jesuit’s have come to the party agreeing to get funds to the nuns via their Dili office.
Those wishing to making a donation should send funds to ``ALMA Nuns East Timor’’ c/o The Jesuit Mission, P.O. Box 193 (31 West Street)
North Sydney NSW 2059 AUSTRALIA" ( )
20090614
INFO: Inclusive Education
"Inclusive education is based on the right of all learners to a quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. Focusing particularly on vulnerable and marginalized groups, it seeks to develop the full potential of every individual.
The ultimate goal of inclusive quality education is to end all forms of discrimination and foster social cohesion.
20090611
World Day Against Child Labour
"Planetary World Service (www.planetaryworldservice.org) is creating a weekly service assignment movie clip, with the hope to inspire the global community to use the power of their consciousness to help co-create positive change in this world. This week's assignment (June 11-17,2009: World Day Against Child Labour) " (IAMUniversity)
20090608
Tão perto de Timor!!! Um excelente exemplo :-)
Copyright © 2007 - 2009 Rudely Interrupted
"Rudely Interrupted are one of Australias truly unique indie rock acts. 5 out of the 6 members share a range of both physical and intellectual disabilities (Blindness, Deafness, Aspergers, Autism and Down Syndrome) but most importantly, a common interest in self expression through music. Their achievements, both personal and professional to date are extraordinary. [...]" (About Rudely Interrupted)
Site oficial da banda: http://www.rudelyinterrupted.com/index.php
20090605
20090526
'Desafio' muito interessante!
By Terri Mauro, About.com
"A child classified for special education these days may learn in an out-of-district specialized school, a self-contained classroom, a resource room, an inclusion class, or some combination. Describe the experience your child has had with these placements -- the successes and the failures -- and let's create a resource to help other parents figure out where works for what. Explain Your Experience" (Special Needs Children)
20090521
Celebration of World Day of Cultural Diversity (21 May)
Imagem: UNESCOPRESS | Media Advisory No. 2009 –31 | 19-05-2009)"Two famous calligraphers* from different traditions will intertwine their writing to celebrate World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May) at UNESCO. Among many other examples, Master Fan Zeng (China) and Jassan Makaremi (Iran) provide a poetic illustration of learning how to “better know each other and live together”.
The celebration of this day is an opportunity to “reaffirm UNESCO’s constitutional mandate to preserve the ‘independence, integrity and fruitful diversity of the cultures to its Member States’ and to promote the ‘democratic principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect’ through education, the sciences, culture and communication,” declared Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO, in his message for World Day.
One of the main challenges of the 21st century is to build diversity from differences while cultivating the complexity, and above all the uniqueness, of humankind. World Day makes it possible to deepen our thinking on the values of cultural diversity, “common heritage of humanity” and “source of exchange, innovation and creativity”. It should be “recognized and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations”, as proclaimed in Article 1 of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted unanimously on 2 November 2001.
To celebrate World Day, all are invited to participate in the International Festival of Cultural Diversity (11 to 22 May), organized by UNESCO in Paris and all around the world." (UNESCO)
Entrevista a José Da Silva Monteiro (Coordenador da Educação Inclusiva) em Timor-Leste
Nota pessoal:
este blogue é recente e pretende, fundamentalmente, constituir uma base de dados razoável sobre o processo de implementação e desenvolvimento de uma política educativa inclusiva em Timor-Leste (ideal expresso na Constituição e formalizado na Lei de Bases da Educação da RDTL. Dado o seu passado recente e sendo fruto de um projecto de investigação iniciado em 2008, é natural que se vão mostrando documentos, acontecimentos e entrevistas - como aquela que se passa a apresentar (2008) - com algum tempo.
Para facilitar a catalogação, este tipo de 'entrada'/'post' será assinalado cem 'Etiquetas'/'Tags) com a data original.
Finalmente, considero actual e muito pertinente no contexto actual a leitura da entrevista da:
EENET Asia Interview
"During the recent “Regional Preparatory Conference on Inclusive Education: Major Policy Issues in the Asia and Pacific Region” in Bali, Indonesia, EENET Asia met with Mr. José Da Silva Monteiro, the Coordinator of Inclusive Education for Timor-Leste to ask him about the development of inclusive education in his country. These are exciting and challenging times for Timor-Leste, an independent nation only since 2002, which is struggling to emerge from several decades of conflict. In the following interview Mr. Da Silva Monteiro discusses the future of inclusive education in Timor-Leste.
How did inclusive education come to be recognised as important for Timor-Leste?
This is our background, our country has been twenty-four years under occupation by Indonesia and before that, 450 years under occupation by the Portuguese. Many children in our country have not yet had access to education. My country is a new country and there has not been enough time for us to develop, especially in the education area. Now the question is how to develop inclusive education which involves many children; those that have not had education, children with disabilities and others that have stayed at home… how can they access education? So this programme is important now and the Ministry of Education in our country is strongly in favour of developing inclusive education.What challenges do you have in terms of developing inclusive education in Timor-Leste?
The main challenges at the moment are lack of facilities and lack of human resources. In the future it will be how to organise the inclusion of all children in education.What is the current situation with education and schools in Timor-Leste for children with disabilities and from different ethnic groups?
At the moment many children with disabilities are accessing school and education, but not yet all children. In the future inclusive education will be for all… this is good news for everyone.You mentioned human resources as being a challenge. Were you talking about human resources inside the Ministry of Education or do you also mean the teachers that are working with the children?
I am thinking about human resources in terms of getting good teachers for inclusive education, teachers that know the best methods for the teaching and learning process. Also funding is an issue. Although I have many plans, I have very little funds.Do you already have plans for training teachers in Timor-Leste in inclusive education…about teaching all children?
This we still lack. We want to develop these plans.Are there issues, other than disability, affecting inclusion in Timor-Leste?
Language is an issue. The first language in our country is Tetum, the national language and the second is Portuguese. At the moment we are trying to improve Tetum for the future, as an academic language and for schools. Tetum is the most widely spoken language now and it is very strong, even ambassadors to Timor-Leste speak Tetum. In the Indonesian period we were using the Indonesian language, so everybody was speaking Indonesian, so there was good access to education. But now the big challenge with language is Portuguese. The teachers they don’t know about Portuguese, but now they have to train in the Portuguese language.Are there big differences between access to education in urban areas like Dili [the capitol] and more rural areas?
The challenge at the moment is really for children with disabilities, especially transport for them. The other challenge is about the accessibility of school buildings. We had a meeting recently with UNICEF and I asked if they could please work with us together with the Ministry of Infrastructure because we need to improve school buildings to be more accessible to children with disabilities.Has coming to this conference raised any particular issues for you that you want to go back now and consider in Timor-Leste?
I have heard many things about inclusive education here and I can take these back us to help us develop inclusive education in Timor-Leste. For me this is the first conference I have been to about inclusive education. In the future I really need more information and examples from other countries about inclusive education. Our vision is that by 2015 everyone will be able to access education and by 2020, everyone will be able to read and write. We are a new country, a small country, but we have plans for the future.What will your role be when you go back to Timor-Leste? How do you see this developing?
After this conference, I’m going back to my country to plan how to take the data from all of our country…how many children? How many children with disabilities? When we have this data, we can involve them in inclusive education. We will not do something if we have no data. At the moment we are working with Plan Timor-Leste and EMIS [Education Management Information System] who are helping to advise our Ministry of Education. We will be working together with UNICEF, UNESCO, Plan and Friends from Australia to support the development of inclusive education. This is the main reason I want to visit other countries and programmes that do inclusive education already. At the moment, I have limited funds, but I want to see what methods others have used to implement inclusive education, to be our reference point.
Is the entire education system in Timor-Leste changing now, because it’s such a new country?
Yes, now primary schools, junior schools and senior schools are free. Also the public University is very low cost.What about the curriculum, how much have you changed or reformed from the time of Indonesian occupation?
At the moment, we still have the books from Indonesia in the Bahasa Indonesia language. In the future there are plans to have books in Portuguese, but we also need to improve Tetum. But now, Portuguese teaching is starting in elementary school, but at primary school they can’t speak Portuguese. The challenge is that many teachers don’t know Portuguese and so how can they teach the children in Portuguese? This is a challenge … teacher education.One of the most sensitive issues in post-conflict countries is the teaching of history. Is how you teach history in Timor-Leste changing?
At the moment they want to publish new history books for after independence, but we don’t have these yet. They want to publish the story of the struggle for independence and after independence in the Tetum language.As the Coordinator of Inclusive Education is such a new role, how will you be working with people in other areas of the Ministry of Education? How do you plan to cooperate between what you do and what your other colleagues do?
At the moment we have my director general and I coordinate with him and then other stakeholders like UNICEF and UNESCO and Plan Timor-Leste and Friends from Australia … this is our partnership.Is there anything else you’d like to say about your plans for inclusive education in Timor-Leste?
I have such a strong desire to develop inclusive education in Timor-Leste not just for the disabled, but for all. My plans for the future are also about how to include children who can’t access education because of economic reasons. Our country is a new country and we want our students to be thinking about how to develop our country for the future … we can not just sit and be quiet … we have to do something. Right or wrong, we need to learn." (EENET asia Newsletters : Sixth issue 2nd and 3rd Quarter 2008)
20090519
Investment needs in maternal, newborn & child health in Asia & Pacific
What
Briefing "Preventing the other crisis: Investment needs in maternal, newborn and child health in Asia and the Pacific"
WHY
Despite decades of rapid economic growth, Asia and the Pacific accounts for nearly half of the global burden in maternal, newborn and child health. But countries can achieve long term health benefits and generate significant economic returns, by investing as little as US$3 annually per capita. Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 to reduce maternal and child mortality can be achieved for as little as US$12 annually per capita according to the latest analysis by international development agencies and national governments.
WHEN
Thursday, 21 May 2009, at 12:30 p.m., Salle de Presse III, Palais des Nations
WHO
- Neil McFarlane, Counsellor, Development, AusAID
- Ian Pett, Chief Health Systems and Strategic Planning, UNICEF
- Dr Flavia Bustreo, Acting Head of Secretariat, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
- Representative of the Ministry of Health, Nepal
CONTACT
Tunga Namjilsuren
The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Telephone: +41 22 791 1073
Mobile: +41 76 494 32 39
Email: namjilsurent@who.int or
Web site: www.pmnch.org
*****
Corporate links [FONTES]
20090518
Terms and definitions related with disability
'Watch Your Language!' by Michael B. Gerber
"Words are the envelopes that hold a person's experience of another person, place or thing." I learned this almost 30 years ago and knowing it has helped me learn to listen and speak differently. This is a matter of much more than semantics. The words we choose to use can and do make all the difference in the world.
As a person who lives with a disability, there are a few words that are commonly used incorrectly. If we use the right words, we have the potential to change the world's experience of people with disabilities. This applies to the observer and the person with the disability.
Disabled. This is the worst word of all. We disable an engine, which means turn it off. We disable a bomb, which means disconnect it. Last time I checked, I have neither been turned off nor disconnected. I am a fully functioning human being who lives with a disability. Not disabled. Many of us with a disability are often treated as though we have been disabled, turned off or disconnected, and this is wrong. Everyone has something that they cannot do, which means that everyone has some kind or level of disability. Mine, like tens of millions of others in this country, is just more visible than most others. Am I disabled? I am if you disconnect me or turn me off.
Handicap. The World Health Organization defines (in not so few words) a handicap as a person's judgment about a disability. This applies to the person with the disability and the observer. Is a disability a handicap? Only if we let it be. My father gave me a great compliment one day when he said "Michael, you are not handicapped. You may have a disability, but you are the least handicapped person that I know." I hope that can always be said about me.
There are other definitions of handicap. It can be an "added advantage " too. Shorter lines at airports and amusement parks, better parking spaces, discounts for travel, restaurants and more. It is also an advantage given to another in horseracing and golf -activities that many with disabilities don't do.
Person with a disability. This is always the right term to use. It is the term which allows the person with the disability to remain whole in everyone's eyes. It is the term that contains the most respect and dignity for the individual. It also accurately reflects the condition of the individual.
Accessible. This is another correct term which is now used more and more instead of handicap. We now ask for accessible bathrooms, accessible parking, accessible hotel rooms. It suggests that the facility has been made accessible for someone with a disability, particularly those using a wheelchair. It is a correct term. After all, would you really want to stay in a hotel room that was handicapped?
Because I live with a disability, these words are important to me. I am certain that there was a time when I also used those other terms without much consideration. Now, as a member of the 51,000,000 member community of people in this country who live with a disability, I have changed my language and my perspective.
When we listen to the words someone uses, we can learn much more than the story they are telling. We can learn about their experience and perspective. Are they positive or negative? Accepting or judgmental? Responsible or victims?
When we change our own words, we can change how we see the world. More importantly, we can change how the world sees us." (Michael B. Gerber | Disaboom)
20090513
Direitos Humanos em Timor-Leste: falta legislação para promover os direitos das crianças e cidadãos com Necessidades Especiais
"Children
Persons with Disabilities
Fonte: USA.GOV | Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs > Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor > Releases > Human Rights > 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices > East Asia and the Pacific
Ler o relatório completo: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119059.htm
Although constrained by weak capacity and limited resources, the government was committed to children's rights and welfare, and fully engaged with international organizations and NGOs working in this area. The constitution stipulates that primary education shall be compulsory and free; however, no legislation had been adopted establishing the minimum level of education to be provided, nor had a system been established to ensure provision of free education. According to UN statistics, approximately 20 percent of primary school-age children nationwide were not enrolled in school; the figures for rural areas were substantially worse than those for urban areas.
In rural areas heavily indebted parents sometimes provided their children as indentured servants as a way to settle the debt. If the child was a girl, the receiving family may also demand any dowry payment normally owed to the girl's parents.Violence against children and child sexual assault was a significant problem. Some commercial sexual exploitation of minors occurred. The Indonesian penal code, which remains in effect pending the promulgation of a national penal code, is ambiguous regarding statutory rape, specifying only that it is a crime to have intercourse with someone who has not reached the age of consent for marriage. This age is specified as 15 in the Indonesian civil code.
Thousands of children remained at risk due to their continued displacement. The capacity of the state, communities, and families to protect children was seriously challenged. Incidents of child abuse, including sexual abuse, were reported both inside and outside the IDP camps. Underreporting of child abuse was a problem.
Many students living in IDP camps enrolled in schools near their camp. However, camp-based education was not provided at several IDP camps.
Although the constitution protects the rights of persons with disabilities, the government had not enacted legislation or otherwise mandated accessibility to buildings for persons with disabilities, nor does the law prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. There were no reports of discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or the provision of other state services; however, in many districts children with disabilities were unable to attend school due to accessibility problems. Training and vocational initiatives did not address the needs of persons with disabilities. During the year some persons with mental disabilities faced discriminatory or degrading treatment due in part to a lack of appropriate treatment resources or lack of referral to existing resources. Mentally ill persons were imprisoned with the general prison population and were denied needed psychiatric care. An office in the Ministry of Social Solidarity is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities."
Ler o relatório completo: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119059.htm
20090510
Teachers and HIV & AIDS
"The online forum “Teachers and HIV & AIDS: Reviewing achievements, identifying challenges” will run from 18 to 29 May. It is hosted by UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education.This e-forum aims to promote the exchange of views and experiences on the contribution of teachers to HIV prevention and mitigation efforts and the impact of the epidemic on teachers.
The outcomes of the forum will directly feed into the Spring meeting of the UNAIDS IATT on Education “Teachers and HIV & AIDS: Reviewing achievements, identifying challenges”, June 2009 in Ireland.
A report on the outcomes of the discussion will be available on IIEP’s HIV and AIDS Education Clearinghouse following the Forum.
Related links
- Detailed information including registration and participation
- IIEP HIV & AIDS Education clearinghouse
- UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education"
20090503
Rede Inter-Institucional para a Educação em Situação de Emergência (INEE, sigla em Inglês)
- INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation in Fragile States, Situations of Displacement and Post-Crisis Recovery
- Initiative Advisory Group: INEE, International Rescue Committee, International Save the Children Alliance, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
- Requisitos Mínimos para a Educação em Situação de Emergência, Crises Crónicas e Reconstrução Translated by the School of Higher Education of Viana do Castelo (Portugal), 2006. For handbook copies, please contact Rui Silva (Email: rdasilva@ese.ipvc.pt).
- Requisitos Mínimos: Um breve instrumento de referência para acompanhar e complementar o Manual e o Conjunto de Ferramentas For printed hard copies, please contact the INEE Coordinator for Minimum Standards (Email: minimumstandards@ineesite.org).
- INEE Minimum Standards Toolkit Thematic Guide: Disability and Inclusive Education: http://www.ineesite.org/uploads
- The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education: http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF
- Inclusive Education: An EFA Strategy for All Children (by Susan Peters): http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources
- Index for Inclusion (available in several different languages, for several different contexts): http://www.eenet.org.uk/index_inclusion/index_inclusion.shtml
- Developing Learning and Participation in Countries of the South: The Role of an Index for Inclusion (by Tony Booth & Kristine Black-Hawkins): http://ineesite.org/uploads/documents/store/doc_1_89_Index_for_Inclusion.doc
- Enabling Education Network (EENET): http://www.eenet.org.uk/:
- Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education: http://www.csie.org.uk/
- Information on the Salamanca Statement: http://portal.unesco.org/education
- World Bank on Education and Disability (many useful documents) http://web.worldbank.org\
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