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This document has been posted online by the Division for Social Policy
and Development. Reproduction and dissemination of the document - in electronic and/or
printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement is made of the role of the United
Nations in making it available.United Nations
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Introductory remarksMost questions can be answered by marking the alternative that applies Definitions of termsThroughout the questionnaire, the following terms are used. In order to (a) The term ACCESSIBLE includes but is not limited to physical areas in (The remaining definitions are taken from the Standard Rules) (b) "The term DISABILITY summarizes a great number of different functional (c) "The term REHABILITATION refers to a process for enabling persons with (d) "The term EQUALIZATION OF OPPORTUNITIES means the process through which SECTION I
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Note: As of 10 May 1996, 65 Governments have submitted replies to the
second questionnaire.
During the summer of 1996 Atlanta, United States of America, will serve
as host for more than 4,000 athletes, representing more than 100 hundred
nations, who will be participating in the Tenth Paralympic Games. The Games
will be held for 10 days, from 16 to 27 August, with athletes competing in 17
different sports and two demonstration events. In addition to the athletes,
more than 1,000 coaches and team staff, 1,500 officials and 15,000 volunteers
are expected to be in attendance.The Paralympics were first held in Rome in 1960, and have been held in every
Olympic year since then. The Paralympics serve as a forum for the talents of
athletes representing four international federations of persons with
disabilities: the blind, paraplegics and quadriplegics, people with cerebral
palsy, and amputees. More than 1.5 million spectators are expected in Atlanta
based on the more than 1.5 million spectators who attended the 1992 Paralympic
Games in Barcelona.
This year's games will be held in conjunction with the Third Paralympic
World Congress: "Humanity, equality, destiny". The Congress will be held just
prior to the Games (August 12-16 1996). It is expected to attract an
additional 2,000 people to Atlanta from all over the world who will come to
discuss issues of business, social, and recreational activities for persons
with disabilities. Issues to considered at the Congress will include
political and economic empowerment and furthering the disabled sports
movement. Congress organizers anticipate that the union of disability rights
groups and disabled athletes will be beneficial to people with disabilities
throughout the world.The Congress is estimated to cost an estimated $1.2 million, which is
being covered by corporate sponsors and local community groups. The United
Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability is providing a co-financing grant to
enable participation by experts from developing countries who would not
otherwise be able to participate in this major forum to exchange skills,
knowledge and information and to establish and develop networks.For further information, please contact:
Atlanta Paralympic Organizing Committee
1201 West Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2500
Atlanta, GA 30309-3448
United States of America
Tel: ++(404) 588-1996 ; TDD: ++(404) 724-2888
Fax: ++(404) 724-2820
E-mail: apoc96@ibm.net
For the past 30 years, issues related to the quality of life for persons
with disabilities, particularly individuals with mental retardation, have
entered the paradigm of concerned professionals in the disability field.
Quality of life encompasses the discrepancy between a disabled persons'
expected and achieved needs and desires. The term refers to the extent to
which an individual is able to control or influence key aspects of his or her
life. 1/Recent activities of the quality of life movement include convening
international conferences and meetings on issues related to quality of life
initiatives. The European Commission held the First European Conference on
Quality of Life, European Definitions of Quality of Life: Towards a Synthesis
(Gilleleje, Denmark, 10-14 December 1994; it issued a report on initiatives
identified at the Conference. The Conference focused on establishing contexts
in which persons with disabilities and their providers can enter into
meaningful dialogue. The Conference recommended that persons with
disabilities help write their own quality of life projects as a means of
enabling and empowering persons with disabilities. Conference participants
further recommended building a network for persons with disabilities to
participate in innovative research projects and share experiences.Other recent activities include organizing the Second European
Conference on Quality of Life: A Consideration of Good Practice (Porvoo,
Finland, 22-26 November 1995); planning the National Consensus Conference on
Quality of Life (to be held in New York, 27-31 May 1997); and organizing a
meeting of the International Association for the Scientific Study of
Intellectual Disability, scheduled for Helsinki in July 1996, which will
review and discuss international disability policy.
The Federation (WFPU) was established in 1991 to support the development of the mental health user/survivor/consumer movement and to advocate their human rights and self determination throughout the world. In addition to providing information to mental health service users, WFPU highlights the violations of rights of persons who use mental health services, promotes self- help alternatives and services, and educates professionals, politicians and the media on issues of mental health services. WFPU also seeks to build alliances with interested bodies and organizations around the world. It currently has several hundred members in 25 countries.
For more information on WFPU, contact:
World Federation of Psychiatric Users
c/o Ms. Mary O'Hagan, P.O. Box 46 018
Herne Bay, Auckland , NEW ZEALAND
Tel: ++09 378 7477
Fax: ++09 360 2180
The Asia Disability Institute (ADI) was established in 1990 near Tokyo,
with a view to assisting persons with disabilities throughout Asia to further
their independent living. Activities of ADI range from the dissemination of
information on the independent living movement to the provision of technical
advice and assistance to various groups of persons with disabilities in Asia
in furthering their own efforts to live independently.The Human Care Association was founded in 1986 as a day-activity centre
for people with disabilities, and it later developed into one of the first
independent living centres in Japan. The Human Care Association provides
services on request to persons with disabilities to further their abilities to
live independently, and it offers opportunities to persons with disabilities
to help them find employment through a community-based services network.The Centre offers three programmes:
(a) Independent living skills training;
(b) Peer counselling;
(c) Overseas training.In 1991, 12 independent living centres established the Japan Council on
Independent Living Centre.ADI and HCA work closely to assist persons with disabilities both in
Japan and in other Asian countries to enhance the quality of their lives
through a variety of international cooperation activities.One of the most successful examples of ADI-HCA cooperation is the
Independent Living Skill Training Manual (Tokyo: Human Care Association,
1993). The Manual is designed to serve as a reference and resource guidor use
both by disabled persons themselves and in workshops in which persons with
disabilities can learn practical skills for independent living on the basis of
peer counselling and practical exercises.Mr. Shoji Nakanishi, Director of the Human Care Association, and Mrs.
Yukiko Nakanishi, President of Asia Disability Institute, visited the Division
for Social Policy and Development of the Department for Policy Coordination
and Sustainable Development on 1 May 1996 to provide a brief introduction to
their work and exchange views on disabilities issues and trends.For further information or to order the Manual, please contact:
Human Care Association
23 Teramachi, Hachioji
Tokyo 192
JAPAN
Tel: ++0426 23-3911;
Fax: ++0426 23-7348.
The Statistical Division of the Department for Economic and Social
Information and Policy Analysis at the United Nations Secretariat has issued
the Manual for the Development of Statistical Information for Disability
Programmes and Policies to support and encourage more systematic approaches to
data collection and the development of statistical information related to
disability.The Manual was prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division in
collaboration with the Rehabilitation Unit of the World Health Organization.
The Manual is aimed at programme managers and others concerned with the
production and use of statistical information for implementing, monitoring and
evaluating disability policies and programmes.The Manual contains:
(a) Information on four trends that have emerged in the development
of disability statistics: specifically (i) the recognition of the human
rights of people with disabilities; (ii) the expansion of
community-based rehabilitation programs; (iii) the development of
standard terminology and an internationally recognized system for
defining and classifying the situation of persons related to impairment,
disability and handicap; (iv) a rapidly increasing demand for
information and survey research in the field of rehabilitation and human
functioning;(b) Major sources of existing data and statistical information on
disability, and attributes to consider in appraising their quality.(c) An overview of approaches to the collection of disability
statistics and the steps required to initiate new data-collection
efforts;(d) The major uses of statistical information on disability for
programme planning and evaluation;(e) The acquisition and uses of information on disability in
especially difficult situations, such as emergency and refugee relief
situations.The Manual (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.XVII.4; ISBN
92-1-161380-0) is available from bookstores and distributors throughout the
world. It may be ordered directly from:United Nations Bookshop
Concourse level, 46th Street and 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10017
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Tel: (212) 963-7680
(800) 553-3210
Fax: (212) 963-4910The Statistics Division plans to produce a second technical report in
1996, the Handbook on Census and Survey Methods for Development of Impairment,
Disability and Handicap statistics. The Handbook will discuss concepts,
definitions and strategies concerning the measurement and assessment of human
activity through an improved study of the International Classification of
Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps.
The United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization
(UNESCO) recently produced a video on the World Conference on Special Needs
Education, (Salamanca, Spain, June 1994), which attracted more than 300
participants representing 92 Governments and 25 international organizations.
The Conference provided a forum for reviewing and discussing means by which
schools can better serve the training and educational needs of all children,
particularly those with special educational needs. The Conference adopted the
Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practices in Special Needs
Education, and formulated a Framework for Action; both documents are
available from UNESCO at the address listed below.The education of children with special needs is an issue of concern to
all countries, and it cannot advance effectively in isolation of other
educational services. Special needs education must be an integral part of
both an overall educational strategy and new social and educational policies
as well.The UNESCO video on the Conference contains two parts. Part 1 presents
an overview of new thinking in special needs education, introduced by the
Director-General of UNESCO, Dr. Federico Mayor. Part 2 provides summaries of
recommendations made in the "Framework for Action", and has five sections, on
school factors; training educational personnel;
links with community-based rehabilitation; community perspectives; policy and
legislation.The following people are featured in the programme:
- Anupam Ahuja, National Council for Educational Research and Training, India;
- Mel Ainscow, School of Education, University of Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
- William Brohier, President, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, Malaysia;
- Andrea Canevaro, Universita Degli Studi, Bologna, Italy;
- Cynthia Duk, Consultant, UNESCO Regional Office, Chile;
- Constance Facia, CBR Programme, Benin; N.K. Jangira, Department of Teacher Education and Special Education, India; Joseph Kisanji, Course Tutor, University of Manchester, United Kingdom;
- Bengt Lindqvist, Special Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development, former Member of Parliament, Sweden;
- Peter Mittler, School of Education, University of Manchester, United Kingdom;
- Lawrence Ofori-Addo, CBR Programme, Accra, Ghana;
- Brian O'Toole, CBR Programme, Guyana; Deng Pufang, Chairman, Disabled People's Federation, China;
- Mrs. D. Rauws-Binnendlik, Parent, the Netherlands; and Lena Saleh, Special Needs Education, UNESCO, Paris.
The video is available in VHS format (PAL/SECAM), Lasts 55 minutes and costs US$40 (or equivalent in other currencies). It was produced by UNESCO in 1995 and is available in English, French and Spanish. Please contact:
Special Needs Education, Division of Basic Education
UNESCO
7 Place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07
FRANCE
Tel: ++33-1 40-65-94-05
Fax: ++33-1 45-68-11-37
Notes
1/ See Roy Brown, Patricia Brown and Max Brayer "A quality of life model: new challenges arising from a sixty year study," in Quality of Life for Persons with Disabilities, David Goode, ed. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Brookline Books, 1994).
The Disabled Persons Bulletin is published three times a year in
English, French and Spanish by the United Nations Secretariat.
Please address correspondence to:Editor, Disabled Persons Bulletin
Division for Social Policy and Development
United Nations Secretariat, Room DC2-1342
New York, NY 10017
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA