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International Day of Disabled Persons
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In this page...
Panel Discussion Excerpts:
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The panel discussion was chaired by Mr. Bagher Asadi, Ambassador, Islamic Republic of Iran, and Chairman of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial Matters) of the fifty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The panel included distinguished group of experts from the academic, non-governmental and private sectors:
The Panel discussion on independent living and sustainable and secure livelihoods reflects the growing interest in the political economy of disability and concern with practical measures to promote development of the social, economic and creative potentials of all members of society.
Sustainable livelihoods is one of the three priorities for action identified in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly to promote equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities. It also is a core concern of the Copenhagen Declaration of Programme of Action, adopted by the World Summit for Social Development in 1995 as this relates to action in the field of disability.
Promotion of sustainable and secure livelihoods for all involves basic investments in social infrastructure as well as in the social software of development, national capacities and institutional capabilities in particular. From the disability perspective, sustainable livelihoods introduce social and economic accessibility considerations as well: access to education, to information and telecommunications technologies, and to opportunities for income and wealth. Since disability sensitive policy design and programme planning in the economic sectors also contribute to sustainable livelihoods for all, modal neutrality and constituency focus are important lessons for both policy design and planning to further a society for all.
Persons with disabilities often may experience shorter than average economically-active life spans, an important issue for policy design and planning is identification of measures that ensure effective access for all to available livelihood opportunities.
Life cycle approaches reflect concern with the different ways in which people interact with the larger social, economic and political environments.
Life cycle approaches take as their point of departure the basic sets of daily activities at the level of the individual, the family and the community. These would include: survival and personal safety, water, nutrition, shelter and other social services and overheads, livelihoods and economic security, mobility and communications - as well as personal independence, social and political participation, and self-determination of life style.
Life cycle approaches also consider the distinct stages in the life of an individual and of the family unit and the associated decision points related to entitlements of people and the capabilities that these entitlements generate. Lifecycle decisions include: support for the family unit - issues of income and wealth; provision of shelter; investments for the well being of future generations; planning to accommodate uncertainty; and planning for long-term financial security.
From a planning and investment point of view, important considerations include actions to generate levels of disposable income that provide the means to establish what can be termed "annuities". An annuity in this particular sense refers to a sum of capital that establishes asset classes and can produce a revenue stream to meet specific expenditure needs, for instance shelter, education, family emergencies or retirement. The amount and time frame for a particular "annuity" is unique by application: in the case of higher education, an annuity may take 10 to 15 years to mobilise but will be expended in about four years; in the case of shelter, a somewhat lower initial sum of capital will define the annuity initially since the time frame for expenditure is long and the asset likely will appreciate in value over time.
Planning for uncertain conditions is applicable to all: whether this is the case of unexpected and increased responsibilities for older parents and relatives in rapidly urbanising societies, or strategies that rural entrepreneurs and small farm operators adopt to conserve assets for another business or crop year.
There is a need to move from concerns about saving to meet a targeted level of assets and to focus on investment decisions about allocations among asset classes, the assembly of assets and continuing adjustments in the light of lifestyle choices and needs, and accommodation for risk.
The challenge in planning for sustainable and secure livelihoods and well-being of persons with disabilities and their families is to move beyond the traditional realm of investment planning and to consider new concepts and approaches to promote reasonable expectations of sustainable and secure livelihoods and well-being. The first task will involve a reorientation in focus from investment planning for people with disabilities to consideration of measures that can engage and empower persons with disabilities to take increasing responsibility for decisions about their own livelihood and well being.
A point of departure in planning for sustainable and secure livelihoods follows first principles of savings and investment decision making:
Life cycle approaches to investment analysis and planning introduce consideration of risk and estimation of future value:
In short life cycle approaches to planning for sustainable and secure livelihoods are a concern to all: determination and implementation of strategies and plans for saving, investing and allocating assets by which one may best to attain their goals for livelihoods and well-being in accordance with their tolerance towards risk and time horizon for the objectives identified.
