"Nothing about Us, Without Us"

International Day of Disabled Persons, 2004

T he observance of the Day in 2004 will focus on the active involvement of persons with disabilities in the planning of strategies and policies that affect their lives. The motto “Nothing About Us Without Us” relies on this principle of participation, and it has been used by Disabled Peoples Organizations throughout the years as part of the global movement to achieve the full participation and equalization of opportunities for, by and with persons with disabilities.

The active involvement of persons with disabilities in the ongoing elaboration of a convention on the rights of persons with disabilities has proved to be an excellent example of how the principle of full participation can be put into practice and how it can contribute to the development of truly inclusive societies, in which all voices are heard and persons with disabilities can help shape a better world for all.

Observance of the Day offers an opportunity to foster changes in attitudes towards persons with disabilities and eliminate barriers to their full participation in all aspects of life.

UN Chronicle - International Day of Disabled Persons, 2004

Observance at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

Friday, 3 December 2004
1:15 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.
Conference Room 4, UN Headquarters, New York

Mr. Johan Schölvinck, Director
Division for Social Policy and Development, UN/DESA
Opening and welcoming remarks
Message of the Secretary-General

Mr. Leslie B Gatan, Minister
Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations
Vice-Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International
Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
Message of H.E. Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Ecuador, Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee

Mr. Francois Oubida, First Counsellor
Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso to the United Nations
A regional perspective

Mr. Matthew Sapolin, Executive Director
Mayor's Office for Persons with Disabilities, New York City
Mayoral Proclamation

Mr. Victor Pineda, Film maker
Introduction of the documentaries

Screening of the documentaries
- In Cuba Disabled
- Broken Balkans
- A World Enabled

Question and answer session

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 47/3 of 14 October 1992. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

The theme for observance of the Day in 2004 is “Nothing About Us Without Us” aims to provide an opportunity to focus on the active involvement and participation of persons with disabilities in the planning of strategies and policies that affect their lives.

The event aims to highlight the role of media in raising awareness about the rights and potentials of persons with disabilities as well as the importance of the participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life.

Organized by the Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs with the support of the Department of Public Information. Special thanks to the Victor Pineda Foundation for its contribution.

Persons who do not hold a UN grounds pass please RSVP by Friday 26 November 2004 to e-mail: enable@un.org; Fax: 212-963-0111, providing the following information: name, organizational affiliation and address. These persons should carry a copy of this invitation and enter through the visitor’s entrance, located on 1st Avenue and 45th Street, and then proceed to a registration table in the visitor’s lobby to register and get their passes. Please allow 45 minutes before the beginning of the event for security formalities.

Invitation - International Day of Disabled Persons 2004 ( MS Word )

"Nothing about Us Without Us"

About the Documentaries:

In Cuba Disabled, an award-winning documentary, is the first of a documentary trilogy that examines the lives of people with disabilities in the developing world, their integration and participation in society, and their opportunities for self-fulfillment.

Broken Balkans looks at life with disabilities in the post-communist states of Yugoslavia.

A World Enabled will feature the dramatic and compelling stories, testimonies, and oral histories of a representative group of UN Convention delegates from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North America. They will chronicle and document the personal struggles that led them to devote the rest of their lives to ensure that people with disabilities are no longer deprived of internationally recognized human rights.

A World Enabled is part of new social change media project that uses worldwide digital mass communications as creative tools to challenge, examine, illuminate, and inspire political and social change and look at disability as a critical global human rights issue. It will include: Television Programs, Web Sites, Streaming Media, Documentary Films, Digital World Disability Curriculae, A World Disability Oral History Archive, Public Service Announcements, Seminars, Symposia, Books, and Publications.

For more information about the documentaries, please contact:

The Victor Pineda Foundation
2125 Spaulding Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94703
On the Internet: www.victorpinedafoundation.com
Via Email at: pinedafoundation@gmail.com