Conference Techshare India 2010

India, a sleeping giant is now waking up. Waking up to a more evolved society with a changing mindset, growing infrastructure, more reach to technology and a greater impetus to education. Waking up to bridge the barriers which hinder the evolution of about sixty million disabled Indians to the so called normal Indians.

Technology can bridge this gap and Techshare can bridge the distance between you and the sixty million. Techshare is an international conference aiming to provide an opportunity to the government, corporates, NGO's, educators and the disabled to bridge barriers with an inclusive perspective. Besides being a pan disability conference Techshare also recognizes the special needs of the aged which can be satisfied with assistive technology. Techshare aims to provide an unique platform where one can get an insight by meeting professionals from across the globe and also share knowledge on the subject.

Techshare India 2010

• When: 15th - 16th February 2010
• Where: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India

Objectives

• Accelerating consciousness about accessibility
• Offering a platform for knowledge sharing
• Extending the use of assistive technology

Conference and Exhibition Highlights

• Organizing committee featuring international bodies such as Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), UK
• Over 500 delegates from government, non-profit, education institutes, and corporate from across the glob
• 50 plus speakers
• 4 Tracks
• 6 accessibility workshops
• State-of-the-art Experience lab showcasing assistive technology
• Exhibition with 40 plus stalls displaying assistive aids and services pan disability

Fashion lovers with learning disabilities

When Metallica’s world tour kicked off last winter, my siblings and I decided it was time our brother, Tom, 38, got to see his ultimate heroes lives. Tom has the most common form of inherited learning disability, fragile X syndrome; he lives in a lovely residential care home in rural Devon, so getting to see his beloved Metallica is a challenge of epic proportions, especially considering his bundle of specific disabilities.

The moment was so profoundly special for us all, especially Tom, that it made me feel joy and then a creeping, depressing realisation. There are 1.5m people in the UK with learning disabilities. The spectrum is wide, some have severe disabilities, others have minor problems with learning and speech. But for all of them, getting anywhere near their dreams and passions, or having their voices heard, is not by any means a given. Access to hardcore music, fashion, late nights and generally funky stuff is especially hard. However, a small but significant cultural movement is advocating a greater mingling of the learning disabled (LD) in these, for want of a better word, hipper pockets of society.

What’s exciting is that we aren’t talking special-needs projects tucked away in community centres. Mencap’s regular Rock the Boat club night, at Proud Galleries, the skinny muso favourite in Camden, features DJs such as Tim Westwood and Seb Fontaine playing to a crowd that becomes progressively more mixed through the night and has a warmth and gentleness to it that you may not have experienced in such spiky homes of pose. Alex Proud, the gallery owner, says: “I wanted to act as an example to the rest of the trade. Why are we so embarrassed about learning disability? If we can do this, so can everyone else. People enjoy being round people who lack the British reserve.”

The first night, in July, featured a set by Heavy Load, possibly the most genuinely punk band touring today, featuring three LD members — the lead singer, Simon Barker, is a chain-smoking cocky wit. Heavy Load made an award-winning docu mentary feature film, and are in the vanguard of the Stay up Late campaign, which aims to give LD people more access to nights out and nocturnal “disco-friendly” assistance — more of a lifestyle, basically.

At Glastonbury this summer, the band joined other disabled artists on the Club DaDa stage in the Shangri-La field; next year, the festival organisers plan to integrate the bands onto other stages. Other exciting LD artists include the rapper Ben Pelham, 21, who has performed on stage with the Cuban Brothers, and the soulful LD singer Lizzie Emeh, 32, who spoke last month on the Today programme, prior to a performance at the Royal Festival Hall. She has talked about being called “a retard”: “I am this Lizzie Emeh, with a learning disability. Don’t be frightened of me, frightened of us. If you let us into your hearts, we will love you back.”

Fashion has also been a closed world to those with learning disabilities, so in a bid to challenge that, Style got together with the photographer Rankin, not one to shy away from controversial or challenging subjects, and the stylist Gary Harvey, fashion director of 125 magazine, to produce a fashion shoot styled by three LD fashion lovers. Harvey enlisted Kitty Gilbert, Jess Bromley, and his brother Ian, who often assists him on shoots. “I always love Ian’s creative assistance. He has a very free, open-minded approach,” Harvey says. “I’m shy compared to him. He has no problems dancing with the sexiest woman in the room. But I still encounter people who are, like, ‘I don’t want him to touch me.’ I have to say, those people are immediately not friends.” Harvey, who has produced four LD high-fashion collaborations, says: “I just want to provoke dialogue, get people asking themselves how they could include different people in their business.”

It is great to watch a photographer like Rankin in an intense dialogue with Jess about how she wants the model’s Versace gown to move. At her insistence, the wind machine is turned up. Rankin’s take on it all is typically pragmatic for someone who made a star of the double-amputee model and athlete Aimee Mullins. “It’s just like working with any stylist, it’s a collaboration,” he says. “I don’t think about this as working with something identifiably different, this is all about promoting people with disabilities as just normal people.”

Meanwhile, Kitty’s flicking through a rail of clothes. She’s digging the Gucci. “I love short skirts and a leggy look,” she says. A Jonathan Saunders bolero goes on top. Later, and very excited when it’s finally his turn to shoot, Ian throws on a bright Vivienne Westwood woman’s coat with glee.

For all the fun of the shoot, this area still contains deep, depressing and multifaceted issues. But cultural shame associated with learning disabilities is less than it was, and access to a real life, not some institutional pale imitation of it, is more available. Change, after all, is infectious.

Ps: For watching video please click on title.

The Hollywood Disabilities Forum

The Hollywood Disabilities Forum, held on October 24 at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, served as a high-visibility reminder that people with disabilities are a significant part of our society – as much as 20 percent of the U.S. population by some estimates – yet people with disabilities remain "virtually invisible" in media portrayals on screen and stage.

"It's crucial for all of us – actors, writers, directors, producers, casting associates – to come together to examine these problems and create solutions," said Robert David Hall, master of ceremonies and national chair of the SAG Performers with Disabilities Committee. "I always think of the little kid that needs to see for him or herself, their own image reflected. To be marginalized, to be cut out of mainstream TV, movies and advertising stinks, and we're trying to change that."

The forum was sponsored by I AM PWD (Inclusion in the Arts and Media of Performers with Disabilities), a civil rights campaign by the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association Tri-Union Performers with Disabilties Committee, the Writers with Disabilities Committee of the Writers Guild of America West and Alliance for the Inclusion in the Arts, with assistance from the California Arts Council, the National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. "The mission of the committee is to enhance the status and promote the advancement of actors with disabilities in an industry that, too often, denies access, stereotypes or disregards people with disabilities. This is why the themes of Access, Inclusion and Accuracy are so important and emphasized throughout the I AM PWD campaign," said Rebecca Yee, national director/senior counsel of SAG Affirmative Action & Diversity.

For the morning session, I AM PWD presented an Actors Master Class featuring actors with disabilities performing seven well-known five-minute scenes for critique and direction from Master Teachers Howard Deutch, Bill Duke and Paul Kampf. The Master Teachers were identified and chosen to participate due to their many successful and noteworthy years as a director, producer and actor. April Webster from April Webster & Associates auditioned and casted the following fifteen actors with disabilities to perform the following scenes:

Jesus Hopped the "A" Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis, featuring actors Malik B. El-Amin and Teal Sherer

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, featuring actors Stuart Nisbet and Diana Elizabeth Jordan

Election by Alexander Payne, featuring actors Eugene Feldman and Michelle Marks

Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet, featuring actors Danny Murphy and John Siciliano

The Graduate by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, featuring actors Christopher Imbrosciano and Kerry E. Walsh

A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard, featuring actors Allison Gray, Luce Rains and Kurt Yaeger

Light Sensitive by Jim Geoghan, featuring actors Steve Gladstone and Ann Colby Stocking

In the afternoon, Writer-producer Peter Farrelly served as the keynote speaker. He created, along with his brother Bobby, such hit films as Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary and The Ringer. In his remarks, Farrelly referenced the old riddle about a father and son who are in a car accident, taken to separate hospitals, and a doctor at the son's hospital says, "Oh my god, that's my son!" The riddle is: how can that be? For those familiar with the riddle, the doctor is, of course, the boy's mother. It's a classic example of how unconscious bias can creep in when we think of what a person can or cannot be in life. But times are changing, as Farrelly shared with the audience that he asked his 6-years old daughter the same riddle, and she responded, "because the doctor is the boy's mom." Farrelly suggested that we together must change this antiquated landscape for people with disabilities. "The perception that we are fighting here is the exact same thing," he said.

Later in panel discussion, Farrelly talked about the fine line he walks by featuring and casting performers with disabilities prominently in his irreverent comedies. He said persons with disability were a part of his world growing up, so it made sense to him to feature them. But he admitted that when the writing is edgy, it's sometimes harder to get the tone right, and occasionally people will get offended, despite the best intentions.

Actor Daryl "Chill" Mitchell and consulting producer Janis Hirsch talked about their new sitcom Brothers on Fox Television. On the new comedy, Mitchell plays a disabled restaurant owner who shares management responsibilities with his ex-pro football player brother.

Because the networks in general feature so few disabled persons in leading roles, Mitchell, Hirsch and the other panelists let the audience know the importance of writing letters to make sure inclusive shows like Brothers remain on the air.

Others who participated in the panel included moderator Allen Rucker, chair of the WGA West Writers with Disabilities Committee; Linda Bove, activist for the deaf community, best known as Linda the Librarian on Sesame Street; Vince Gilligan, series creator of Breaking Bad; David Milch, creator of Deadwood; Margaret Nagle, writer of the Emmy-winning HBO movie Warm Springs; Olivia Raynor, director of the Tarjan Center at UCLA, which focuses on promoting excellence in the disabled community; R.J. Mitte, star of Breaking Bad; and Danny Woodburn, best known for his role as Mickey on Seinfeld.

The keynote introduction was provided by actor Geri Jewell. I AM PWD and WGAW Writers with Disabilities Committee also made video presentations. The Office and Extras creative team Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant provided light-hearted remarks via video. And Kareem A. Dale, special assistant to President Obama on disability policy, gave words of support from the administration via phone.

The forum was a collaborative success with Screen Actors Guild staff, committee members and volunteers taking the lead in every way. SAG staff showing support or participating in key roles during the day included National Executive Director David White; Deputy National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland; Affirmative Action & Diversity staff members Rebecca Yee, Adam Moore and Yuisa Gimeno; and Communications Executive Director Pamela Greenwalt, along with Communications staff members Hope Barkan and Jimmy Simak.

Special thanks also go to David Lotz, communications director for Actors' Equity.

SAG provided updates throughout the day via Twitter.

Contact Info
Pamela Greenwalt
Communications Executive Director
Screen Actors Guild
(323) 549-6872
Contact via email

Article: Disabled by society

It is remarkable how people with disabilities have taken it upon themselves to help themselves. –APP/File photo

ART & CULTURE

Bollywood embraces disability in quest for realism

New thinking in the last century has radically changed political concepts that determine relations between the state and its citizens, and between society and its members. New rights are now being defined although the ground realities have yet to change.

Take the case of persons with disabilities. Until recently, providing them with care was perceived as charity. Today, they can legally claim respect for their dignity, inclusiveness in society, non-discrimination and equality of opportunity as a matter of right.

Disability is being redefined in a social rather than a physiological context. Sociologists and human rights activists now place the onus on society to make the necessary structural changes for enabling persons with disabilities to realise their full potential and make a contribution to the state.

This attempt to bring about a paradigm shift led to the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008 — which Pakistan has also signed but has yet to ratify.

In view of the sociological research that has been done on the basis of the narratives and experiences of people with disabilities, the modern approach no longer focuses on the limitations of individuals or holds them to be the cause for the multiple constraints that are imposed on them. The social interpretation now is that people with disability are disabled not by their impairment but by economic, social and physical barriers erected to marginalise them.

With capitalism having a field day and ruthless consumerism dictating the system’s working, the disability movement has suffered a setback. Since the convention was opened to signature in 2007 only 143 states have signed it but only 70 ratifications have been received. Of the 87 signatories to the protocol only 45 have ratified it. The protocol gives the right to the citizens of a state to complain against their government to the committee established by the convention. The ethos of the Marxian principle of “from each according to his ability to each according to his need” has been dying and the wielders of power at every level marginalise people with disabilities even though they may be competent and skilled in their own fields.

It is remarkable how people with disabilities have taken it upon themselves to help themselves. With minimal assistance from the government, philanthropists have gone to unprecedented lengths to set up institutions to train and facilitate the mainstreaming of people with disabilities.

Take the Ida Rieu Welfare Organisation in Karachi for example. I revisited it last week after more than a decade. The occasion was a seminar arranged by their teachers’ resource centre. It was inspiring to see the development that has taken place there. In a country where institutions are breaking down it cheers the heart to find enterprising people who continue to build. In the year 2000 the Panjwani School Complex for the Blind started functioning with a school and college for children with visual disabilities, there being another school for children with hearing disability.

With a history of 86 years of dedicated service behind it, the institution is a memorial to honour Ida Rieu, the wife of a British civil servant who rose to be the commissioner of Sindh in 1919. Ida devoted her life to social welfare activities and in the process won the hearts of the people of Sindh. This institution terms its vision to be “turning disability into ability” by providing knowledge and training to the disabled to mainstream them in society.

With about 200 children in school and another 30 studying for their graduate and Master’s programme in college, Ida Rieu is producing excellent manpower and womanpower every year under the tutelage of 35 teachers, five of whom have visual disability. It is here that I met Shazia Hasan Rizvi who is the programme manager and also takes computer classes. Every student is trained to operate the computer with the JAWS (Job Accessed With Sound) programme.

Shazia lost her sight when she was eight but that did not deter her from studying. She graduated from Karachi University and also did a diploma course in computers. Now she is passing on her skills — and also her motivation — to others with visual disability. To facilitate the empowerment of persons with disabilities, Shazia arranges for the recording of audio books and organises workshops for teachers and parents.

When I asked her if society facilitates the mainstreaming of the youth who graduate from Ida Rieu, Shazia identified the barriers they face. The Board of Secondary Education, Karachi, refuses to allow candidates appearing for their school-leaving examination to use Braille. It insists on their hiring the services of an amanuensis to write out their script — quite a cumbersome process. Shazia suggests that candidates with visual disability be allowed to use a JAWS-fitted computer. Why not?

Another problem her students face is in job placement. Some organisations have a very practical and fair approach. If a person qualifies he is hired and is provided facilities to overcome the limitation created by his disability. But that is not the norm. In most cases employers reject applications from persons with disabilities without even testing/interviewing them.

This is social justice denied and Badri Raina, a retired teacher of English in Delhi University who writes extensively on culture, politics and society for ZMag, captures this injustice succinctly (excerpts quoted):

Having disabled the world,/ You turn around and call us/Disabled./You have eyes, hands, legs,/And all you do is kill and maim,/From antipode to antipode.

Your abled greed/Makes of the earth/A vengeful ball of catastrophe,/Promising apocalypse/Against all your leaps of science.

Disabled we may be/In eye, hand, leg, or feet,/Our able minds wish nothing

But well./We have no hand but write/With our toe;/We have no legs but run miles/Every day in what we make/With our hands;/We have no eyes but see far, far/Beyond your black-hearted blindness.

When we love./We love not for a fleeting hour,/But for ever./ And when we sing, our inward eye/Draws inexhaustible melody/From god’s own navel.

zubeidam@gmail.com

India's Parliament will soon become disabled friendly

India's Parliament will soon become disabled friendly, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said Wednesday. 'I have given instructions to the parliament secretariat to make the house disabled-friendly and barrier free soon. I have also asked the parliament to purchase things made by the disabled people for use in the house,' Kumar said during an interaction with women journalists here. Activists working for disabled people have been demanding for long to make the house accessible to the physically challenged. India is home to 60 million disabled people. Of them, 48 percent are visually impaired, 28 percent are movement impaired, 14 percent are mentally disabled and 10 percent are hearing and speech impaired, according to 'People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes,' a report prepared by World Bank in collaboration with the Indian Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 'Making the historic Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) accessible to persons with disabilities will go a long way to help the disabled population get access to public space without any barriers,' K.R. Rajendra, regional representative of Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD), told IANS. 'Leave alone the old buildings, even the newly constructed ones do not have any provisions for the disabled,' said Javed Abidi, president of the Disabled Rights Group and secretary of the Commonwealth Disability Forum. 'The parliament building is a heritage site for all Indians and if it is turned into a disabled friendly zone, then we can hope that rest of the buildings and public spaces in India will turn accessible to the disabled,' Abidi told IANS. The parliament house is a circular building designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker in 1912. The rights activists said besides making the entire parliament building a barrier free zone for the disabled, there should be reserved parking and drop-off area for their vehicles, within 20 metres of its entrance. The area should be marked with symbols and a system should be put in place to ensure that others do not use the reserved parking space, activists say. 'An information board carrying details of these facilities must be set up at the entrance to the building itself, with appropriate signposts installed at various points inside the parliament house to help physically challenged visitors,' said Rajendra. Introduction of Braille symbols, first hand help, ramps, railings, lifts and accessible toilets are the other provisions which the activists believe should be put at parliament house to make it a disabled friendly zone.

Village for persons with disabilities

MANILA – Gawad Kalinga (GK) has officially launched The Village of Hope in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. But unlike many other GK villages across the country, this new village is exclusively made for Persons with Disabilities.

The Village of Hope, considered the first and only village dedicated to people with disabilities, is a two-hectare lot in the capital of Nueva Ecija.

The lot was donated by the provincial governor, Aurelio Umali. Seeing the progress of the GK village in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija, Umali asked help from GK for the construction of this special community.

What was once a dream is now becoming a reality as several stakeholders signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the construction of the village.

Among those who signed and attended the groundbreaking event are Umali and his wife Cong. Czarina Umali, GK President Tony Meloto, Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud, several local officials, and representatives from the disabled sector.

"These people will tell us, these people will teach us, these people will inspire us. Because they have been doing this for many years now. It's about time they get the limelight, it's about time they get the headlight, it's about time their stories be heard,” said Umali.

The governor also mentioned that livelihood projects will be organized within the community so that the residents will no longer need to go to the main city to work.

He added that the houses will be customized depending on the needs of the disabled residents.

Equal opportunity

GK President Tony Meloto hopes the project will be a model village not just in Nueva Ecija but in different parts of the country.

"Sana po maging magandang halimbawa sa iba't ibang probinsiya na sana they can design a village where even those with disabilities can live with dignity and they can live productive lives,” said Meloto.

Rodolfo Mendoza, president of the Nueva Ecija Association of Persons with Disability, expressed gratitude for the construction of the village.

With this special project, he said the confidence of his members can be elevated now that they are being given an equal opportunity by the public.

"Kasama na kami sa sociedad. I am thankful na marami kami leaders from the national level na iniiba na namin pananaw ng tao with us. Ayaw namin kami'y kaawaan but to be the partner of the government,” said Mendoza.

“Malaking tulong magagawa namin and given a chance, mapatunayan namin na we can also make it,” he declared.

Nilane Legaspi, who was born with physical deformities and is one of the beneficiaries, also expressed her gratitude for the project.

She just has one message for people without disabilities: "Sana maging pantay-pantay lahat, mag-respetuhan. Kung meron sila nakitang may kapansanan, tulungan nila... bigyan nila ng pagkakataon na mabuhay nang malaya."

Sri Lanka to Ratify UNCRPD

International Campaign Coordinator Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) UK, Gopal Mitra wants the Government to ratify the United Nation Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) to protect rights and give due recognition to disabled people in society .

He said that Sri Lanka became a signatory to the Convention in 2007 but has not ratified it by incorporating it in the local legal system. If Sri Lanka ratifies the convention it will help to build the image of the country internationally.

Mitra speaking to the media said that the ratification of the Convention will help to protect the rights of disabled people, they are a force to be reckoned with as they consist 10 percent of the global population.

He said that LCD is playing an important role in urging the Government to ratify this convention in the SAARC region. India and Bangladesh are the only two countries that have ratified the Convention from among 66 other countries. At present 140 countries are signatories to the Convention, he said.

LCD Resource Center (LCDRC) Legal Consultant M.H.P Gunaratne said the UN Convention was set up to protect the rights of the disabled and their inherent dignity. "Its ratification will help us to obtain foreign assistance," he said.

He said that though Sri Lanka signed the Convention in 2007 it has not approved the incorporation of this Convention into its legal system. They also conducted several campaigns under the leadership of young persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka to ratify the UNCRPD including the Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.

Gunaratne said that Sri Lanka accounts for 5-6 percent of its population with impairment and disabilities. Majority of them live in rural areas and constitute one of the most excluded and poor sections of the society.

Attitudinal,institutional and environmental barriers have prevented them from accessing, basic human rights such as education, health care livelihoods, social security, participation and rehabilitation services.

First Disability Survey in Pakistan by end of August

After negotiating for a period of six months, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education and World Bank have entered into a final phase to conduct the First National Disability Survey, TheNation has learnt on Monday.

As the project was supposed to be implemented by the end of March but due to some impediments it was delayed. And now it is being expected to execute the plan by end of August.

In this connection, a high level meeting is being held today (Tuesday) between the high–ups of Ministry and the World Bank to give final touch to the proposed plan.

A delegation of the World Bank would meet the Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Samina Khalid Ghurki to brief her on the said project and after getting a nod from her the survey would be conducted.

The proposed survey project is a brainchild of the Ministry while the World Bank is the donor agency.

According to an official of the Ministry, Federal Bureau of Statistics would conduct the survey and initially, the survey would be carried out in selected cities of the four provinces, including AJK. In first phase, the survey would be executed on pilot basis, later a full fledge survey would be conducted across the country.

The official opined that the findings of survey would help the Ministry in policy–making and strategising plans and projects to address the grievances of marginalised segment of the society.

"The first ever survey has been planed with an aim to acquire exact data of disability prevalence in Pakistan as currently authorities are without any authentic statistics regarding disability ratio in Pakistan," the official noted.

He was of the view that the project would help getting first hand information about the social, economical and political situation of the special persons in Pakistan and their access to the basic necessities of life, including health and education.

"During the 1998 census disability related questions appeared for the first time. It is anticipated that during the next census, scheduled for 2009, questions of disability will also be included," he added.

However, the official said, "It would not help to get comprehensive information regarding all types of disability prevalence and its causes in the country". "Whereas this survey is one of its kind and never before in the history of Pakistan such initiative was taken in this regard," he added.

India passes free education bill

The Indian parliament has approved a landmark education bill which seeks to guarantee free and compulsory education for children aged between six and 14.

The bill, passed by the lower house of parliament, will set up new state-run neighbourhood schools.

It will also force private ones to reserve at least a quarter of their places for poor children.

Currently about 70 million children receive no schooling, and more than a third of the population is illiterate.

The bill was passed by the upper house last month.

It now needs presidential assent - a mere formality, correspondents say - to become law.

'New era'

India's Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal described the passage of the bill as "harbinger of a new era" for children to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"We as a nation cannot afford our children not going to schools," he said.

The minister said the bill covers children with disabilities and that the government is planning to set up special schools for them.

"This bill provides for the inclusion of children who are disadvantaged because of disability. The government is not only setting up special schools for them but doing all it can to provide education to them in all types of schools," Mr Sibal said.

The bill also ends widespread practices by which schools impose admission fees on parents to guarantee their children a place and bureaucrats enjoy discretionary powers on deciding who to let in.

Achieving universal education is one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals to be met by the year 2015.

Critics of the bill, however, say it is not clear how the government plans to pay for this.

Also, they say it does not cover children below the age of six and therefore fails to recognise the importance of the early years of a child's development.

They say it also does little to address India's inequitable school system under which there are vast discrepancies between well-funded private schools and state-run schools with poor quality teaching staff and infrastructure.

At the moment India spends a little over 3% of its GDP on education.

Bollywood first for blind actor

A blind Indian is preparing for what is believed to be the first time a person with such a disability will perform a starring role in a Bollywood film.

Naseer Khan, 36, is all set to make his debut in a film called Shadow.

It features him as a gunman with normal vision who performs various death-defying stunts.

His appearance marks a radical change for an industry renowned for its glamorous women and muscle-flexing men who are free of disability or blemish.

'Normal life'

Mr Khan, from Kanpur in north India, completely lost his vision when he was a teenager. He had struggled with partial blindness since birth.

Bollywood stars such as Akshay Kumar tend to be all conquering heroes

But in the film, he plays a swashbuckling character without any obvious impairment.

"I want to prove to the world that having a disability doesn't change anything, one can still continue leading a normal life," he said.

Naseer Khan's action scenes in the film include racing a jet ski, diving, rotating a motorbike, performing stunts on a burning car and jumping off the 38th floor of a building.

Mr Khan, who co-produced the film, stars alongside actors Milind Soman and Hrishita Bhatt.

He decided to take the plunge into the world of acting a few years ago when he happened to be on the sets of a film directed by his friend.

"I thought that acting wasn't a difficult job at all, all you need is time and money," he said. "Of course I have changed my opinion now!"

Naseer Khan belongs to a family of leather industrialists and real estate agents. His passion for Bollywood films brought him to Mumbai and his new career of film production.

"I have always tried to do everything that a person with normal eyesight can do. For example I have received training in leather tanning and also done a course in repairing electronic goods. I can fix video cassette recorders and dish antennas with ease.

"I do take the help of a normal-sighted person while fixing electronic goods. I instruct them on how to repair the product after detecting what the problem is," he says.

And it's not just action scenes - Naseer also dances in the film, an essential requirement for any Bollywood blockbuster.

This, he says, was one of his most difficult challenges since he could not see what the choreographer wanted him to do.

He therefore learnt his dance moves by touching and feeling the choreographer's movements.

"There were times when I felt scared doing dangerous stunts but I was determined to complete them. I thought if a certain scene was integral to the film then it had to be shot despite the difficulties.

"The primary objective of making this film is not commercial success. I just want to inspire people to follow their dreams and aspirations.

"Impossible is not a word in my dictionary."

The film is set to be released later this month.

India: Nominations Invited For Helen Keller Awards 2009

The National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and Shell India Pvt. Ltd. are pleased to invite nominations for the 11th edition of the NCPEDP–Shell Helen Keller Awards that honour individuals and companies who are working towards ensuring equal opportunities for people with disabilities in their work place. The awards also acknowledge disabled people who have become role models for the community by not allowing their disabilities to become a handicap.

Every year, NCPEDP gives ten awards under the following 3 categories:

Category A:Disabled persons from within and outside the disability sector who have been active as ambassadors of the cause of employment for disabled people and are a positive role model for others (3 Awards).

Category B:Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for Disabled People. Individuals from within and outside the disability sector who have contributed substantially to the cause of promoting employment opportunities for disabled people over an extended period of time (3 Awards).

Category C:Companies / organizations / institutions who share our vision and through their policies and practices demonstrate their belief in equal rights and gainful employment for persons with disabilities (4 Awards).

A total ofsixindividuals andfourorganizations for these awards will be selected.The NCPEDP-SHELL HELEN KELLER AWARDS 2009will be presented at a function on 2ndDecember 2009, the eve of the World Disability Day, at New Delhi. A Sub-Committee will scrutinize the forms, and those selected will be informed directly by NCPEDP.Shri Subodh Bhargava chaired the Sub-Committee from 1999-2005. For the last three years, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy has been chairing the Sub – Committee.Eminent persons from the corporate sector, media as well as the disability sector have also served on the Sub-Committee in the previous years.

The Nomination Forms could be obtained by emailing at: secretariat@ncpedp.org. Complete Nomination Forms should reach NCPEDP latest by Tuesday, 15thSeptember 2009.

- End -

About Helen Keller Awards:

NCPEDP conducted a survey of Indian private and public corporations, included in Business India’s Super 100 list of 1998. Needless to say, the findings of the survey were extremely disappointing. This survey undertaken in 1999, revealed that the private sector employed a mere 0.28 percent people with disabilities, while the public sector employed 0.54 percent. Multinational corporations had hired only 0.05 percent disabled people in India. This led to the institution of the NCPEDP – Shell Helen Keller Awards in 1999. Over a period of time these awards have received incredible support and recognition from the concerned sectors.

About National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP):

National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) was registered as a Trust in 1996, with a Board of Management which has representation from industry, N.G.O.s, disabled people and international agencies. N.C.P.E.D.P. stresses the need to move away from traditionally held views of charity and welfare to those of productivity and empowerment of disabled people.

Treaty fostered by HLS Project on Disability to be signed by the U.S.

HPOD Executive Director Michael Stein ’88

On Friday July 24, President Barack Obama ’91 announced that the United States will sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, joining more than 100 other nations. The Harvard Law School Project on Disability played a prominentrole in the negotiations leading up to the convention, which is the first global human rights treaty of the 21st century.

HPOD was represented at the White House ceremony on Friday afternoon by the project’s Executive Director Michael Stein ’88, Cabell Professor at William & Mary Law School and frequent visiting professor at HLS. An expert in disability law, Stein played an important role in the convention’s drafting and its adoption by the U.N. in 2006. The convention has since been signed by 139 nations and ratified by 59.

“The United States signing of the CRPD and submitting it to the Senate for ratification reaffirms American commitment to rejoining the global community generally, and to continuing leadership in the area of disability law and policy,” said Stein, who will attend the signing at the U.N. on July 31.

The convention took legal effect one month following the 20th national ratification, on May 3, 2008. Under the direction of Stein and HLS Professor and HPOD Chair William Alford ’77, the project has been working to foster the convention’s implementation. HPOD’s work is concentrated mainly in Bangladesh, China, Korea, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam, with growing requests for its assistance from several other nations. HPOD offers scholarly research, legislative development, training programs for disabled persons organizations, and assistance to foreign academic institutions.

Films: The best source to bring awareness on disability and new entry "My name is Khan"

Being touted as one of the biggest blockbusters of the year even before its release, Shahrukh-kajol starrer 'My Name is Khan' recently touched upon another landmark.

Fox Star Studios, who distributed oscar winner 'Slumdog Millionare' in India have reportedly picked up the rights of the Karan Johar biggie for a whopping Rs. 100 crore.

The movie has been receiving rave reviews from the critics who have managed to catch rushes of the movie. 'My name is Khan' has been receiving a lot of audience attention as it brings back the legendary pairing of the Raj and Simran of Bollywood aka Shahrukh-Kajol.

The critics who managed to hear some of music from the movie composed by trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were overwhelmed and consider the album to be potential chartbuster.

Wiritten by Shibani Bhatija, the movie deals with a Muslim (Shah Rukh) who suffers from the Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that impacts social interaction abilities, who is arrested as a suspected terrorist in post-9/11 Los Angeles after authorities mistake his disability for suspicious behaviour.

Just as it is said, nothing sells better in Bollywood than Shahrukh Khan.. all of us await the arrival of 'Khan'.

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ASIAN ACADEMY Of Film And Television along with the social organisation 'Brotherhood' organised “Look Back We Care Film Festival”- an event of films on Disability at Marwah Studios, Film City, Noida. The collection of films on different issues of disabilities were projected to the large crowd, film and television students of AAFT, ASMS and ABS with an idea to evoke emotions towards people who are sometimes ignored by the community and society for no rhyme or reasons.

“We have joined hands with Brotherhood only to promote the idea of creating awareness towards disability,” said Sandeep Marwah, President Marwah Studios.

“We at brotherhood have pledged to promote our disable brothers and sisters to come forward in life and become independent” said Satish Kapoor, the director of the Festival .The festival is supported by the information Centre of United Nation, National Trust, Shivkala Motion Pictures and International Film And Television Club.

“We have to look back into Hindi feature films like Black, Dosti, Tare Zameen pain, Koshish that share quite some information highlighted the problems of disability” said Sameer Sen Chief Guest of the day and renowned music director who has given music to 150 feature films like Jalwa, Arjun Pandit, Anari No 1, Achanak, Salakhen, Kartavaya etc.

BB Choudhary IPS, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Rajeev Chandran of United Nation Information Centre, RKSingh former Engineer in Chief, Doordarshan, Raghaveddhiraa of Mangolore Port Trust, Sharad Dutt of Channel P7 were the other speakers of the day. The programme was followed by screening of 15 selected short films on disability.

India: Ist International Deaf Conference - 2009

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the Universal Sanatana Dharma for the Deaf is organizing, for the first time in India, the 1st International Deaf Conference for Spiritual Life and Vision at ISKCON Auditorium, Mumbai, on the 5th and 6th of December, 2009. For this event, a large number of Spiritual Leaders, Mediators, Healers and Moral Educators from various countries are invited to impart spiritual knowledge, and to provide opportunities to the Deaf people in India.

One of the purposes of this conference is to provide a common ground for open interaction between deaf persons and the hearing, in order to create a spirit of brotherhood. It will also help foster a new environment of freedom, life, independence and rich face to face communication with the society. This conference is aimed at encouraging well-being, happiness and love among the deaf persons and extending guidance to them and their significant ones on better education and empowerment so as to eradicate barriers faced by the deaf. Finally, it is platform provided to identify, discuss and work out conclusions regarding issues faced by the deaf.

Five hundred participants are expected to attend the Conference where they will be able to benefit from the Spiritual Knowledge. There will be Drama / Plays performed by the Deaf people portraying the spiritual stories.

White House supports U N Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a ceremony that was timed to commemorate the nineteenth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990, Obama made a pledge to make equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities a keystone of his foreign policy.

On Friday July 25, President Obama signed a proclamation affirming his administration’s support for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This global proclamation is described by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as “a blueprint for ending discrimination” around the world.

The UN treaty calls on all countries to guarantee equal benefits, protection, and justice for individuals with disabilities around the world. 140 others nations will join with the US next week to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The proclamation will then proceed to the US Senate for approval.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton summed up the administration’s position on unequal rights for individuals with disabilities. “Discrimination against people with disabilities isn’t only an injustice; it is a strain on economic development, a limit to democracy, a burden on families, and a cause of social erosion.”

Approximately 25% or 54 million Americans live with some type of disability.

Obama listed his administration’s measures in the area of rights for individuals with disabilities:

• Doubled funding for individuals with disabilities education act
• Lifted the ban on stem cell research
• Beefed up a children’s health insurance program, continuing to cover 7 million children and adding coverage for an additional 4 million children, including children with disabilities
• Signed Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, to aid individuals living with paralysis
• Strengthened enforcement of anti-discrimination of laws
• Started a new assistant position at the Department of Transportation to make transportation more accessible
• Launched the Year of Community Living to affirm the right of individuals with disabilities to live wherever they choose

President Obama stated that he will continue to work “…until every American with a disability can learn in their local public school in the manner best for them…”

Click here to see a C-SPAN video of the signing ceremony.

A study on accidents by World Health Organisation (WHO), Harvard University and World Bank.

Road accidents would move to the third place in the table of leading causes of death and disability by 2020, according to a study by World Health Organisation (WHO), Harvard University and World Bank.

To create more awareness and engaging corporates towards road safety, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Southern Region, had organised a day-long seminar on `Road Safety — Engaging Corporates’ here on Friday.

Inaugurating the seminar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) Praveen Sood said that lack of sincerity among the motorists was the root cause of most traffic violations and not lack of proper awareness.

"The traffic department is in the process of introducing nonintrusive and evidence-based law enforcement. Efforts are on to computerise all RTO branches and traffic stations, so that offenders can be tracked and traffic tickets dispatched to the vehicle owner’s address,’’ Sood informed.

Managing Director of Praxair India Private Limited Gajanan Nabar said that India currently had the dubious distinction of being ranked first in the number of road accidents.

“In Bangalore, 40 per cent of road fatalities were two-wheeler riders and 23 per cent were pedestrians,’’ stated Nabar and added that the major factors contributing to accidents were negligence by road-users, poor road conditions and unsafe or poorly maintained vehicles.

Punj Lloyd Limited Deputy General Manager Mukesh Arora said that non-uniformity in methods of traffic control and placement of signs increased confusion among road-users.

"Majority of vehicle drivers are, at best, only semi-literate,’’ he added.

Arora said that a good road safety device should be bright, placed properly, uniform and durable, which helped in improving road safety. He stressed the importance of self-discipline among motorists.

On the occasion, Praveen Sood launched a FM radiobased media campaign on 'lane discipline and use of indicators’ catering to Bangaloreans.

The campaign is a joint venture by CII and the Bangalore City Traffic Police and is a radio jingle that portrays the illeffects of negligent driving combined with a message asking the listeners to observe lane discipline and use indicators wherever needed.