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.