[Pwd] Re: [WSIS CS-Plenary] health section - explanation

Mon Dec 19 23:09:23 GMT 2005

Dear Catherine:

Thank you very much Catherine for your offer and extremely valuable input.

Since I posted a request for consideration on posting an additional chapter 
of WSIS Disability Caucus through PWD list in order to respond to kind offer 
of Ralf, I like to wait for 24 hours to get feedback from the caucus members 
before I proceed to next step.

Thank you very much for your understanding.

Best

Hiroshi

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "zara" <croy at contact.net>
To: "'Hiroshi Kawamura'" <hiroshikawamura at attglobal.net>
Cc: <Pwd at wsis-cs.org>; <plenary at wsis-cs.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7:42 AM
Subject: RE: [Pwd] Re: [WSIS CS-Plenary] health section - explanation

Dear Hiroshi,

I believe that we absolutely need to submit a section on persons with 
disabilities to be included in the Civil Society statement and I greatly 
thank those for giving us this opportunity at this late date.  We have 
material to work with.  Here below my signature are excerpts of documents 
that could be helpful.  I am at your disposal tonight if you need help.

Best,

Catherine

--
Catherine Roy, consultante
www.catherine-roy.net
514.525.9490
--

This was the section concerning persons with disabilities included in the 
Civil Society statement for the Geneva phase:

2.2.8 Rights of Persons with Disabilities

In inclusive information and communication societies, the rights of persons 
with disabilities to have full and equal access to information and 
communications including ICTs, regardless of types and degree of 
disabilities, must be ensured by public policies, laws and regulations at 
all levels. In order to achieve this goal, a Universal Design principle and 
the use of assistive technologies must be seriously promoted and supported 
throughout the whole process of building and nurturing information and 
communication societies in which persons with disabilities and their 
organisations must be allowed to participate fully and on equal terms with 
non-disabled people.

This is the Disability Caucus statement for the Tunis phase:

Recalling the historic success of the first Global Forum on Disability and 
the over all first phase of WSIS; Being encouraged and moved by the spirit 
of the Geneva Declaration on Inclusive Information Society, WSIS Declaration 
of Principles and Plan of Action;

Noting, however, with great concern the difficulty of transforming words on 
paper into real actions/implementation, given the fact that the concept of 
"inclusiveness" in general often leaves disability aspects out, causing 
persons with disabilities to be excluded, marginalized, forgotten and left 
behind;

Having high hope and confidence in the ultimate power of the united force, 
among persons with disabilities, our representative organizations our 
friends and our empathetic allies of all sectors around the world, to work 
for the true inclusive information society,

Therefore, we, participants of the Second Global Forum on Disability in the 
Information Society, held during the second phase of WSIS, on the 18th day 
of November 2005, in the City of Tunis, Republic of Tunisia:

1. Call upon all governments, private sectors, civil society and 
international organizations to make the implementation, evaluation and 
monitoring of all WSIS documents, both from the first and second phase, 
inclusive to persons with disabilities;

2. Strongly urge that persons with disabilities and our needs be included in 
all aspects of designing, developing, distributing and deploying of 
appropriation strategies of information and communication technologies, 
including information and communication services, so as to ensure 
accessibility for persons with disabilities, taking into account the 
universal design principle and the use of assistive technologies;

3. Strongly request that any international, regional and national 
development program, funding or assistance, aimed to achieve the inclusive 
information society be made disability-inclusive, both through mainstreaming 
and disability-specific approaches;

4. Urge all governments to support the process of negotiation, adoption, 
ratification and implementation of the International convention on the 
rights of persons with disabilities, in particular through enactment of 
national legislation, as it contains strong elements concerning information 
and communication accessibility for persons with disabilities.

This is the Canadian Civil Society declaration adopted in Winnipeg in 
preparation for the Tunis phase that may be helpful as well for wording if 
needed:

Persons with Disabilities

Canadians with disabilities account for 17% of the population and, despite 
efforts and progress made, they continue to represent the most excluded of 
Canada’s marginalized populations, with poor access to education, 
employment, and the means to realize their full potential. Women with 
disabilities and persons with disabilities from cultural or aboriginal 
communities are faced with double exclusion. Actions to take include:

1. Promoting the adoption and implementation of inclusive standards and 
alternative formats for ICTs;
2. Ensuring that all legislations, policies, programs, and initiatives in 
the field of ICTs from the initial phase of development include persons with 
disabilities;
3. Supporting capacity building of persons with disabilities to ensure that 
they can take full advantage of ICTs.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: pwd-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:pwd-admin at wsis-cs.org] On Behalf Of
> Hiroshi Kawamura
> Sent: December 19, 2005 4:38 PM
> To: plenary at wsis-cs.org
> Cc: Pwd at wsis-cs.org
> Subject: [Pwd] Re: [WSIS CS-Plenary] health section - explanation
>
> Dear Ralf:
>
> Thank you very much for your kind offer to invite a chapter on
> disabilities.
>
> I am very pleased to ask WSIS Disability Caucus members on how to proceed
> through PWD mailing list which has nearly 300 subscribers with or without
> disabilities across the world.  This is our standard procedures to make a
> decision. I will get back to you within 24 hours.
>
> Best
>
> Hiroshi
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ralf Bendrath" <bendrath at zedat.fu-berlin.de>
> To: <plenary at wsis-cs.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 1:17 AM
> Subject: Re: [WSIS CS-Plenary] health section - explanation
>
>
> > [Please note that by using 'REPLY', your response goes to the entire
> list.
> > Kindly use individual addresses for responses intended for specific
> > people]
> >
> > Click http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/ to access automatic translation
> of
> > this message!
> > _______________________________________
> >
> > Elizabeth Carll, PhD wrote:
> >> What is curious to me is why the drafting group did not decide to
> include
> >> both a section on disability as was submitted by the Disability Caucus
> >> and
> >> the health section as was submitted by the Health and ICT Working
> Group,
> >> thereby being inclusive of both groups.
> > Excuse me, we did _never_ make such a decision, and would not dare to.
> >
> > The disability caucus just never found the time to submit language, as I
> > learned just now. If they do, I will be more than happy to include this
> in
> > a revised version of the statement.
> >
> > Ralf
> > _______________________________________________
> > Plenary mailing list
> > Plenary at wsis-cs.org
> > http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Pwd mailing list
> Pwd at wsis-cs.org
> http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/pwd

_______________________________________________
Pwd mailing list
Pwd at wsis-cs.org
http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/pwd