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A series of 11 short videos in American sign language giving information on various aspects of COVID-19

Recording of the Virtual Event: COVID-19 & Promoting the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities

On April 8, 2020, IDA in collaboration with the EDF held the Virtual Event: COVID-19 crisis and Promoting Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities. The virtual event with 572 registered participants was an effort to provide space and prevent any loss of momentum in promoting the rights of women and girls with disabilities in the global gender equality agenda. 

During the webinar, the panelists have discussed various topics ranging from the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities into mainstream gender mainstreaming strategies, multiple forms of discrimination faced by women and girls with various forms of disability, and the impact of the current pandemic on their well-being.

On April 10th 2020 the European Disability Forum (EDF) organised a two hours webinar about the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges are persons with disabilities are facing. The speakers shared how persons with disabilities are experiencing the measures adopted by the different countries when these don’t take into consideration a disability perspective.

This webinar was conducted by André Félix, EDF External Communications Coordinator and was supported by Raquel Riaza, Events and Administration Officer and by other colleagues from EDF‘s office. The webinar was accessible for persons with disabilities providing live captioning and international sign language interpretation. It was recorded and a transcript is available

Best practices for providing sign language access in different contexts are provided

Factual information on Coronavirus (COVD-19) for the deaf community of Kenya. (English subtitles)

On February 6th 2020, the European Disability Forum (EDF) organised a webinar about the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). The AVMSD is a directive which sets out the rules for audiovisual media services and adapts them to the new media consumption realities and affects all market players (TV broadcasters, video on-demand platforms and video sharing platforms) in the European Union. The AVMSD entered into force on 19th December 2018 and its transposition period will end on 19th September 2020.

This webinar was conducted by Marie Denninghaus, EDF Policy Coordinator and was supported by Raquel Riaza, Events and Administration Officer and by other colleagues from EDF‘s office. The webinar was accessible for persons with disabilities providing live captioning and sign language interpretation. It was recorded and it will be available on EDF’s website.

The first speaker was Lara Orlandi, from the European Commission, who is Policy Officer in DG CONNECT. She gave a broad overview about the main AVMSD objectives and provisions as she was part of the team which prepared and negotiated this legislation. The second speaker was Alejandro Moledo. He is Policy Coordinator at EDF. He spoke about the provisions of the AVMSD with reference to accessibility for persons with disabilities and how to make use of this legislation to advance on media accessibility.

Through a conversation with panelists, the Disability Inclusion 101: Basic Concepts and Approaches webinar seeks to address the following topics:

• Understanding the concept of disability: who are persons with disabilities? 
• What is the human rights-based approach to disability? 
• Universal design, accessibility, and reasonable accommodation 
• The twin-track approach: combining disability-targeted initiatives with disability inclusion in mainstream initiatives 
• What is an organization of persons with disabilities and how to engage with them

Opening Speaker: USG Ana Maria Menéndez, Senior Advisor on Policy to the Secretary-General

Panelists:

Mr. Facundo Chavez Penillas, Human Rights & Disability Advisor, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Ms. Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor, World Bank
Mr. Stefan Tromel, Senior Disability Inclusion Specialist, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Ms. Elham Yussefian, Inclusive Humanitarian and DRR Advisor, International Disability Alliance
 

The webinar was moderated and facilitated by Mr. Gopal Mitra, Senior Social Affairs Officer, and Ms. Georgia Dominik, Social Affairs Officer, Disability Team, Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG).

Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) is committed to advancing the rights of people with disabilities living in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Developing an evidence base to understand more about deaf children and adults’ experiences and priorities will better assist communities, DPOs, organisations and governments to plan inclusive communities, policy and programs.

The development of the design was deliberately planned to be highly collaborative and the team met with 161 people who shared their views. This provided opportunities for deaf people and DPOs to contribute to the design, along with representatives from government, non-government and regional organisations. This collaboration occurred in three countries in the Pacific, namely Solomon Islands, Samoa and Fiji. Within Fiji, the design team met with deaf and DPO representatives of other PIC’s along with regional multi-lateral organisations such as UNICEF and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS). Consultations also occurred remotely with supporting organisations and development workers that are focused on disability inclusion in the Pacific. The design undertook a desk review to learn what is known about deaf children and adults in the Pacific region. Participatory methods ensured the process was highly respectful of the views of deaf people. DPOs, other organisations and governments will be asked to identify to what extent deaf children, adults and their families are participating in services, programs and establishments, and to identify potential supports required to increase deaf people’s participation.  A capacity building element has been carefully built into the design. The report is divided into three parts. Part A rationalizes the design, with background information and a brief desk review to collect evidence from and about deaf children and adults in the Pacific. Part B describes the design development process and reports findings. Part C details the design for the situation analysis.  

This webpage is aimed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Convention. It comprises some brief explanations about the Convention and the role of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It also countains a video, that is made out of speeches of the Committee members.