“I want the United Nations to lead by example and invite you to join me in the moving decisively to achieve the goals of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy.” This quote is from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
Each year, we celebrate a special day called International Day of Persons with disabilities, and the date is December 3rd. This year the theme is focused on – Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda.
There are 15% of the world’s population or one billion people – persons with disabilities. About 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries.
There are three main key points of the planning for every workplace, Government and their agencies, organisation, and many other businesses.
Three Key Approaches Guide our Work.
The strategy is based on three overarching approaches to achieve disability inclusion: Twin-Track Approach, Intersectionality, and Coordination.
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Twin-Track Approach: Disability is a cross-cutting issue and should be considered in all our work – First track. Targeted programming is also required – Second Track.
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Intersectionality: Factors such as gender, age and location inform an individual’s experience. These factors also impact people with disabilities and their life experiences.
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Coordination: A coherent and coordinated approach is essential to accelerate progress, build on each other’s work and achieve inclusion.
The Four core areas of responsibility are: –
Core area 1: Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Management.
Core Area 2: Inclusiveness
Core Area 3: Programming
Core Area 4: Organisational Culture
Here is the example of photos that showed many persons with disabilities in developing countries.
In New Zealand, we have a large number of disabled refugees, including citizenship persons with disabilities, because they are genuine refugees from their war-torn countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Colombia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Kenya.
What about persons with D/deaf or Hard of Hearing even with other disability/ties? Yes, there are a small number of D/deaf persons and deaf with other disability/ties living here. However, there is no International Sign Language Interpreter or one or two ISL (International Sign Language) Interpreter available here; I am talking about Deaf refugees who have no English/ASL Sign language than their mother’s sign language such as Kenyan, Iraq or Colombia.
Is our accessibility improve or small improve around New Zealand or not?
In Hamilton, Waikato, Jean is currently involved with the Hamilton City Council and Access for All group, DPA (Disabled Persons Assembly), EGL (Enabling Good Lives) Waikato Leadership including Waikato District Health Board – Disability advisory group. In the last few years, we achieved the plan on a free accessibility concession for the bus fares for all disabled people, including youths in the Hamilton and part of the Waikato towns, by using the buses. Next year, in Hamilton City, there will be new recycled bins, and these bins are designed to have friendly accessible for all people with disabilities and older adults to take the rubbish out.
What about communication such as interpreters on television, warning text messages, or captioning showing on the video for social media/televisions? Because many Deaf people do not understand English better, and they struggle to understand what happened, even can not hear the warning announcements over the radio.
Jean recalled one day when she was driving to work from our rural home, which takes approximately 15-20 minutes. Jean checked her text messages and social media before leaving for work. Then she arrived at the intersection along Claudeland Bridge; Jean saw many people standing outside the shopping mall in front of her. Jean continues to drive toward the traffic lights by turning left, more people standing outside the shopping mall. Another turn left passed the second traffic lights, more people standing until she tried to enter the car park, for security officers were blocking her. Jean was told to park further away from the shopping mall. She found a car park and walked over to the Central Library, where there was a class. Police, security officers, and people everywhere – this baffled her and found it odd. Jean spoke to one of the librarians, and the staff responded to Jean that there was a bomb inside the shopping mall. Jean continued her way to the class and explained to them because her students were disabled and their staff as support workers. That day was the cricket match, and there were several bombs scares in other places in Hamilton several days ago. That was the reason for no visual or text message warning through social media. The social media journalists use radio for breaking new warnings, and they do not realise people who are D/deaf or Hard of Hearing like Jean. These D/deaf people can not hear the message over the radio, mobile voice mail, and other voice communication through social media. Now this problem is sorted and the Hamiton City Council set up a website through social media – Facebook for all people with disabilities including D/deaf people. The Civil Defense set up a warning message through the mobile app – Hazard Red Cross for nothing.
It is important to remember and to include every persons with disability/ties in your community when making the universal design, in the project such as disaster area, planning design in the park, shopping mall and many other things. The technologies are changing fast and these people with disability/ties are way behind advanced technologies.
Life in Eureka 