High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002

Posted on November 15, 2002 in international activities, Japanese Deaf News

from Nov. 15 2002 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

Amendments to the Proposed BIWAKO MILLENNIUM FRAMEWORK

Language and Communication Are Basic Human Rights

Opening of the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude
the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons

The High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002 was held for 4 days, from October 25 to 28 in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The meeting was attended by government representatives of 24 UN member states in the Asian and Pacific Region, including Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, and 2 associate member states, the Cook Islands and Hong Kong, China. Also present at the meeting were representatives from such UN bodies and specialized agencies as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as representatives from international NGOs such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), World Blind Union (WBU), Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI), Rehabilitation International (RI), and Inclusion International (II). WFD was represented by Board Member Mr. Eiichi Takada, Director Takeo Ogura of WFD Regional Secretariat in Asia/Pacific (RSA/P), and Dr. Yutaka Osugi of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf. Trainees from different parts of the A/P region who are studying in Japan under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s “Leadership Training of Asian and Oceanian Deaf Persons” also attended the meeting as observers.

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14th World Federation of the Deaf Regional Secretariat in Asia/Pacific (WFD RSA/P) Representatives Meeting

Posted on November 1, 2002 in international activities, Japanese Deaf News

from Nov. 1 2002 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

Key Words of the Meeting: “Human Rights”

WFD RSA/P Director Takeo Ogura, making his opening address

The 14th WFD RSA/P Representatives Meeting, held on Oct. 17, was chaired by RSA/P Director Takeo Ogura. The Meeting opened with a welcome address by President Toyoki Ando of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf (JFD), presented in International Sign.

Introductions of the special guests attending the Meeting, including WFD President Liisa Kauppinen and WFD Board Members, were followed by introductions of representatives from member countries. Guests from three non-member countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Fiji, were invited to observe this year’s RSA/P Meeting. These guests were also introduced.

Dr. Yutaka Osugi, representing the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, explained the scheduled program. This explanation was followed by commemorative keynote speeches.

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Solidarity and Movements of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Asia by Eiichi Takada (Japanese Federation of the Deaf)

Posted on January 1, 2001 in international activities, Online Resources

originally published in the year 2000 in the magazine “Disability Research vol. 28 issue 1”

OUTLINE: The central force in achieving full participation and equality for people with disabilities is the organizations and movements of people with disabilities themselves. The Japanese Federation of the Deaf (JFD) made great progress in the advancement of welfare for Deaf people in Japan through Deaf rights movements conducted after World War II. Based on these experiences, JFD hosted the 9th World Congress of the Deaf in 1991 in Tokyo. The “Asian Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002” presented another opportunity for advance. As a member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), JFD has been playing an active role in helping to establish and develop Deaf organizations in Asia. One of our major projects is the “Leadership Training of Asian and Oceanian Deaf Persons”, commissioned by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The training program was initiated in 1995, and a total of 39 persons have been trained in the 5 courses completed so far.

Furthermore, JFD utilized the Japan Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Postal Savings for International Voluntary Aid to help establish a common national Sign Language in Thailand through the publication of a Thai Sign Language book. JFD also established the “Asian Deaf Friendship Fund” to pool donations from JFD member associations and other organizations, to be used for such purposes as supporting the annual WFD Regional Secretariat in Asia/Pacific Representatives Meeting, which is hosted in turn by one of the member countries, providing scholarships to students in schools for the Deaf, providing funds to expand the facilities of the Deaf school in Nepal, etc. These projects are carried out with consideration of the specific requests and needs of the organizations receiving support, and with the objective of strengthening and developing the self-reliance of those bodies.

KEY WORDS: independent and autonomous organizations of disabled persons, Deaf society or Deaf community, WFD Regional Secretariat in Asia/Pacific (WFD RSA/P), Leadership Training of Asian and Oceanian Deaf Persons, Asian Deaf Friendship Fund, nationwide unification of the Sign Language.

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