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16th WFD RSA/P Representatives Meeting
December 9-11, 2004
Hosted by the Indonesian Association for the Welfare of the Deaf (IAWD)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Sari Pan Pacific Hotel

MINUTES (draft)

Attended by 18 delegates from 11 countries, and 25 observers from 5 countries, and many Indonesian observers from all parts of the country.

Apologies for absence were received from the Deaf Association of New Zealand, Australian Association of the Deaf, Nepal Federation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as well as from the Fiji Association of the Deaf, which is the 20th member of WFD RSA/P)

December 9　<Day 1>
9:00-18:00

1. The Opening Ceremony was attended by Minister H. Bachtiar Chamsyah, S.E. of the Social Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Indonesia, and Mr. Robinson Saragih, Director of Rehablitation for Disabled Persons of Social Affairs Department.

Opening speeches were presented by

(1) Director Takeo Ogura of WFD RSA/P
(2) President Dimyati Hakim of IAWD
(3) Minister Chamsyah of the Social Affairs Ministry of Indonesia

2. The meeting called to order by the Chair, Director Takeo Ogura, assisted by Pres. Panomwan Boontem (MC) of Thailand.

3. The agenda was unanimously approved.

4. The minutes of the 15th WFD RSA/P Representatives Meeting (in Montreal, Canada) were unanimously approved.

5. Report from Director Ogura:

Director Ogura welcomed the Fiji Association of the Deaf as the 20th member of WFD RSA/P. Unfortunately, Fiji could not attend due to financial constraints. He explained his contributions and other discussions that took place at the UN ESCAP conferences and workshops that he attended. He expressed appreciation to those who cooperated in answering the questionnaires sent out from the A/P Secretariat.

6. Introduction of APCD (Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability):

Explanation on the activities of APCD presented by special guests, Ms. Saranpat Anumatraiki, Director of APCD and Ms. Naoko Ito, JICA Expert for Disability Program (dispatched to APCD), using video.

Many questions came from the floor as to what APCD is doing for the Deaf.
There was much dissatisfaction about the training programs, centering mainly on the blind and physically disabled persons. There were numerous requests from the floor for more programs to empower the Deaf.

7. Country Reports from OMs

China (report distributed)

Gave a report based on the written report distributed to participants.

Hong Kong (report distributed)

Conducted survey on Deaf education.
It was found that children who received oral education were slower to acquire writing skills, while those receiving education in Sign Language were quick to master language skills (both Sign Language and other languages).

Japan (report distributed)

Introduced 2 representatives from the National Study Association for Sign Language Interpretation who called on OMs to help them form an Asia-Pacific branch of WASLI (World Association of Sign Language Interpreters) to support the Deaf movement in the A/P region.

Indonesia (report distributed)

Expressed dissatisfaction over promises made but not kept by the government.

Macau (report distributed)

About 400 persons with hearing disabilities (including the late-deafened) in Macau.
Introduction of Sign Language interpreter training program for 2003/2004
Publication of books on Sign Language.
Celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Association's establishment in September.
Efforts to raise public awareness.

December 10th <Day 2>
9:00-16:30 (followed by workshops)

Introduction of article on the A/P Meeting in the "Jakarta Post Newspaper".
Confirmation of schedule by IAWD Secretariat.

1. Continuation of Country Reports

Malaysia

Apologies for absence of president due to meeting with government.
About 23,000 persons with hearing disabilities in Malaysia.
CD Rom on Sign Language made with support from US and Finland.
Held a program to train Sign Language interpreters.
Until now, JICA trainee candidates were chosen by the Deaf Association, but this time, the government had priority in making the choice.
Malaysia has been responsible for WFD RSA/P website, but no developments so far.
A newly established Deaf school set up 2 classes, one for sign language education and one for oral education, as a test case. Results were that students educated in sign language showed better performance. This led the government to affirm the importance of sign language in Deaf education.

Iran (report distributed)

Plan to bid for hosting the RSA/P Representatives Meeting in 2006.
Presented a proposal to make a new logo mark. As the WFD RSA/P already has a new logo, the proposal was rejected.
The country has set up a policy to change sign language education into oral education. This policy is still being put into effect.
Iran Center for the Deaf is now 50% completed.

Pakistan (report distributed)

Publication of 1000 copies of the book on Pakistan Sign Language with support from JFD.
Making a CD Rom for the promotion of ICT.
P.A.D. is managing a school for Deaf children with support from JICA.
Expressed desire to host the RSA/P Representatives Meeting in 2009.
Currently has 10 member organizations throughout the country.
Need for leadership training, survey on problems in each district, vocational training.
Hopes to have different countries visit Pakistan in 2005 to inspect the situation.

Philippines (report distributed)

30 local organizations decreased to 15 because of the lack of ability to operate.
Plan to respect and collect the local sign language dialects before trying to establish a standardized national sign language.

Report on the "Sign Language Dictionary Project", funded by the Nippon Foundation (report distributed)
At about 1990, Prof. James Woodward made a proposal to a hearing linguist to conduct research on the current situation of the Philippino Sign Language.
A sign language textbook is important for training sign language interpreters and for raising awareness about the importance of sign language.
Singapore (report distributed)
Made videos and posters to raise awareness about the Deaf

Thailand (report distributed in the form of CD)

Working together with DPI to advocate with government on increasing budget for support to disabled persons.
Increased number of TV programs with sign language interpretation.
Research being conducted on sign language research.
Making sign language textbooks and CDs.
Giving support to the Deaf in Myanmar (in relation to sign language, etc.)
Big problem is the lack of interpreters (only 4 certified sign language interpreters)

Cambodia (observer)

(Cambodia is not a member of RSA/P, but the participants gave the observers time to give a report on the situation in Cambodia. The report was presented by a deaf DDP advisor)
2 young Cambodian observers attended the meeting. Both traveled abroad for the first time. Probably about 300,000 persons with hearing disabilities.
DDP (Deaf Development Program) has schools (taught in sign language), one for those under 15 years old, and one for those over 15 years old.
Cambodia has no national association of the Deaf, and many Deaf live isolated.
Very few potential Deaf leaders in the country.
Major issues are illiteracy, no means to acquire information, no means to access sign language interpretation, lack of awareness about sign language interpretation, no mention of the Deaf in national legislation or policies.

Country reports submitted by Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, and Sri Lanka were distributed to the participants.

2. Discussions and approval of the "WFD RSA/P Deaf Youth Camp Guidelines" (draft proposed by the Secretariat, based on the WFDYS Camp Guidelines)

The following changes and proposals were made to the draft proposal:

1.2 Objectives: (New addition) Enable Deaf Youth to acquire new knowledge and skills.
2. Decision of the Host Country: (New addition) A formal approval to host the camp, written by the Deaf Association of the country and bearing the official stamp of the association, should be attached to the notification. (Addition) The WFD RSA/P should check whether the facilities meet the requirements for the Camp.
8.1 Requirements for camp participants: All participants must be within age limits on the first day of the RSA/P Youth Camp (Between ages 18 and 35)
(Addition) If persons who are NOT within the age limits wish to participate or are nominated for the Camp, the MC members will discuss the issue and decide whether or not to permit participation.
9.2 Registration Fee (New addition) 2% of the total amount collected should be donated to the WFD RSA/P budget.
16.1. Emergency Communication Access: (New addition) WFD RSA/P staff members should wear uniforms which will enable participants to distinguish them easily.

The Camp Guidelines were unanimously approved with the above alterations. (Refer to attached revised Guidelines)

3. Decision of the host country for upcoming WFD RSA/P Deaf Youth Camp:

No candidate for 2005.
Bid to host Camp in 2006: Philippines, Japan
11 valid votes in all.
Japan 6, Philippines 5 = Japan decided to be the host country for 2006 Camp.

December 11th <Day 3>
9:15-11:05

1. Election of Management Committee members (to fill 2 vacant posts) until the next elections to be held in 2007 in Spain.

Most of the discussions among MC members will be conducted by e-mail.
For regular MC meetings, the airplane fare and other expenses must be paid by the MC's country. For extraordinary meetings, the A/P Secretariat will try to find funds to cover the MCs' expenses.
It was confirmed that the candidate must be present at this meeting. The MC elected today can NOT be replaced by a different member of the Association later.
It was decided by a 6 to 3 vote that 2 delegates should represent each OM (as stated in the bylaws) and that MCs should be a different person from the delegates.
It was decided that the registration fee for MCs will be the same as the delegates.
Candidates: Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines
Valid votes=11 OMs.
Mr. Ko Nam of Hong Kong and Mr. Raphael Domingo of the Philippines elected to serve as new MCs, together with Director Ogura, Ms. Boontem (Thailand) and Mr. Joshi (Nepal).

2. Host countries for upcoming WFD RSA/P Representatives Meetings:

(1) Presentation by the China Association of the Deaf, host country for the Representatives Meeting in 2005:
To be held in Shangahai.
Participants are expected to arrive on Sept. 18.
Meeting to be held from Sept. 19 and 20.
Closing Ceremony on Sept. 21 (morning) and sightseeing in the afternoon.
Registration fee for delegates: US$50
Registration fee for observers: US$400
Projectors, copy machines, and other equipment will be available.
Special menu for Muslims will be considered.
Donation of US $100 will be made to A/P Secretariat.
Plan to invite non-member countries of the A/P region (to be considered by RSA/P)

(2) Bid from Macau and Iran to host the meeting in 2006.
As Iran did not have papers bearing the official stamp, Macau was chosen to be the host for the 2006 Representatives Meeting.
Macau explained that it plans to hold the Representatives Meeting from Dec. 2 to 5, 2006.

(3) The Representatives Meeting will be held in Madrid, Spain in 2007, concurrently with the WFD World Congress.
It was suggested that Iran should consider hosting the meeting in 2008.

3. Director Ogura requested that countries which had not yet returned the questionnaires to the WFD RSA/P should do so as soon as possible.

4. The Plan of Activities for 2005 were approved unanimously.

It was explained that the budget for 2004-2005 cannot be introduced at this period because the Japanese Federation of the Deaf has not decided the amount of funds it will provide for WFD RSA/P.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:05.

第16回世界ろう連盟アジア太平洋地域事務局代表者会議
2004年12月9-11日　インドネシア・ジャカルタ

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