The United States is trying to encourage the participation of persons
with disabilities in international exchange programmes, said the U S
Consul General, Jennifer McIntyre.
She was speaking at the inauguration of the 4th international conference and 10th national workshop of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children in Chennai recently.
Equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities is a US foreign policy priority, she said. The United States bureau of Cultural Affairs (ECA) recently sent an envoy to Guangzhou in China to promote inclusion in sports especially for women and girls. She narrated how the US government had been trying to do the same through other programmes too, wherein recently a young woman from Pakistan, who was born with no hands and no legs below the knees, was able to participate in the US Department sponsored YES high school programme.
The United States and India have been able to provide links between educational institutions and also researchers in studies on mental illnesses from both countries through the recent Obama- Singh Knowledge Initiative and the several grants provided through the private sector.
The countries have been trying to promote the interests of disabled people and help them achieve their potential. Both India and the US are signatories to the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which among other articles, calls for governments to take all measures to protect and promote the interests of the children with disabilities, she said.
By capitalising on both big and small opportunities to work together, we can make a huge impact on the quality of life of differently-abled people and their ability to realise their full potential, she pointed out. Apart from the governments and public sector, the private sector, academia and the broader civil society must come forward to support the cause for inclusion of persons with disability, she added.
Jaya Krishnamurthy of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre said that in spite of numerous awareness programmes, efforts by NGOs, institutions and government support, there was still a long way to go for the society to accept differently-abled persons.
P Shivasankar, Secretary, Department of Welfare of Differently Abled Persons listed out the State Government’s efforts in early intervention for children at the district level centres.
Source : The New Indian Express, 23rd Nov 2013
She was speaking at the inauguration of the 4th international conference and 10th national workshop of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children in Chennai recently.
Equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities is a US foreign policy priority, she said. The United States bureau of Cultural Affairs (ECA) recently sent an envoy to Guangzhou in China to promote inclusion in sports especially for women and girls. She narrated how the US government had been trying to do the same through other programmes too, wherein recently a young woman from Pakistan, who was born with no hands and no legs below the knees, was able to participate in the US Department sponsored YES high school programme.
The United States and India have been able to provide links between educational institutions and also researchers in studies on mental illnesses from both countries through the recent Obama- Singh Knowledge Initiative and the several grants provided through the private sector.
The countries have been trying to promote the interests of disabled people and help them achieve their potential. Both India and the US are signatories to the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which among other articles, calls for governments to take all measures to protect and promote the interests of the children with disabilities, she said.
By capitalising on both big and small opportunities to work together, we can make a huge impact on the quality of life of differently-abled people and their ability to realise their full potential, she pointed out. Apart from the governments and public sector, the private sector, academia and the broader civil society must come forward to support the cause for inclusion of persons with disability, she added.
Jaya Krishnamurthy of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre said that in spite of numerous awareness programmes, efforts by NGOs, institutions and government support, there was still a long way to go for the society to accept differently-abled persons.
P Shivasankar, Secretary, Department of Welfare of Differently Abled Persons listed out the State Government’s efforts in early intervention for children at the district level centres.
Source : The New Indian Express, 23rd Nov 2013
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