TeleAsistency is aimed for elderly, persons with disability, with mobility problems, blind people in short for persons that need continuous monitoring and support 24/7 during the year.

From: Francine A. Pagsibigan

Turner Classic Movies will dedicate the month of October to exploring the ways people with disabilities have been portrayed in film. On behalf of Inclusion in the Arts, Lawrence Carter-Long will join TCM host Ben Mankiewicz for The Projected Image: A History of Disability in Film. The special month-long exploration will air Tuesdays in October, beginning Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. (ET). In a first for TCM, all films will be presented with both closed captioning and audio description (via secondary audio) for audience members with auditory and visual disabilities.

Find more information at: http://www.tcm.com/2012/projectedImage/overview.html

Members of CIL Serbia and Centre Living Upright hosted Cornelis Van Damm from Belgium on September 13 2012. Cornelis travels across Europe in a wheelchair promoting independent living.

Every year, Human Rights Day, on 10 December, is an opportunity to raise global awareness of human rights issues.

This year, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will focus on inclusion and the right to participate in public life.

Fulfillment of the right to participate is fundamental to the functioning of a democracy and an effective human rights protection system. Inclusion of all those who have
been traditionally locked out of the process is an essential precondition to the achievement of both.

The theme draws directly from Articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which speak of the right to freedom of expression and opinion, the
right to freedom of assembly and association and the right to take part in government, either directly or through freely chosen representatives.

This Human Rights Day, OHCHR aims to highlight that ‘participation in public life’ can only achieve its full meaning and real significance when everybody
is included in decision-making processes.

9. We reaffirm the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other international instruments relating to human rights and international law. We emphasize the responsibilities of all States, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations, to respect, protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind to race, colour, sex, language or religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability or other status.  

43. We underscore that broad public participation and access to information and judicial and administrative proceedings are essential to the promotion of sustainable development. Sustainable development requires the meaningful involvement and active participation of regional, national and sub-national legislatures and judiciaries, and all Major Groups: women, children and youth, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, the scientific and technological community, and farmers, as well as other stakeholders, including local communities, volunteer groups and foundations, migrants, families as well as older persons and persons with disabilities. In this regard, we agree to work more closely with Major Groups and other stakeholders and encourage their active participation, as appropriate, in processes that contribute to decision making, planning and implementation of policies and programmes for sustainable development at all levels.  

58. We affirm that green economy policies in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should:

a. be consistent with international law;

b. respect each country’s national sovereignty over their natural resources taking into account its national circumstances, objectives, responsibilities, priorities and policy space with regard to the three dimensions of sustainable development;

c.  be supported by an enabling environment and well-functioning institutions at all levels with a leading role for governments and with the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society;

d. promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, foster innovation and provide opportunities, benefits and empowerment for all and respect of all human rights;

e. take into account the needs of developing countries, particularly those in special situations;

f.   strengthen international cooperation, including the provision of financial resources, capacity building and technology transfer to developing countries;

g. effectively avoid unwarranted conditionalities on ODA and finance;

h. not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable  discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade, avoid unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country, and ensure that environmental measures addressing trans-boundary or global environmental problems, as far as possible, are based on an international consensus;

i.   contribute to closing technology gaps between developed and developing countries and reduce the technological dependence of developing countries using all appropriate measures;

j.   enhance the welfare of indigenous peoples and their communities, other local and traditional communities, and ethnic minorities, recognizing and supporting their identity, culture and interests and avoid endangering their cultural heritage, practices and traditional knowledge, preserving and respecting non-market approaches that contribute to the eradication of poverty;

k. enhance the welfare of women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, smallholder and subsistence farmers, fishers and those working in small and medium enterprises, and improve the livelihoods and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable groups in particular in developing countries;  

135. We commit to promote an integrated approach to planning and building sustainable cities and urban settlements, including through supporting local authorities, increasing public awareness and enhancing participation of urban residents, including the poor, in decision making. We also commit to promote sustainable development policies that support inclusive housing and social services; a safe and healthy living environment for all, particularly children, youth, women, elderly and disabled; affordable and sustainable transport and energy; promotion, protection and restoration of safe and green urban spaces; safe and clean drinking water and sanitation; healthy air quality; generation of decent jobs; and improved urban planning and slum upgrading. We further support sustainable management of waste through the application of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). We underline the importance of considering disaster risk reduction, resilience and climate risks in urban planning. We recognize the efforts of cities to balance development with rural regions.  

229. We reaffirm our commitments to the right to education and in this regard, we commit to strengthen international cooperation to achieve universal access to primary education, particularly for developing countries. We further reaffirm that full access to quality education at all levels is an essential condition for achieving sustainable development, poverty eradication, gender equality and women’s empowerment as well as human development, for the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals, as well as for the full participation of both women and men, in particular young people.

In this regard, we stress the need for ensuring equal access to education for persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, local communities, ethnic minorities and people living in rural areas. 

Within the program for the first Public work in 2012, Center for Independent Living Serbia realised the education for Personal Assistants.

This was the basic educational program although CIL Serbia is the only organisation with acredited program for Pas. The reason for this is that we are waiting for completion of all mechanisms that follow newly adopted Law on Social Protection (licencing and some other regulatory mechanisms).

The most important is that interesting for this education is growing in Serbia and this time CIL realised the education for 16 organisations of PWDs in 14 cities in Serbia. There were 126 persons who passed this basic level of education and will work as personal assistants within next six months.

Theme of the new show is how to live with multiple sclerosis in Europe and Serbia. Serbian MS Society will talk about the Congress of the European Platform for MS held in Barcelona. There will be discussion on the treatment of MS patients, new drugs and position of Serbia on the MS Barometer. A new modern hall for rehabilitation of MS patients will be also presented.

A person with integrity is a controversial artist.

This show will present Serbian Paralympics shooting team.

There will be a recording from National organization for rare diseases Conference and the show will end with the story on inclusion choir Ison. 

Our stories shape us and the world around us.   There’s our experience, and then there’s what we tell ourselves about it.  The stories we wrap around our experience can add perspective, depth, meaning and encouragement to our lives, or they can rob us of joy, compassion, hope, and forgiveness.  Our stories can thrill and delight us or they can scare us into submission.   The tales we live by are the blueprints of both our potential and our limitations because once the lines of fact and fiction have blurred and we interpret our subjective perception as “truth”, our perspective becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.  When we live in a story of shame and victimization, we relinquish our power and squelch our potential.  When we live in a story of sovereignty and self-responsibility, we expand our possibilities and transcend our limitations.   How we view our life as a story often determines how life treats us.
Denise Bissonnette

SELFINITIATIVE is the name of manifestation Fair of Civil Society Organisations that will be held in Belgrade on May 24.

This Fair is organized by City of Belgrade with support of Agency for European Integration and Cooperation with CSOs. Fair will be open at 11 a.m. at Nikola Pasic Square.

Within the adopted Strategy Europe 2020, special emphasise will be put on: employment, skills development and poverty recudtion.

Over 80 million people live in poverty risk and out of that number 19 million are children.

Over one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability.Persons with disabilities, “the world’s largest minority”, often face barriers to participation in all aspects of society. Barriers can take a variety of forms, including those relating to the physical environment or to information and communications technology (ICT), or those resulting from legislation or policy, or from societal attitudes or discrimination. The result is that persons with disabilities do not have equal access to society or services, including education, employment, health care, transportation, political participation or justice.

Evidence and experience shows that when barriers to their inclusion are removed and persons with disabilities are empowered to participate fully in societal life, their entire community benefits. Barriers faced by persons with disabilities are, therefore, a detriment to society as a whole, and accessibility is necessary to achieve progress and development for all.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes that the existence of barriers constitutes a central component of disability. Under the Convention, disability is an evolving concept that “results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”

Accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities are fundamental rights recognized by the CRPD and are not only objectives, but also pre-requisites for the enjoyment of other rights. The CRPD (Article 9, accessibility) seeks to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life and development. It calls upon States Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to all aspects of society, on an equal basis with others, as well as to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility.

In spite of this, in many parts of the world today, lack of awareness and understanding of accessibility as a cross-cutting development issue remains an obstacle to the achievement of progress and development through the Millennium Development Goals, as well as other internationally agreed outcomes for all.

1.       Career Exploration  – People who choose carefully where and for whom they work are happier in their jobs than those who simply take any job that becomes available.  It is the reward that comes with making an “informed choice”.   What that means, of course, is that you need to become as fully informed as possible as to what your choices are!  Attending a job fair can be a terrific way to expand your horizons about the variety of employers and service providers in your community, about what various companies and agencies have to offer, and about what opportunities might fit with your particular needs, abilities and interests.  For those who are looking for career direction, a job fair can provide a perfect setting to explore your options!  The kinds of information to be gathered include:

• Possible career tracks within particular industries;
• Employment opportunities within particular companies;
• Potential training, internship, mentorship or job-shadowing opportunities; and,
• Job search tools and resources available within local employment service providers.

2.       An Opportunity to Network  – Considered by many as the most effective job search strategy, much has been written about the importance and helpfulness of networking when looking for work.  One of the key benefits of attending a career fair is the opportunity to meet, engage and connect with new people in a variety of situations.  Whether it’s at the registration table, while having coffee, exploring the exhibits, sitting with people in a workshop, or just cruising around the fair, a job fair can offer a unique opportunity to expand your network in a variety of ways, both personally and professionally! 

 3.       An Occasion to Practice and Hone Your Skills   – Attending a job fair is a way of “putting yourself out there” in a low-risk, non-threatening situation, one in which employers are there for the explicit purpose of meeting and engaging in conversation with job seekers.  Even for those not currently looking to enter the job market, attending a job fair offers a unique opportunity for you to gain valuable experience in essential job search skills which include: 

• Presenting yourself in a professional manner;
• Introducing yourself with calm and confidence;
• Effectively responding to interview questions;
• Asking good questions in a clear and concise manner;
• Initiating conversation with comfort and ease;
• Developing good listening skills;
• Gaining a comfort level in networking.
• Gathering job market information; and,
• Following up on job leads or other opportunities to engage with local employers.

4.       Meeting Face to Face with Employers    – Who do you think you would be more apt to go out of your way to interview – someone whose resume you received in the mail but who remains faceless, or the person who you met in person, shook hands with, and enjoyed a moment or two of lively conversation?  One of the greatest challenges of the job search is getting “face time” with the people who make sure that their resume or application gets in the right hands of the right people at the right time.  For many, the greatest benefit of a job fair is to save the time, effort, and discouragement that can result from sticking with more impersonal job search methods like mailing resumes or responding to Internet postings.  Having the opportunity to meet you in person, hear your voice or see your smile, could be all the difference in their decision to get your resume or application in the right hands!  

5.       An Opportunity to Attend Fun and Engaging Workshops – Many job fairs offer free seminars for job seekers delivered by seasoned trainers on important and timely subjects pertinent to the job search. These workshops typically equip the job seeker with effective and practical tools and new ideas, serving to both better equip you for the job search while simultaneously renewing and inspiring you with fresh thinking about your possibilities!  

6.       The Benefit of Being in Community – The job search can be a humbling experience and a challenging endeavor for people in all fields, and on all levels of skills and ability.  It is not unusual for job seekers to feel alone in their efforts to find employment.   One antidote to this feeling of isolation is having the experience of being part of a larger community of people who share similar challenges while reaching for their own dreams.  There are numerous benefits to be had by spending a day engaging with your peers who have a variety of skills, interests and disabilities, and with professionals from a variety of industries and positions.  Such an experience can build your confidence, renew a sense of belonging, and inspire hope as you engage with people who have achieved their vocational goals and/or are in pursuit of them! 

7.       Mixin’ it Up by Doing Something Different  –  If for no other reason, think about attending a job fair just to participate in something out of your ordinary day-to-day job search.  Be open to the experience, to the people, and to the possibilities that await you in what can often be a dynamic, open forum.