Jagodina hosted the Third Table tennis tournament  “Jagodina Trophy” on Saturday 11 of August 2007. More than 40 athlets from Novi Sad, Belgrade, Sabac, Zrenjanin, Smederevo, Cacak, Leskovac, Kragujevac and Jagodina gathered in Sport Center JASSA.

The Tournament opened the Director of Sport Center and Zlatko Kesler, the World Champion in Table tennis for Disabled Persons, was also present there. This Tournament was media covered by RTJ Jagodina and Palma Plus Jagodina.

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According to the UN Office of Legal Affairs, Hungary ratified the Convention and the Optional Protocol on July 20th — becoming the second country to ratify the Convention and the first to ratify the Optional Protocol.  This is a huge step forward and we must congratulate Meosz and all their members for this outstanding achievement.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, which represents a major advance in this field.

Its adoption is to be seen also in the context of the three-year Programme run for a year by the Council of Europe “Building a Europe for and with children”.

11 July 2007 – United Nations officials say the global treaty to protect the rights of the world’s estimated 650 million people with disabilities could take effect by early next year after Qatar this week became the 100th country to sign the landmark pact.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will enter into force 30 days after the 20th country ratifies the treaty, but so far only Jamaica has taken the step of ratification.

The UN Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities estimates that the next 19 ratifications could be reached by as early as the end of this year.

UN disability expert Thomas Schindlmayr said today that the pact is designed to maintain human rights “standards that the international community has agreed upon for all.”

He said as many as two-thirds of UN Member States do not have any legal protection for people with disabilities, even though they comprise one in 10 of the global population.

The Convention is supposed to “ensure that people with disabilities enjoy the same human rights that everyone else does in their respective societies… It is not granting any ‘new’ human rights.”

Since opening for signature on 30 March, the Convention has quickly garnered support from Member States. The 100 signatories to the treaty so far include 55 countries that have also signed the Optional Protocol. That protocol allows for individuals and groups to petition the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities once all national recourse and procedures have been exhausted.

“We are pleased by the commitment shown by so many Member States,” Mr. Schindlmayr said.

Adopted by the General Assembly last December, the Convention was one of the fastest treaties ever negotiated at the UN. The pact provides that States which ratify it should enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights, and also abolish legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities.

The Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Turkey has organized 1^st International Smiling Child Festival in 2006 and 2^nd International Smiling Child Festival in 2007, 750 disabled and undisabled children from 26 country participated. Our prior purpose of founding this organization is to help handicapped children to socialize with other children and to protect the future of them in this changing world.  

The Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Turkey is starting to organize 3^rd International Smiling Child Festival in Istanbul in the week of 23 April 2008 for the disabled children who are 7-15 years old from all over the world. We are seeking the totally disabled and mixed (disabled & unndisabled) children groups that have any kind of stage performance like folklore, modern dance or talented individual children that can sing or play musical instrument or have any kind of visual work or piece of art that can be exhibited in the Festival. In the 3^rd Festival, we will especially stress on the children with orthopedic disabilities surely including the children with all kind of disabilities and the groups that majority of team are formed by disabled children will be preferable.  

We want to invite children and their companions to our Festival. This letter is just a fixing one. There is no necessity to participate. There will be no charge in Istanbul for accommodation, F&B, local transportation, visits, local hospitalization since the Turkey Association will meet all the costs. (Except the costs of the transportation to Istanbul and back.)

We are honored to see your country as a participant in this international event.  If you interested or don’t interested in our organization, please contact with us. The dead line to answer back is 27^th July 2007, either positively or negatively. If you don’t interested, please recommend us other disabled associations or organizations in your own country.  

Note: For further information please visit the website: www.smilingchild.com 

Fashion Freaks is about fashion, clothing and vanity

from a seated perspective.

We who use wheelchairs know how hard it is to find good looking clothes that fit. Skirts are too short at the back. Pants are too tight in the crotch. The jacket travels forward with every move until the shoulder pads form extra boobs. It is not funny!!

It is not as complicated as you think to sew yourself. And when you have your “own” pattern you can create any combination or variation of clothing you want.

With your “own” pattern you can ask a seamstress to sew that special garment for that special occasion – maybe a two-piece suit for graduation. Or find the tailor who makes motorcycle clothes and order that leather jacket everyone will envy.

Fashion Freaks is about clothing for wheelchair users. On out website you will find patterns for downloading, simple sewing instructions, tips and other useful stuff. Here you will find everything you need to fix a wardrobe after your personal taste.

Visit us at www.independentliving.org/fashionfreaks

Disability support and advocacy group CCS, now CCS Disability Action, is using its awareness week to celebrate the success of disabled people living independently and draw attention to the fact that many disabled people do not live the home life they choose.

“If you’re living in residential care, you will not have the everyday choices most of us take for granted,” says Viv Maidaborn, CEO, CCS Disability Action. “Living a home life you choose means that you make decisions about your environment; they’re not made for you. This includes when and what you eat, whom, if anyone, you live with, what your home looks like, all the things most people take for granted,” says Viv.

The organisation believes far too many disabled New Zealanders currently have inappropriate or unchosen living arrangements. It understands there have been up to 200 disabled people under 50 years of age living in aged care facilities at any time. CCS Disability Action is currently working with the Government for more flexible funding criteria for disability services to provide individualised support so that people with disabilities can live a home life of their choice.

CCS Disability Action can assist disabled people with funding applications, finding appropriate carers and discovering the local community and facilities, “It’s often a simple case of someone wanting to live a more independent life and making everyday choices,” says Viv Maidaborn.

Lorna Sullivan, from Standards Plus, an independent agency promoting leadership and outcome-based quality in services for people with disabilities, endorses the “basic right” message.

“To promote a society that highly values disabled people’s lives and continually enhances our full participation is very admirable. But then to deny people basic life opportunities of choosing where they live, who they live with, what they do during their day is flawed,” she says. “New Zealand proudly and justifiably promotes its achievements in closing large institutions, but appears unable to recognise that small institutions have just as negative and long lasting impacts on the life opportunities and social value of people.

Supported Living New Zealand agrees, “People with disabilities want to be in control of their own lives. They want to make their own choices about where and how they live, and how they are supported,” says spokesperson Shmuel Bar-Even. “The community around them needs to make a shift away from the disempowering practices of the past, towards real community membership and real choice,” he said.

When it comes to living independently in the community a disabled person might need support to assist with cooking, shopping or personal care needs. CCS Disability Action believes that with increased flexible funding disabled people would have a more genuine sense of being included in the community and consequently better able to contribute to their community.

Association of Dystrophics of Middle/North Banat County organised sport games of persons with Muscular Dystrophy in Kikinda. This manifestation was held 30 of June under the logo “Nothing about us, without us – even in sport competitions”. Association of Dystrophics from Sombor, where CIL has its branch too, took several medals as a team and individually:

 – II place in chess – team– I place – team

– II– Zeljko Martinovic – former PASS user

– I for precise driving electric wheelchair – Julijana Catalinac – PASS user

– I place in small discs throwing – Julijana Catalinac. 

Slobodan Milojkovic from Jagodina trains table tennis for a long time.At the end of May 2007 he won III place and bronze medal at Belgrade Trophy and IV place at Smederevo Tournament 9 of June 2007.Slobodan participated at World Cup for Persons with Disabilities in Novi Sad and confirmed his improvement in single and double play.

We wish him more and more success!

What Can They Do?

 – By John M.

WilliamsRalph Waldo Emerson was noted for telling his students, “Don’t tell me what I know, tell me what I don’t know.”I urge employers to be guided by this rule when considering hiring an individual with a disability.The infinite question employers asked me is, “What can an employee with a disability do?” This is an easy, three-part question to answer.The first step I say is read the biographies of John Milton (blind), Aristotle (speech-impaired), Ludwig von Beethoven (deaf), artist Frida Kahlo (polio), singer Cher (learning disability), Stephen Hawking (ALS) and Helen Keller (deaf-blind). This finite list can easily become infinite.I tell employers that every century and every generation produces people with disabilities who excel. They acquit themselves because they have the ability, determination and discipline. Imagine how poorer the world would be without the successes of Aristotle, Milton, Lincoln, Helen Keller and others. History, I say, spends more time discussing the accomplishments of people with disabilities than their disabilities. And so, it is the person you must see, not the disability, when considering hiring a person with a disability. Secondly, I say, imagine a world in which you are interviewing for a job you know you can do. And the person interviewing you has a disability. What is your response to being told, “Even though you have the ability, I won’t hire you because you don’t have a disability.” What are your reactions? Anger! Pain! Bitterness! You don’t want to experience that situation, so why put others through it? The third part is discover the benefits of Information Technology to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation Act is a driving force in hardware and software accessible to people with disabilities. Microsoft’s VISTA has accessible features that allow individuals with disabilities to use it. Hewlett Packard, Canon USA, Adobe, IBM, Nokia, Verizon, and other manufacturers are building accessible features into their products. These products make employees with disabilities more productive and more efficient. These products tear down information walls that historically have prevented people with disabilities from being employed. IT and Assistive Technologies equalize employment opportunities for employees with disabilities. Such technologies allow people with disabilities to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, teachers, entrepreneurs, hardware and software developers, nurses, telephone operators, accountants, engineers. To learn more about Assistive technology products visit the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s web site (www.atia.org).

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John M. Williams has been writing about disability issues for 29 years. He coined the phrase Assistive Technology. He has written more then 1,500 articles on disability issues and is the author of “Assistive Technologies: Expanding a Universe of Opportunities for People with Disabilities.” Visit John’s Website: Assistive Technology News

Serial of trainings, within the III Module and in organisation of Center for Independent Living Serbia was finished in Jagodina (16/17 June) and Smederevo (19/20 June).CIL trainers successfully finished this training cycle within the SHARE SEE program.

CIL trainers successfully facilitated three training sessions of III Module on the topic “Advocacy – a tool to include disability issues into the local policies”.
Those trainings were held in Nis, Predejane and Belgrade and the photographs from the first two show the real atmosphere of participants.

Nis

Predejane

Center for Independent Living Serbia just finished its project Young CIL Activists. The aim of the project was to gather young persons with disabilities as potential activists od Center or their organisations for further activities.

The final educational course was on Srebrno jezero from18th until 20th of May 2007.