Dear Readers,
I am glad to meet you
once again through The Educator. I am extremely happy with the release
of the ICEVI and the World Blind Unionís Joint Educational Policy
Statement at the Africa Forum in May.
As a document, the policy statement is comprehensive
but its success will depend on whether its strategies are adopted and
translated into action. Therefore I urge you to press the statement into
the hands of the policy makers of your countries!
Although the policy lists a range of various measures for augmenting educational
services for persons with visual impairment, I will draw particular attention
here to Section E of the Statement that talks about the special needs
of children with visual impairment with additional disabilities.
Though in many countries these children are seen as constituting a small
segment of the overall population of persons with visual impairment, they
require special attention to their overall development in order that they
may be capable of developing to their maximum potential.
The example of Helen Keller provides testimony to the abilities of persons
with visual impairment and additional disabilities. Helen Keller, though
blind and deaf, demonstrated to the world that multiple disability is
not a insuperable hindrance to development. She remarked that it is not
blindness itself but the attitude of the public
towards blindness that is the hardest burden to bear!
Therefore, I urge both service providers and the public to develop a positive
attitude towards the capabilities of persons with additional disabilities.
Teacher preparation programs should prepare teachers to teach these children
adequately. I am glad that the current issue of The Educator is devoted
to MDVI and I am sure that the articles in this issue will generate increased
interest in services for visually impaired persons with additional disabilities.
The World Blind Union has been active in pursuing the United Nations to
start the process of drafting a Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. WBU is glad that disability issues are featuring in many
international forums today and that awareness about disability is becoming
increasingly heightened.
We have now to ensure that awareness of the issues facing persons with
disabilities becomes translated into action. We need to work together
to convince national and local governments to give a special thrust to
education and services for persons with disabilities in general, and to
those with visual impairment in particular.
The World Blind Union will discuss strategies for maximizing educational
opportunities for persons with visual impairment in its forthcoming General
Assembly to be held in
Cape Town, South Africa in December 2004.
Let us work together and make a difference in the lives all blind and
visually impaired persons, "In the Era of New Opportunities".
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