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We are pleased that ICEVI has chosen Mr. Pedro Zurita to share with us the point of view of visually-impaired persons as regards the educational process, for they have seen in him the able spokesperson that he is of our ideals and goals. It is an honor for me to be among the persons that are responding to his loud and clear message.
We have been invited to speak as members of the Coordinating Committee on Education of the Latin American Union of the Blind (ULAC), which is a region of the World Blind Union.
After having closely analysed the speech of our friend Pedro, we have thought that we would consider two issues that he discussed and put them into perspective within our region, where, for the first time and to our great rejoicement, the ICEVI is holding a World Conference.
The first issue to which Pedro makes reference at several points in his speech is the transcen dent importance for professionals, parents and organizations of the visually-impaired to think and act together, since the contributions of all who are involved in the educational process are necessary to achieve excellence in education. Our organization not only shares this criteria in principle but also puts it into practice in its own infrastructure, as ULAC is an association of both organizations of the blind (including persons with low-vision) and service delivery institutions. This makes it possible for us to carry out our Action Plan in a collaborative fashion and to respond to the needs of all.
The description that Pedro draws of organizations of the visually-impaired matches that of institutions in our region. In this sense we are committed to training our leaders and trying to ensure at a fundamental level that there is an exchange of knowledge and experience between past and future generations that will allow individuals to consciously adopt the right philosop hy regarding the education and other relevant training aspects of people with visual impair ment.
We would like to mention on the side (even though this is not the theme of this conference) that ULAC works unabatedly towards the training and updating of skills of professionals in the region. In some countries we are succeding in having these activities carried out through joint efforts between educational services and organizations of the visually-impaired. In his first conclusion, Pedro urges all to work together; and perhaps, as the space for debate opens up, we will be able to suggest concrete ways of achieving this. The work of ULAC is just one example.
In his introduction, Pedro highlights the importance of the role that organizations of the blind and individuals themselves must play as models for the educational process. When persons undergoing training and their families can be taught by disabled adults, they acquire through the teachings of the latter more tools for coping with their disability and find answers to their questions. This constitutes a major motivating factor that helps along the succesful completi on of the training process. In addition professionals are able to complement their valuable technical background with understanding of real-life environments through direct contact with individuals themselves rather than just through theoretical work.
Without a doubt, every actor in the educational process (professionals, parents, students) has an assigned role, but each must be able to be receptive and open enough to respect and understand the others and, in this way, facilitate achieving the common goals.
There is one aspect in this interaction among different players that organizations of the visually-impaired still have a lot to work on. That is the case where disabled persons are educational professionals. In this instance, we could talk about all the issues outlined by Pedro in regards to organizations, since all of them would be applicable, but, at least in our region, as we have pointed out, we must work for equal opportunity and against discriminati on, which is often expressed in ever-so-subtle ways. We must therefore pose the question about an issue that many organizations of visually-impaired persons are raising: Why is it more difficult for visually-impaired individuals to join the professional ranks in the milieu dealing with their own disability than in other fields? Is it perhaps due to excessive sensitivi ty on the part of visually-impaired professionals? Or maybe undue professional jealousy from those working in the field of visual impairment?
The second issue considered by Pedro that we wish to emphasize is the one dealing with the integration into normal schools of visually-impaired persons. Obviously we support many of his points of view and suggestions. We would like to share with you the fruits of our observa tions of professional and institutional activity. When integration into normal schools was first attempted in our region in the 1960's, the educators who had the vision to see that it was a suitable philosophy had to struggle valiantly against deeply-rooted structures and came - perhaps without intention - into opposition with organizations of the visually-impaired. It is common knowledge that any radical change runs the risk of going too far in the new, oppo sing direction, and that as the changes slowly become more firmly established, a stable middle ground is reached. Presently, those professionals have come to recognize the role of organizations of the visually-impaired in the educational process, regardless of the way this service is delivered.
Moreover, the visually-impaired persons themselves who participated in these pioneering experiments have recognized the need to share with their disabled peers their experiences in this important field. Thus, at the present time, they are working decisively within organizati ons to support integration into normal schools and to promote taking into account the special needs of all visually-impaired persons and attending to these needs in order to provide for them a comprehensive education as disabled persons. It is worth mentioning that on both sides people have modified their initial positions, as a result of having recognized that we all need each other beacuse we share the same ideals.
We also cannot omit mentioning that in some countries it was the organizations of the visually-impaired who promoted integrated education and seeked international cooperation in order to exert pressure in this direction. Even though the alternatives faced were different and the approaches can be improved, we believe that the majority of organizations of the visually-impaired share this philosophy, which is also supported by ULAC.
We would furthermore like to point out that these organizations are becoming aware with increasing clarity of the needs of people with multiple impairments. In this regard they are supporting concrete steps in the training of professionals as well as in the creation of parent groups and groups of multihandicapped persons themselves.
Last of all, we endorse Pedro's last statement on the importance of working in such a way that the Standard Rules of the United Nations may guide us all together and allow us to find the strategies to act against discrimination and to achieve and education for all within the framework of a philosophy that includes persons with visual impairment and multiple impair ments.