On the international front, I am happy to report that steady progress has been made. Some significant steps forward have been taken in the following areas:
Following ICEVI's Strategic Planning Meeting in May 2000, which was attended by the Principal Officers and two Regional Chairpersons (Herman Gresnigt and Lucia Piccione, who had been participating in the 2002 Conference Planning Meeting at the same venue the previous week), an important one-day session was held to discuss "Integration and Inclusion in the least developed countries with special reference to Africa."
The ICEVI group was joined by Catherine Cross and Wilma van Berkel, (Sight Savers International) and Tom Van Herwijnen (Foundation Dark & Light Blind Care). Of course, the following organisations were also represented, either directly or indirectly: Theofaan International by Herman Gresnigt, Overbrook School for the Blind by Larry Campbell, and CBM International by me.
A key outcome of the meeting was a consensus that there is a need to promote and support tangible research initiatives. There was a general view that there is inadequate research or evidence to back up assumptions/needs assessments and service delivery models.
Some main topics identified for further research or work were:
a) With the retirement of Ms Lena Saleh as head of the Special Education Unit, there was a real danger that the post would be frozen or even deleted. Therefore, a group of concerned INGOs and individuals decided to write a Letter of Appeal to the new Director General of UNESCO, Mr Koichiro Matsuura. In order to add more weight to the appeal, several other groups were asked whether they were prepared to be added as signatories and if they had any suggestions to improve on the draft. ICEVI readily agreed to support the appeal and provided some inputs for the draft.
I am happy to announce that Mr. Kenneth Eklindh, former director of the "National Agency for Special Needs Education (SIH)", Sweden, has been appointed as the new head. As he too was one of the signatories of the appeal, we can be confident that the Unit will be in committed hands to continue the good work which Ms Saleh did for so many years. ICEVI extends to Mr. Eklindh heartiest congratulations on his appointment and looks forward to continued close collaboration with UNESCO.
b) ICEVI was
also represented at UNESCO-PROAP's "Asia-Pacific Conference on EFA
2000 Assessment", which was held in Bangkok in January 2000. The opportunity
was taken to commend the efforts which had been made to provide education for
disabled children as well, but also to express grave disappointment that the
educational status of disabled children had not been included as one of the
18 key indicators used to measure country progress towards achieving true Education
for All.
The continued marginalisation of disabled children was strongly
stressed in the NGO Declaration on Education for All, which was the result of
the International Consultation of NGOs which preceded the World Education Forum
on Education for All, which was held in Dakar from April 26 - 28, 2000 and resulted
in the Dakar Framework for Action.
In the Asia-Pacific Region, ICEVI has continued to play an important role through its Regional Chairpersons and its Past President, who has served on ESCAP's Committee on Disability-related Concerns since the late Eighties, also in my capacity as CBM International's Co-ordinator, Education & Rehabilitation of Visually Impaired Persons, Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee.
At "Campaign 2000" to promote the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2000, held in Bangkok from December 11 - 15, 2000, I had the privilege of presenting a paper entitled: Education for All? What Next? It highlights how little has really been achieved in providing education for all disabled children in developing countries and suggests strategies for accelerating this process to meet the revised target year of 2015 for achieving EFA, as spelt out in the Dakar Framework for Action.
Following ESCAP's Thematic Working Group Meeting on Disability-related Concerns, held in Bangkok on December 11, 2000, I have been asked to head a Task Force on Education for All, which I shall do in my dual CBM and ICEVI capacities.
Through the ESCAP network close links are maintained with UN Agencies such as UNESCO, UNICEF, ILO, FAO and WHO as well as a large number of Self-Help disability organisations and NGOs, both national and international.
You have probably heard by now that Mrs Kicki Nordström of SRF, Sweden, was elected the first woman President of the WBU at its 5th General Assembly in Melbourne last November. As I was representing CBM and the other INGOs of the WBU, I was able to congratulate her personally, also on behalf of ICEVI as well, of course. During the brief conversation, she assured me of her intention of forging closer links with ICEVI. I am very pleased to report that she has demonstrated this already in two very important ways:
She has informed Larry that she will be attending our Executive Committee Meeting at the beginning of May. She has invited ICEVI to nominate a representative for the WBU Committee on Children.