It's About Ability Presentation

It’s About Ability : 

It’s About Ability Valerie Karr, Ph.D. Director for Research Programs Victor Pineda Foundation valerie@pinedafoundation.org The Victor Pineda Foundation “Realizing a world of potential”

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“There is a growing consensus that education in and for human rights is essential and can contribute to both the reduction of human rights violations and the building of free and peaceful societies. Human rights education is also increasingly recognized as an effective strategy to prevent human rights abuses.“ Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon United Nations “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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“Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org I have no legs, But I still have feelings, I cannot see, But I think all the time Although I’m deaf, I still want to communicate, Why do people see me as useless, thoughtless, talkless, When I am as capable as any, For thoughts about our world. —Coralie Severs, 14, United Kingdom

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Ani Verdyan, 8, Armenia

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At the Foundation, we dedicate our time to working at the grassroots level; sharing of our experiences, research findings and fieldwork with policy makers, opinion leaders, and peer educators. These approaches have helped us achieve our ultimate goal of helping improve conditions for young people with disabilities. The Victor Pineda Foundation “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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Our Work “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Our programs stem from the belief that fostering inclusive societies must be addressed from an interdisciplinary approach. Our work concentrates on four thematic areas.

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"It's About Ability” is an explanation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" developed in partnership with UNICEF. The “It’s About Ability Learning Guide” is a companion resource designed to empower children and young people aged 12–18 to speak out on the convention and become informed advocates. It’s About Ability “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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It’s About Ability Workshops provide human rights training to facilitators, young people and peer educators with a research-oriented approach. The workshops focus on understanding and acting on the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. VPF has developed five specialized workshops bringing together leading experts in the field. It's About Ability Workshops “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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It's About Ability Workshops “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org It’s About Ability Workshop – Our Stories uses storytelling techniques for building knowledge and self-esteem. It’s About Ability Workshop – Human Rights explains the UN Convention and empowers children and youth to get involved.   It’s About Ability Workshop – Jumpstarting Inclusive Education provides a primer on Inclusive Education and gives participating teachers and principals basic skills and tools, including curricula to work towards inclusion.   It’s About Ability Workshop – Youth Leadership Forum partners with national or international disability or youth conferences to provide disability awareness and advocacy skills to young people and peer mentors.   It’s About Ability Workshop – Facilitator Training is an experiential workshop that reviews the principles of human rights education, effective facilitation techniques, and the foundations for promoting youth leadership.

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An “IT’S ABOUT ABILITY” Workshop “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Target Outcome: Provide knowledge on the UNCRPD, and build the capacity of local Disabled People’s Organizations by empowering them with specialized human rights trainings and advocacy tools. Focus: Capacity building and youth leadership.

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Ideal “It’s About Ability” Session “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org 5-day workshop program starting at 9am and ending at 3pm, allowing adequate time for assessment and feedback: Day One: Intro to UNCRPD; Intro to Facilitation Day Two: Facilitator Modeling of Activity Sessions Day Three: Participants lead activities Day Four: Participants lead activities Day Five: Advocacy and Action Planning

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Guyana Workshop - October 2009 “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Approximately 25 participants from 6 different regions of Guyana attended the 4-day human rights education training based on the UNCRPD. The design of the workshop was based on the VPF “Training of the Trainer” model. Lessons and activities of Day One and Day Two were facilitated by the lead instructors, who modeled the process that would later be adapted by the participants in the field.

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Guyana Workshop - October 2009 “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Why did people participate in the It’s About Ability Training? Knowledge - Improve knowledge about the rights of persons with disabilities (14) Advocacy/Facilitation - To learn more about advocacy and facilitation (5) Dissemination - To be informed and able to share knowledge with colleagues (4) Attitudes/Empowerment - To appreciate/understand persons with disabilities (3) “I came to this training session to be enlightened and empowered, to bring about awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities, in my community”   “So that I will get a better understanding of Human Rights and the rights surrounding persons with disabilities, more about advocacy, facilitating, and to appreciate persons with disabilities.”   “So that I can be enlightened about the rights of persons with disabilities. This will enable me to go back to my community to train persons about these rights.”

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Guyana Workshop - October 2009 “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org What barriers do persons with disabilities commonly encounter? Awareness/Knowledge: Not being aware of their rights Attitudinal Barriers: “PWDs are being left out of many activities in society because of the ills of what people think”, “Recognition of abilities”, “Negative attitude, because of ignorance, towards persons with disabilities” Physical Barriers: Transportation (2), Lack of access to buildings and loss of social activities (3), Persons with disabilities cannot access certain/almost all public and private buildings because of their structure (4) Educational Barriers: (7), “Barriers in teaching/learning materials”, “Accessibility to schools and other institutions of learning” Independent Living: “The right to work and earn a living” (8), “PWDs are denied their independence of mind or space” (2),” Independent living/right to live a normal life” (2). Community Rehabilitation: Inadequate facilities to accommodate their disability (2). Community Inclusion: Denied from taking part in community activities, Deprived of going places, equal inclusion. Discrimination: General Barrier (3), Violence and Abuse (9), Denied the rights to voice their opinions, Family, “Persons with disabilities are deprived of certain privileges within the family –they are withdrawn by family members in taking part in the community”

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Guyana Workshop - October 2009 “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Action Items: Raise awareness/Sensitize community (12) Motivate persons with disabilities to get involved in the community Advocate/Lobby for Human Rights of PWDs (10) Speak to policy-makers to have ramps installed (Accessibility) (2) Ensure relevant authorities acknowledge disability and makes changes to accommodate these persons, encourage lawmakers to enforce law to govern the rights of pwds. Educate: To get at least half of persons with disabilities to know their rights in society Train others: create group sessions of persons with and without disabilities (11) Network/Join together: To champion the cause for rights Specific Targets: Address employment Address violence and abuse (4), Befriend Guyana police force to deal with anyone who is abused, put a stop to domestic violence – communicate with Women and Children organizations about women and children with disabilities – more vulnerable to violence. Educate parents who have children with disabilities (2) Include children with disabilities in advocacy

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Guyana Workshop - October 2009 “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org What was the most valuable thing you learned from the activities in this training session? Belief: Believe in yourself and use it to help others. Respect/Equality: (12) Persons with disabilities have the same rights as everyone else in society, We should also have respect for persons with disabilities, Everyone has rights, Respect for pwds with respect to communication, freedom, and independence, Don’t let disability keep them from achieving their goals. Facilitation Skills: The facilitation/facilitator process, to become a good facilitator Organizational Skills: How to get organized Time: Takes a lot of time before decisions can be made, Never-ending process; always something to be done. Advocacy Skills: Human rights and how to advocate for persons with disabilities (5) Accessibility: everyone should/must have access to anything he/she needs.

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“Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org What do these children have in common? They all have equal rights!

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Disability or Diversity “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Disability in the life cycle Society is composed by individuals and groups with diverse ways of functioning. Disability is part of everyone’s life cycle and it can appear in different moments of life. Here are some examples: a baby that needs to be held or carried in a stroller for mobility a small boy that can not reach his floor’s button in the elevator someone with a broken leg in a cast trying to go up the stairs a woman in advanced pregnancy trying to get up the stairs of a bus an illiterate citizen looking for information on the Internet a group of tourists that do not speak the local language someone that cannot read the small letters on a prescription’s instructions an older person with arthritis that cannot open a door handle Having a disability is not a bad thing. It can even be something to be proud of. We are all different and all have different ABILITIES. Every child can be an ambassador of ability to our families, schools and communities. We each have ideas, experiences and skills that can serve everybody else. UNCRPD calls on all people from all nations to honour and respect us just the way we are. – Victor Santiago Pineda

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Learning Guide “Freeze” Activity “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org Break into two groups and brainstorm a scene you can create where a human right is being denied. Portray this scene visually in front of the large group. Now “freeze” the scene. Freezing is when you stay perfectly still. The scene is not to be acted out, it is frozen like a photograph. While the scene is frozen, the larger group members will try to identify what human right is being denied in the scene. We ask you, the larger group members to intervene in the frozen scene. Some examples to help you get started: Someone being denied entrance to an elections/voting facility because the entrance has stairs. A teacher hitting/exposing/expelling a student who is having a hard time completing their work. A child with a disability being teased on the playground, during gym class, after school, or at recess. Examples of human rights The right to life The right to go to school The right to live independently in the community The right to live in freedom and safety The right to belong to a country The right to have opinions, to speak them and to share them with other people The right to work The right to privacy The right to non-discrimination The right to be treated fairly in a court of law The right to get married and have a family Freedom from cruelty or punishment Freedom from violence and abuse

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“We are playing,” Tatev Danielyan, 15, Armenia

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Lea Nohemí Hernández , 25, Nicaragua

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Valeria D’Avola, 13, Italy

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Pedro José Rivera, 14, Nicaragua

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“Right to play,” Javlon Rakmonberdiev, 12, Uzbekistan

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“Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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“Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org I am happy when… I am happy with small things I am happy when… People understand what I am trying to say When I talk with other people on the same level I am happy because I am proud of myself I am happy when I study By studying I can learn new information I get to understand the news from all over the world I can calculate how much to pay when I am eating I can say what I think is right or wrong I am happy because I get to do so many things by myself I am happy because I have a favorite thing to do I am happy when I am cheering for soccer players Because their passion is so great I feel as if I am one of them And I also get very passionate I am happy because I have a dream It may seem small but Planning and living faithfully every day Makes me feel so happy —Kim Yoona, 15, People’s Republic of Korea

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“Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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Please visit The Victor Pineda Foundation’s “A WORLD ENABLED LIBRARY” off of our home page. Or by clinking: http://www.scribd.com/people/documents/15196765-the-victor-pineda-foundation# To request a free publication, please contact UNICEF Publications at  pubdoc@unicef.org or write to: Distribution Unit, Division of Communication, UNICEF, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Please provide full details, including the title and ISBN, and your address. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery to developing countries. *available in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, and audio Ordering VPF Publications “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org

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The VPF is a non-profit organization that promotes the rights and dignities of young people with disabilities. We provide educational and training materials for governmental and non-governmental organizations who work in the area of education, human rights, research, and the arts.  We have experience in creating effective partnerships between governments and civil society with the purpose of implementing inclusive educational programs. Overview of the Victor Pineda Foundation “Realizing a world of potential” www.pinedafoundation.org