This is Technical Difficulties and I'm your host Tim Abbott.

We are live from Lo

ndon Bridge on 104.4 FM, online and Twitter @lightchronic.
This show will be repeated on Sunday the 5th but right now, it's 3.30pm on Frida
y December the 3rd 2010, the International Day of People with Disabilities and i
n the
midst of the Disability History Month here in the UK.
The International Day of People with Disabilities is driven by the UN - full det
ails here and has been marked every year since 1981 but the theme of this year's
International Day of Persons with Disabilities is "Keeping the promise: mainstre
aming disability in the Millennium Development Goals."
Opening the day from the UN in New York - where it is currently 10.30am, Secreta
ry General Ban Ki-Moon said: Among the promises made by world leaders at the
MDG Summit in September was a commitment to improve the lives of persons with di
sabilities. This diverse group includes people close to us - family, friends and
neighbours. Indeed, physical, mental and sensory impairments are very common, af
fecting about 10 per cent of the world's population.
Disability is also highly correlated with poverty. People with disabilities acco
unt for roughly 20 per cent of those living in poverty in developing countries.
Worldwide,
they suffer high rates of unemployment and often lack access to adequate educati
on and healthcare. In many societies, there are simply no provisions made for th
is group
and they end up living in isolation, disconnected from their own communities.
Despite these obstacles, persons with disabilities have displayed great courage
and resilience. But even as we continue to be inspired by those who reach the hi
ghest
levels of human achievement, such successes must not obscure the difficulties fa
ced by those who live in desperate conditions and lack the rights, privileges an
d
opportunities available to their fellow citizens.
Governments need to do more to support people with disabilities. That means impl
ementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, integrati
ng
their needs into national Millennium Development Goal agendas which were trackin
g the Action Plan adopted at the MDG Summit, world leaders recognized that
current efforts are insufficient. On this International Day, let us recognize th
at the battles against poverty, disease and discrimination will not be won witho
ut targeted
laws, policies and programmes that empower this group.
Let us pledge to keep the promise of the goals alive in the community of persons
with disabilities. And let us include them not only as beneficiaries but as val
ued agents
of change in our five-year push to reach the goals by the internationally agreed
deadline of 2015.
This is Technical Difficulties on Resonance 104.4fm - These are the open airwave
s. Around the world, live and podcast on resonancefm.com.
A well orchestrated campaign of events in Australia started this 2010 edition of
the IDPD, tracked by the crew at Melbourne community radio station 3CR - where
it's
currently half-past two on Saturday morning. Full details of the 364 events that
took place are available here and details and audio of the interviews conducted
by 3CR
here. I would guess the weather was less of a technical difficulty for them than
it is for us here in frozen, post-snowy London.
As an overview of how Australia saw this event, the blogger "The View from Down
Here" posted Happy International Day here. And to TVfDH from Technical
Difficulties, happy IDPD too.
This is Technical Difficulties. I am Tim Abbott and today is the IDPD.
I actually couldn't find any details of an orchestrated Asian campaign for Disab
ility Day but did find a disturbing statement from the regional arm of Disabled
Peoples
International. They said "The international decade was launched in order to prov
ide a time frame during which Governments and organizations could implement the
activities recommended in the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Pers
ons. Despite these efforts and the focus provided by the regional decade, the
situation of persons with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region, includin
g East Asia and the Pacific, has not been improved as expected. To further addre
ss disability
issues, governments in the Asian and Pacific region extended the regional decade
for another 10 years". We are two years away from that second decade's conclusi
on in
2012 and yet it is 2010 and there's still no evidence - online at least - of any
events so again I share with you a blogger's view, this time in Malaysia.
Well, personally I think events are important for raising the awareness of the o
utside world so I'm happy that the IDPD is being celebrated around the world and
whilst I
agree with Peter Tan on the desire to see deep advancement, I do think celebrati
ng once a year is a good thing.
Here on this frozen rock in the north Atlantic and across the sprawling continen
t of Europe, we have been marking the IDPD although several events have been
postponed due to the early snowfall. Community Channel is showing themed program
ming all day today. The Wellcome Trust is projecting Simon McKeown's Motion
Disabled onto the pavement outside their headquarters on Euston Road from noon.
The Welsh Assembly is hosting Words to Wales, live and then archived on their
website. Disability Equality Wiltshire is holding a No Barriers Week through tod
ay and Herefordshire Council has also organised an event. I have to add at this
point,
sadly the snow has caused a postponement of an event which was organised in Hove
.
At the moment, the Republic of Ireland has not yet ratified the UN Convention on
the Rights of Disabled People!
Again, there is plenty of organisational infrastructure in Africa but not much e
vidence of events taking place today, aside from an externally organised event w
ith Evelyn
Glennie and a group of fundraisers marking the occasion on top of Mount Kilimanj
aro for AbleChild Africa.
And finally we cross the pond, where the day has only just started to roll along
. Hello to Christine at but you dont look sick .com in New York state where it i
s 10.50am,
and all my fellow spoonies. She will be on this very show very soon. The US has
not yet ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People! Speaking to
a
disability advocate in that country, there is no evidence of an organised attemp
t to mark today, not even from the US International Council on Disability - alth
ough the
North American member of Disabled People International has a website with statem
ents and links to its local members here. I would give you more details but it w
as
having technical difficulties being displayed when I looked.In fact, there is pr
ecious little evidence of events at all. Of course, it has to be added that the
US does host the
headquarters of the UN. That's not much of an excuse though... This attitude cou
ld be best summed up as a reliance on the UN's academic conferences, with no
community events.
In the time available to me, I also couldn't find any organised events in centra
l and South America but if I've missed anything, drop me a line.
Thank you all for listening, for the Technical Difficulties crew I'm Tim Abbott.
We will leave you with the extraordinary Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjue
z. On
this International Day of People with Disabilities, wear your scars with pride a
nd remember, we all have Technical Difficulties, goodbye.
Week 12 was International Day of People with Disabilities. Audio can be listened
to here, the transcript isbelow.This is Technical Difficulties and I'm your hos
t Tim Abbott. We are live from London Bridge on 104.4 FM, online and Twitter @li
ghtchronic.This show will be repeated on Sunday the 5th but right now, it's 3.30
pm on Friday December the 3rd 2010, the International Day of People with Disabil
ities and in themidst of the Disability History Month here in the UK.The Interna
tional Day of People with Disabilities is driven by the UN - full details here a
nd has been marked every year since 1981 but the theme of this year'sInternation
al Day of Persons with Disabilities is "Keeping the promise: mainstreaming disab
ility in the Millennium Development Goals."Opening the day from the UN in New Yo
rk - where it is currently 10.30am, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said: Among th
e promises made by world leaders at theMDG Summit in September was a commitment
to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. This diverse group includes p
eople close to us - family, friends andneighbours. Indeed, physical, mental and
sensory impairments are very common, affecting about 10 per cent of the world's
population.Disability is also highly correlated with poverty. People with disabi
lities account for roughly 20 per cent of those living in poverty in developing
countries. Worldwide,they suffer high rates of unemployment and often lack acces
s to adequate education and healthcare. In many societies, there are simply no p
rovisions made for this groupand they end up living in isolation, disconnected f
rom their own communities.Despite these obstacles, persons with disabilities hav
e displayed great courage and resilience. But even as we continue to be inspired
by those who reach the highestlevels of human achievement, such successes must
not obscure the difficulties faced by those who live in desperate conditions and
lack the rights, privileges andopportunities available to their fellow citizens
.Governments need to do more to support people with disabilities. That means imp
lementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, integrat
ingtheir needs into national Millennium Development Goal agendas which were trac
king the Action Plan adopted at the MDG Summit, world leaders recognized thatcur
rent efforts are insufficient. On this International Day, let us recognize that
the battles against poverty, disease and discrimination will not be won without
targetedlaws, policies and programmes that empower this group.Let us pledge to k
eep the promise of the goals alive in the community of persons with disabilities
. And let us include them not only as beneficiaries but as valued agentsof chang
e in our five-year push to reach the goals by the internationally agreed deadlin
e of 2015.This is Technical Difficulties on Resonance 104.4fm - These are the op
en airwaves. Around the world, live and podcast on resonancefm.com.A well orches
trated campaign of events in Australia started this 2010 edition of the IDPD, tr
acked by the crew at Melbourne community radio station 3CR - where it'scurrently
half-past two on Saturday morning. Full details of the 364 events that took pla
ce are available here and details and audio of the interviews conducted by 3CRhe
re. I would guess the weather was less of a technical difficulty for them than i
t is for us here in frozen, post-snowy London.As an overview of how Australia sa
w this event, the blogger "The View from Down Here" posted Happy International D
ay here. And to TVfDH from TechnicalDifficulties, happy IDPD too.This is Technic
al Difficulties. I am Tim Abbott and today is the IDPD.I actually couldn't find
any details of an orchestrated Asian campaign for Disability Day but did find a
disturbing statement from the regional arm of Disabled PeoplesInternational. The
y said "The international decade was launched in order to provide a time frame d
uring which Governments and organizations could implement theactivities recommen
ded in the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons. Despite these
efforts and the focus provided by the regional decade, thesituation of persons w
ith disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region, including East Asia and the Pa
cific, has not been improved as expected. To further address disabilityissues, g
overnments in the Asian and Pacific region extended the regional decade for anot
her 10 years". We are two years away from that second decade's conclusion in2012
and yet it is 2010 and there's still no evidence - online at least - of any eve
nts so again I share with you a blogger's view, this time in Malaysia.Well, pers
onally I think events are important for raising the awareness of the outside wor
ld so I'm happy that the IDPD is being celebrated around the world and whilst Ia
gree with Peter Tan on the desire to see deep advancement, I do think celebratin
g once a year is a good thing.Here on this frozen rock in the north Atlantic and
across the sprawling continent of Europe, we have been marking the IDPD althoug
h several events have beenpostponed due to the early snowfall. Community Channel
is showing themed programming all day today. The Wellcome Trust is projecting S
imon McKeown's MotionDisabled onto the pavement outside their headquarters on Eu
ston Road from noon. The Welsh Assembly is hosting Words to Wales, live and then
archived on theirwebsite. Disability Equality Wiltshire is holding a No Barrier
s Week through today and Herefordshire Council has also organised an event. I ha
ve to add at this point,sadly the snow has caused a postponement of an event whi
ch was organised in Hove.At the moment, the Republic of Ireland has not yet rati
fied the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People!Again, there is plenty o
f organisational infrastructure in Africa but not much evidence of events taking
place today, aside from an externally organised event with EvelynGlennie and a
group of fundraisers marking the occasion on top of Mount Kilimanjaro for AbleCh
ild Africa.And finally we cross the pond, where the day has only just started to
roll along. Hello to Christine at but you dont look sick .com in New York state
where it is 10.50am,and all my fellow spoonies. She will be on this very show v
ery soon. The US has not yet ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Disable
d People! Speaking to adisability advocate in that country, there is no evidence
of an organised attempt to mark today, not even from the US International Counc
il on Disability - although theNorth American member of Disabled People Internat
ional has a website with statements and links to its local members here. I would
give you more details but it washaving technical difficulties being displayed w
hen I looked.In fact, there is precious little evidence of events at all. Of cou
rse, it has to be added that the US does host theheadquarters of the UN. That's
not much of an excuse though... This attitude could be best summed up as a relia
nce on the UN's academic conferences, with nocommunity events.In the time availa
ble to me, I also couldn't find any organised events in central and South Americ
a but if I've missed anything, drop me a line.Thank you all for listening, for t
he Technical Difficulties crew I'm Tim Abbott. We will leave you with the extrao
rdinary Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. Onthis International Day of Peo
ple with Disabilities, wear your scars with pride and remember, we all have Tech
nical Difficulties, goodbye.