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Empower Every Person to Embrace Every Possibility
The 2019 International Day of Persons with Disabilities was celebrated in China.
To commemorate the day, the UN Partnership for the Promotion of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) China Programme has hosted a celebratory event 鈥淧RPDTalks: Life 2019鈥 on 26 November 2019.
The partnership is implemented by the ILO, UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF, and the event was hosted under the aegis of the UN Resident Coordinator鈥檚 Office in China, in collaboration with Youren Foundation - a Chinese Organization of Persons with Disabilities.
The theme of the Day for 2019 is 鈥淧romoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda鈥. It also corresponds to the spirit the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 鈥渘othing about us without us".
Representatives of the China Disabled Person鈥檚 Federation, UNESCO Beijing Cluster Office and Youren Foundation opened the event. The UNPRPD disability resource hub (beta version), developed by programmers with visual impairments was launched.
The hub hosts national and international resources related to disability policies, services, technologies, training and advocacy materials, covering seven topics: accessibility, awareness-raising, education, health, justice, social protection, work and employment.
The PRPDTalks were kicked off by a performance of Choir of Beijing School of Children with Visual Impairments. Eight stories were told to demonstrate and reflect on how to better empower persons with disabilities and promote their equal participation, in relation to education, accessibility, health, media communications, justice, employment, culture, entertainment and social inclusion.
Speakers included a 16-year-old girl with Down鈥檚 Syndrome, a low-vision business employee, a journalist with visual impairment, a deaf film director, a public interest lawyer, a technology product operation manager, a healthcare provider and a university teacher. In between the stories, members of the Support Network of Women with Disabilities performed the dance "The World is Better with Us".
Closing the event, student representatives from Tsinghua University read out the "Initiative on Universal Accessibility Development by Chinese Youth鈥, declaring their commitment to contribute to the development of universal accessibility among their peers and the society as a whole.
Films of the British Council project 鈥2019 Deaf Film Online Showcase鈥 were screened to show the creativity of the hearing-impaired community, and to encourage people to break stereotypes and enhance their awareness of inclusive arts and culture.
Since 2015, The United Nations Partnership for the Promotion of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) China Programme has provided Disability Equality Training (DET) to 669 professionals, including 141 media professionals, 44 information accessibility related professionals, 100 legal professionals, 220 employers and HR managers, 60 DPO representatives, 64 teachers and education professionals, 40 sexual and reproductive health service providers.
Over 60% of the trained professionals are women. The DET changed participants' perception and understanding of the equal rights of persons with disabilities and enhanced their confidence and competence to formulate policies and provide professional services for better inclusion of persons with disabilities.
The 2019 International Day of Persons with Disabilities event received generous support from the British Embassy in China, The TV School of the Communication University of China, Tsinghua University Accessibility Development Institute, China Disability and Sustainable Development Forum, One Plus One Disability Employment Network, China People's Broadcasting Station, Voice of China, Support Network of Women with Disabilities, Beijing Enable Sister Center, Millet Technology, Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), TAL Education Group, Beijing School for the Blind, Marie Stopes China, and Shenzhen Accessibility Research Association.
