On December 3rd, representatives from the ABG, the Bougainville Disabled Persons Organisation (BDPO), Australia and New Zealand, joined with members of the public, performers, artists, Persons with Disability (PWD) and other civil society organisations to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disability. This year's theme -
"Amplifying the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future"
The event was hosted by BDPO who is the peak representative body for PWDs in Bougainville. Australia and New Zealand partner with the ABG Department of Community Development (DCD) to support BDPO as part of a wider program, the Strongim Social Capital program, which aims to strengthen peak representative bodies and key civil society organisations across the region including the Bougainville Women’s Forum (BWF), Bougainville Youth Federation (BYF), Bougainville Youth in Agriculture (BYiA) the Nazareth Center for Rehabilitation (NCfR), Bougainville Youth in Agriculture and Callan Services.
Hon. Amanda Masono, Minister for Public Service and member of North Bougainville women, spoke on advocating at the ABG level and promoting its stakeholders to include greater inclusivity. She also spoke of how her daughter with down syndrome is contantly inspiring her, the care facilities she has visited in Australia which taught her caring techniques, and the importance of organisations such as Callan Conenct to provide services to PWDs.
Callan Connect, who also attended, is Bougainville's leading service provider for PWDs and provides a range of services such as inclusive education, child safety and protection, community based inclusive developed as well as optical, mobility, ear and hearing screenings and devices.
BDPO''s president, Aidah Kenneth, talked about the importance of developing leadership within the PWD community in order to build a sustainable future. The day also provide the ideal platform to launch BDPO's new global website – www.BDPOlive.org. The new website provides BDPO with a great opportunity to grow their advocacy and awareness capabilty, run events, developing new partnershisp, grow their digital infrastructure, and reach a much wider community.
The website leads by example in terms of accessibility with wide range of innovative features including virtual keyboards, screen readers, adjustments for color blindness, voice navigation and much more. The accessibly options can be found by clicking the icon in the bottom left in the screen and following instructions on screen.
The afternoon concluded with a a range of acitivies from the PWD community including carvers from Haku, a disability performace group, a set of inspirations stories, and a panel on the every day challenges, discrimination, and approaches that PWD leaders have faced.
If you have any questions or would like to partiicpate in next years International Day of Persons with Disability, please don't hestitate to reach us at - admin@bdpolive.org.
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