IN THIS EDITION:
January
- Global workshop on SDGs monitoring in Geneva: A workshop for DPOs involved in national or regional SDG reports from the CRPD perspective will be held from 28 January to 1 February 2019 in Geneva.
March
- The 2nd Technical Workshop of the Education Flagship will be held in Nepal the week of March 11, 2019.
July
- What's coming up at the High-Level Political Forum 2019? The 2019 High-level Political Forum will highlight the Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17 around the theme of 'Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality’. Fifty-one countries will conduct voluntary national reviews during the last three days of the session. Learn more about the HLPF here. To know about the participation and engagement of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities here.
International Federation for spina bifida and hydrocephalus
- The World Folic Acid Awareness Week will be celebrated from 7-13 January. To commemorate this, the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF) has published a toolkit with example messages and resources that can be used to highlight the importance of both folic acid supplementation and fortification. More information here.
- The Youth Group of the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF) is conducting a survey focussed on sexuality and body awareness of people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, a topic around which stigma still exists. The survey is available in English, Spanish and Italian and the data collected (which are completely anonymous) will be a big help in pushing forward the research on the topic.
World Federation of the Deaf (WFD)
- World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters have announced the creation of a joint WFD-WASLI International Sign Accreditation Advisory Body (WFD/WASLI – ISAAB). Four WFD-WASLI accredited International Sign Interpreters have been appointed to oversee the processes affiliated with the IS Accreditation. The appointees are: Dr. Christopher Stone, Ms. Carol-lee Aquiline, Ms. Liz Scott Gibson, and Mr. Clark Denmark. The ISAAB members will serve a four-year term. More information here.
3. UN SYSTEM, AGENCIES AND MECHANISM
- UN Women launches strategy on the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities: On 3 December, 2018 the Executive Director of UN Women launched the agency’s global strategy to ensure a more systematic approach to strengthen the inclusion of the rights of women and girls with disabilities in UN Women’s efforts to achieve gender equality, empowerment of all women and girls with disabilities and the realization of their rights. The strategy aligns with UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and commitments made in the common chapter to the Strategic Plans of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UN Women, and further builds upon UN Women’s work in the area of empowerment of women and girls with disabilities. Read UN Women’s Strategy on Disability Inclusion here.
- UN General Assembly affirms world braille day: The United Nations General Assembly adopted the World Blind Union's Resolution affirming World Braille Day on January 4. The purpose of the World Braille Day is to raise awareness of the importance of braille to converting the written word to tactile form for the benefit of blind and partially sighted persons worldwide. Read more here.
- Disability and the SDGs: The Danish Institute for Human Rights has developed a matrix to demonstrate the links between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The matrix is available in English, French, and Spanish. Read more here.
- National Democratic Institute (NDI) is seeking a Senior Program Officer to join its Citizen Participation team to manage development programmes, contributing to organisation learning and support quality programmes across six regions related to the inclusion of marginalised populations including people with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, indigenous groups and LGBTI communities. Read more and apply.
