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Statement from USICD President Marca Bristo on the Birthday of the ADA |
 | | Marca Bristo at NCIL Rally |
Today, we celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This landmark legislation has been a model disability rights law that has inspired advocates around the world. Through global awareness of national accomplishments like the ADA, and the development of international approaches including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we now see greater recognition of people with disabilities than ever before. Americans with disabilities who fought for their rights and the enactment of the ADA can take pride in knowing that their work has played a role in the creation of a collaborative international movement.
I am committed to the U.S. ratification of the CRPD with the same conviction as the passage of the ADA. The CRPD, like the ADA, was inspired and led by community members who worked tirelessly to empower people with disabilities to be included in every aspect of society. Today, as we celebrate the triumphs delivered by the ADA, and recommit ourselves to further progress to achieve the law's purpose, I want us also to celebrate the ADA as one inspiration in the journey toward universal dignity, inclusion, and equality of people with disabilities around the world.
--Marca Bristo |
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USICD Reaches Hundreds at NCIL Conference,
Spreading the Word about the CRPD | |
NCIL has been a big supporter of our CRPD Education & Advocacy campaign and we were thrilled to continue to work with the NCIL community as we head towards ratification in the U.S. The conference this year was scheduled so that the first day, Wednesday, was focused on prep for the next day's march to the Capitol and subsequent meetings with various Senators, Representatives and Hill staffers. Staffing our new CRPD informational poster with handouts, alternative formats and most importantly stickers, we stood poised, with the help of our interns Jean de Dieu Mukunzi and Rachel Garaghty, to arm the NCIL conference participants with everything they needed to know about the CRPD. To read more of this story
 | | David Morrissey and Rachel Garaghty at NCIL rally |
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GDRL - Live and Kicking! | |
Check out the GDRL Prototype!
The GDRL Prototype site is still live for people to explore! You can visit the prototype site and explore the GDRL portals at: www.gdrl.org. Please email feedback about your experience to the librarians at librarian@gdrl.org
Spread the Word: GDRL Deployment Applications Being Accepted Until September 1
Applications for the remaining GDRL deployment sites are being accepted until September 1! We are asking USICD members to distribute information about the application process to DPOs around the world that they may have contact with. More information about GDRL deployment applications can be found at http://usicd.org/index.cfm/gdrl-news
New Portal Debut: Capacity Building for NGOs and Non-Profits
A sixth GDRL portal is close to its debut: Capacity Building for NGOs and Non-Profits. This portal will contain general resources for organizations to use in strengthening their capacity and impact. Some of the pages within this portal are Fundraising; Improving Organizational Governance; Designing, Implementing, Monitoring and Evaluating Projects; and Publicity Campaigns and Advocacy. This portal also contains collections of resources in multiple languages.
GDRL Accessibility Update
Ongoing research and development of an accessibility "package" to be included in the GDRL has been taking place this summer. The GDRL accessibility package aims to include basic assistive software, such as a screen-reader, with the library.
USICD GDRL Staff and Intern Update
GDRL Program Manager Andrea Shettle is attending the World Federation of the Deaf in South Africa this July and will be taking questions and giving information about the project while she is there. USICD intern and GDRL librarian Rachel Garaghty will be visiting two deployment sites in Tanzania to "demo" the GDRL. |
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USICD Outreach Report | |
The end of June and beginning of July have seen the USICD staff and Board Members in a flurry of outreach activities. USICD staff and interns manned a CRPD poster display at the NCIL and Board Member David Hutt travelled out to Seattle, Washington to spread the word on the CRPD to folks at the AHEAD Annual Conference. In addition to those events, Disability Rights Educator Esme Grant and Outreach Coordinator Suzanne Richard gave a two hour workshop on the CRPD to the Human Rights on the Hill conference at the University of District Columbia's David Clarke School of Law. The presentation included a panel with Research and Programs Fellow Sherzodbek Sharipov and Intern Jean de Dieu Mukunzi giving international perspectives on disability in civil society.
Coming up in August USICD will be participating in the InterAction Forum 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC, with Executive Director David Morrissey moderating a panel on transforming and advancing disability civil society in developing countries. Panelists will include:
- Susan Sygall, CEO, MIUSA
- Chad Vickery, Regional Director, IFES Europe and Asia
- Eric Rosenthal, Founder and Executive Director, Disability Rights International
- Andrea Shettle, Program Manager, Global Disability Rights Library
In terms of CRPD outreach and education, we have a wonderful new 4 by 4 foot poster that is another great addition to our outreach efforts and focuses on the general principles of the CRPD. It is a great educational tool for future events and conferences!
 | | Our new CRPD poster |
 
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter where we keep you abreast of international news in the human rights and disability field.
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(Not Quite) Farewell to USICD - Note from Summer Intern | |
 | | Rachel Garaghty in front of US Capitol |
This summer, USICD welcomed me as an intern working on the Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL). I am close to finishing my degree as a Master of Public Policy at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minnesota. The opportunity to be in Washington, D.C. working on an international disability rights project and researching those issues in depth has been truly wonderful.
To read more .
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Reminder: USICD Has Moved! | |
USICD moved in summer 2010, and is now located at:
1012 14th St. NW, Suite 105
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-347-0102
Fax: 202-347-0351
(All email addresses remain the same) |
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USICD NEWS and OPPORTUNITIES | |
Renewed Call for Applications We are still receiving applications for organizations to receive the GDRL in our second round of deployments | |
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| WORLD HEADLINES AND OPPORTUNITIES | | |
CRPD Inspires Moldova's Roadmap for Protecting the Rights of People with Disabilities
July 25, 2011
Mexico and Republic of Korea present their national reports to the CRPD Committee
July 20, 2011
Fourth Conference of States Parties to the CRPD
Wednesday, September 7 - Friday, September 9, 2011
Symposium on the World Report on Disability
Monday, September 12 - Tuesday, September 13, 2011
6th session Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Monday, September 19, 2011 - Friday, September 23, 2011
8th International Abilympics Seoul 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011 - Friday, September 30, 2011
Disabled Peoples' International 8th World Assembly
Monday, October 10 - Thursday, October 13, 2011
National CRPD Awareness Campaign in India Starts November 2011
Equitable Health Services for People with Disabilities
Internationa Research Symposium call for abstracts by July 29
OHCHR consultation on the issues of participation of disability in political and public life
The date for submissions is extended to 30 September 2011.
ROUNDTABLE TO DEVELOP A CONTINENTAL DISABILITY STRATEGY - AFRICA
August 31 - September 2nd, 2011, Johannesburg.
ASAN Internship Opportunity in DC Metro Area
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network is looking for an intern in the DC area for the Fall 2011 semester. MFI Global Mental Health Empowerment Handbook
Seeking stories and art from psychiatric survivors, mental health consumers/users, and their family and loved ones.Deadline Extended to 31 August 2011. Director of External Affairs for NOD
Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 |
| CRPD Ratification Watch | |
As of July 18, 2011
CRPD:
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149 Signatories -
103 Ratifications
Optional Protocol:
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90 Signatories -
62 Ratifications
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Recent Ratifications:
Cyprus Ratified the Convention and the Optional Protocol on June 27, 2011
Pakistan Ratified the Convention on July 5, 2011 |
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