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Fri, 03 Sep 2010
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 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS :: Media & Marketing |
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Giving disability a face
Alyaa Alhadjri
IN AN effort to raise the profile of disability issues in Malaysia, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has unveiled mascots to represent the different faces of people with disabilities.
The mascots were showcased at the launch of the National Disability Advocacy and Awareness campaign 2009 at SEGi University College on July 31.
Themed “Real Lives, Real Abilities”, the campaign which began with a competition to design the mascots in partnership with SEGi’s faculty of creative arts and design, aims to promote a rights-based approach to disability from one that is charity-based.
Wilson Kok Jun Chean from SEGi emerged the winner after his designs were chosen from 109 entries and incorporated into campaign materials to be distributed nationwide.
“To truly represent disabilities in a correct light, students needed to have the right understanding of each type of disability. I believe that sometimes it is through these little achievements that great change is possible,” SEGi vice-chancellor Dr Muhamad Awang said.
As education plays a big part in creating awareness, SEGi will play its part in the courses that it offers.
“We will work more closely with the UNDP to go beyond just drawing posters and take a more active approach to creating an awareness of disabilities,” SEGi International chief executive officer Lee Kok Cheng said, adding that the institution’s civil engineering programme could be modified in the future to include a disability awareness component.
“The key campaign message is to educate and create an awareness of disability issues as this would lead to a paradigm shift and positive changes,” Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Senator Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said in her opening address.
“People with disabilities enjoy the most welfare benefits in the form of allowances, aid for caretakers and various discounts, so it is awareness that is lacking.”
Chew said the public should learn to understand the needs of people with disabilities and respect them as a part of society.
“There is limited communication between persons without a disability and a person with a disability, particularly one with a hearing impairment like myself,” wrote Nurul Husna Ibrahim, 20, an office assistant with the Kuala Lumpur Society of the Deaf, adding that not many hearing people would understand sign language.
“While there have been many positive moves to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities, it was determined that there was a real need to engage the Malaysian public and other stakeholders in understanding disability issues as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People With Disabilities,” UN resident coordinator Kamal Malhotra said.
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Updated: 09:42AM Fri, 07 Aug 2009
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