22nd RI World Congress 2012 Incheon

Session 1. UN CRPD’s Implementation Mechanism and Challenges

Ambassador Don MacKay Former Chair of the Negotiations on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Ambassador Don MacKay was initially a facilitator, and subsequently Chair of the United Nations Committee that negotiated the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, from early 2004 until the Convention’s adoption in December 2006. He has been widely acclaimed for his role in the negotiation and adoption of the Convention, which was completed in record time for a UN human rights treaty. Ambassador MacKay has extensive experience in successfully chairing and facilitating international processes and negotiations. He has held senior diplomatic and other positions in New Zealand and overseas, including as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York and in Geneva. Since retiring from the New Zealand Foreign Service in 2010 he has acted as a consultant on international legal issues and disabilities matters to various organizations and governments, and chairs several bodies at the United Nations and elsewhere.

Shuaib Chalklen United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability

Shuaib Chalklen serves as the current United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability. He is a prominent leader who has made extensive contributions to the advancement of persons with disabilities within both regional and global frameworks. Chalklen has assumed numerous positions in the fields of disability, governance and administration at the national, regional and global levels, including: Senior Policy Analyst in the Presidency of South Africa (2006-2007); Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat for the African Decade of Disabled Persons (2003-2006); and Director of the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons in the Presidency of South Africa (1996-2001). He has worked closely with the United Nations, the World Bank and other entities of the United Nations system, as well as with bi-lateral donor countries in Europe and other regions. He studied at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and at the Senior Executive Programme at Harvard University

Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes Vice Chairperson, UN CRPD Committee

Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes is the vice chairperson of the UN CRPD Committee and the Special Rapporteur for the Optional Protocol to the Convention. As an attorney as well as a professor of Law and researcher, Cisternas is the director of various legal and interdisciplinary projects and the author of numerous publications both nationally and internationally. She has received various awards such as Star of Hope Latin America, Colombia (1999), “Equality and Anti-Discrimination” in Mexico 2008; Distinction of the Chamber of Deputies Senate of Chile, (2008 - 2009 respectively); Distinction from the College of Special Educators (2009) and a special award “Elena Caffarena” given by the President of Chile on International Women's Day (2009), among others.

Session 2. Disability, Information Technology and Innovation

Duong Thi Van Chairperson, DP Hanoi

Duong Thi Van is the founder and current chairperson of DP Hanoi, which is an organization of approximately 6,000 persons with disabilities in Hanoi, Vietnam. Van has made extensive contributions to raising awareness on disability and improving the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) within both Hanoi and Vietnam, and in particular regarding women with disabilities; training and capacity building of self-help organizations, disability employment and accessibility. She has assumed numerous positions in the fields of disability, management, administration and consultation at the national and city level, including: Executive Committee Member of Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFD) (2011~present) and the Committee of Vietnam Rehabilitation Association (1998~present) as well as the previous Part -time officer of the office of the National Coordinating Council on Disability of Vietnam (NCCD) (2003-2008).

Hyung-Jin Shin Researcher, Software Application Research Center, Yonsei University

Hyung-Jin Shin is currently a researcher at the Software Application Research Center of Yonsei University majoring in computer-science for a combined master's and pdftorate program. He was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy(SMA), a disorder that destroys spinal neurons at the age of one. Since then he lost control of his arms & legs and the weakening of the muscles have caused serious feeding and breathing probleHowever, in spite of these difficulties which worsen over time, he completed elementary school, junior high, and high school. He even obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer-science at Yonsei University in 2011 after nine years of continued study, struggling with numerous health probleCurrently, he has been enjoying various benefits from high-tech IT technologies which greatly enriched his school life and has been recorded as the first user of an eye-tracking computer mouse in South Korea since 2003.

Yoosun Chung Assistant Professor, Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human Disabilities Graduate School of Education, George Mason University

Yoosun Chung, a professor at George Mason University teaches several graduate level special education courses, mostly related to assistive technology, and uses an alternative and alternative communication (AAC) device while lecturing due to her speech difficulties. Chung was selected as one of winners for the 2012 Teaching Excellence Awards at George Mason University. Her research interests are individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, individuals with disabilities and Internet, and individuals who have cerebral palsy. Chung received her bachelor's degree from the George Mason University in Computer Science, her master's degree from the Cornell University in Computer Science and pdftoral degree from George Mason University with a focus in assistive technology.

Session 3. Community Based Inclusive Development

Khatijah Sulaiman Honorary Secretary, The Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation (MCR)

Khatijah Sulieman has devoted over 35 years of social services, choosing a life of servitude, voluntarily working full-time for a community that is often overlooked and neglected by the most, the world of the physical and intellectually challenged. At the state and region level, she holds several influential positions as - Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation (MCR), the President of Selangor Cheshire Home, Vice President of the National Council of Welfare and Social Development Malaysia, and Council Member of the National Council of Persons with Disabilities. She is especially focused on rehabilitation training of persons with disabilities and also is pioneering in the “Very Special Arts” platform that allows persons with disabilities in Malaysia to reveal the talents available to them through performing arts, music and various performances. She has received honorary titles and awards from the communities and on September 25, 2011 received the first “Woman Social Activist” Award from the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Kyung Seok Park Chair, Solidarity against Disability Discrimination (SADD)

Kyung-Seok Park is a leading disability rights advocate in South Korea, who has devoted himself to eliminating discrimination against persons with disabilities for the past 20 years. He is currently serving as the standing chair of the Organizing Committee of APDF Conference 2012 as well as the chair of the Solidarity against Disability Discrimination (SADD) which has played a crucial role in bringing about social change through protests and drafting policies. He undertook numerous significant protests and campaigns, including a four year long campaign ‘Let’s take a bus’, which have resulted in the enactment of the Special Education Act (2007), the Mobility Act (2005), the Anti-Discrimination Act (2007) and the Personal Assistance Service Act (2011). Park also founded the Nodl Evening School for Persons with Disabilities in 1993 and currently serves as the headmaster. He has been awarded a number of Human Rights Awards by Oh My News in 2002, Korean Federation of DPOs in 2003, Light in the Field in 2010, and Buddhist Human Rights Committee in 2011.

Chapal Khasnabis Technical Officer, Disability and Rehabilitation Team, The World Health Organization (WHO)

Chapal Khasnabis is currently a Technical Officer of the Disability and Rehabilitation Team at the World Health Organization and is responsible for the promotion of Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) and mobility/assistive devices. He is also the key architect and chief editor of the CBR Guidelines, which is a joint publication of WHO, ILO, UNESCO and IDDC. While Khasnabis is a prosthetist by profession, seeing the need - developing world in particular, he gradually moved to the world of community health and Community-based rehabilitation (CBR). After working for 15 years with Ministry of health and Ministry of Social Welfare (Government of India), he founded a NGO 'Mobility India' in 1994 to work for the poor and people who live in rural areas and urban sluHe has worked in many developing countries on behalf of International NGOs and the World Health Organization (WHO) and uses 33 years of his work experience in government, NGOs and International Organizations to highlight the needs for and benefits of CBR.

Alana Officer Coordinator for the Disability and Rehabilitation Team, WHO (World Health Organization)

Alana Officer joined WHO in July 2006, and is now Coordinator for the Disability and Rehabilitation Team (DAR) in the Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability (VIP). She oversees WHO's work on disability and rehabilitation related to policies, medical care and rehabilitation, community-based rehabilitation, assistive devices and technologies, and capacity building. She is the executive editor of the World report on disability. Prior to joining WHO in July 2006, Ms Officer held a number of technical and managerial positions working on disability, rehabilitation and development in West and Central Africa, Europe, South Asia and the Western Pacific. Ms Officer was the Country Director for Handicap International (HI) in India. She holds a diploma in Applied Science (Podiatric Medicine) from the Institute of Technology in Sydney, Australia; a Master's degree in Applied Science (research) from the University of Sydney, Australia; and a Masters degree in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Session 4. Rehabilitation as an Investment - Unmasking the Myth

Chae-Phil Lee Republic of Korea

Chae-Phil Lee has been the Minister of Employment and Labour in the Republic of Korea since May 2011 and has been working at the Ministry of Employment and Labour for the past 30 years. He established the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled (KEAD) in 1989 to support the employment of persons with disabilities and contributed greatly to the promotion of the legislation regarding the employment of persons with disabilities and establishment of vocational rehabilitation funds. He has received a Masters degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D in Human Resource Development.

Joachim Breuer Director General, German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV)

Joachim Breuer is the Director General of German Social Accident Insurance(DGUV), the umbrella organization of all German accident insurance funds in the industrial sector, a position he has held since 2002. Previously, Breuer has worked for the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Federation of German Accident Insurance Institutions (HVBG) in St. Augustin, Germany. In 1995, he became Director General of the accident insurance and prevention institution for the German mining industry. His international affiliations, most notably are: Member of the Bureau of the International Social Security Association (ISSA), Chairman of the ISSA Technical Commission on Accident Insurance and Vice President European Region of Rehabilitation International (RI). He is often consulted as an expert in social security by governments and has published various articles on social law & accident insurance matters. Breuer studied law at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin, Germany and became a pdftor of law in 1985. .

Susan Parker Former Director of Disability Policy Development, Office of Disability Employment, U.S Department of Labor

Susan Parker is a leading expert in disability policy, especially on issues of labour/employment, mental health advocacy, education and youth development. She has held high level positions in government and non-governmental organizations and her most recent positions (2002-2011) include senior executive posts as the U.S. Department of Labor’s first Director of Disability Policy and Research, and the Director of Policy Development. As a senior advisor in the International Labor Organization (ILO), 1998-2001, she successfully developed for use by employers’ associations, worker’s organizations and ILO member governments new policies on the management of disability in the workplace. She has worked closely with the ILO, UNICEF, UNESCO, and WHO both in her tenure with RI and the ILO. She served as her country’s disability commissioner in the U.S. Social Security Administration, the largest public disability insurance program in the world. She holds Masters Degrees in Psychiatric Social Work (MSW) and Social Planning (MSP) from Boston College with M.I.T.

Session 5. Health, Work and Disability

Gina Lund State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Labour

Mrs. Gina Lund is State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Labour which is responsible for labour market policy, the working environment, pensions and welfare policy. In 2011 the Norwegian Government presented a Jobs Strategy for People with Disabilities, a pdfument which is both an overarching strategic plan and specific initiatives for 2012, for enabling more people with disabilities to participate in the labour market. She has held numerous senior level positions as the acting department head from the Ministry of Justice and the Police, working in the Ministry of Local and Regional Development, Sales and Marketing Director for a Norwegian Internet and Design Company, Deputy head of the Emergency Response Department at the Norwegian Refugee Council, advisor in New York, as well as in Brussels, and worked as a Political Advisor to the Minister at the Minstry of Labour and Public Administration. She has held a number of offices in AUF (Norwegian Labour Youth) and in Sosialdemokratisk Studentforbund (social democratic student association), and has been elected member of the Student Parliament in Oslo. Mrs. Lund has been deputy chair of the board of CARE Norway. She holds a Candidate Juris law degree from the University of Oslo.

Woon Hwan Na Professor, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Daegu University

Woon Hwan Na is currently a professor at the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Daegu University. As a leading expert in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation in South Korea, Na has contributed significantly in the making of various national policies such as the ‘Enforcement decree act on employment promotion and vocational rehabilitation for disabled persons’ and the ‘Special act on priority system of purchase of products by persons with significant disabilities’. He serves as an expert in various governmental committees such as the Committee of Coordinating Welfare of People with Disabilities(Ministry of Health & Welfare), Rehabilitation Institutes Steering Committee(Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs), and the Social Enterprise Committee( Ministry of Employment and Labor). Na also is a founding member and executive committee member of Korean Society of Vocational Rehabilitation which was established in 1991 and is serving as chairman of RI Korea’s Vocational Committee.

Anne Hawker Principal Disability Advisor, Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand

Anne Hawker is currently the President of Rehabilitation International (RI), a position that she has held since 2008. Hawker has had 35 years of active involvement in the international disability arena both within New Zealand, the Asia Pacific region, especially as the Chair of the Regional NGO Network for the Asia Pacific Decade of the Disabled. She currently works as the Principal Disability Advisor for the Ministry of Social Development in New Zealand. This was a newly created position aimed at ensuring that persons with disabilities were heard in the development of services and that the Ministry was both a good employer and displayed disability confidence in terms of its delivery to its customers with disabilities. Hawker has previously worked in the non-governmental sector including her role as Chief Executive of the Head Injury Society in New Zealand. She has also been a lecturer in rehabilitation at the University of Otago outlining her personal experience with disability and has a number of papers published on rehabilitation and disability.

Session 6. Disaster Management, Conflict and Disability

Khaled El Mohtar General Director, National Rehabilitation and Development Center (NRDC)

Khaled El Mohtar is currently serving as an RI Vice President for the Arab Region. He is the Founder and General Director of National Rehabilitation and Development Center (NRDC), the first organization found in Mount Lebanon since 1986 to provide care, welfare, rehabilitation for persons with disabilities especially for children with special needs. He has been active in the Social Field for the past 30 years and still he is. He organized and participated in many local, regional and international conferences, workshops and seminars on disability, development, human rights, capacity building and other social concepts. He is a founder of many fields of dispensaries and social NGOs, besides being an active member in many international organizations and networks, such as ISPCAN, CIVICUS, IASSID, ISPRM, II, in addition to RI and many others on local and regional levels. Mohtar holds a B.A. in Business Administration.

Hans Asha Executive Vice President, Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre

Asha Hans is currently the executive vice president of Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre as well as a professor of International Relations and Gender Studies at Utkal University India. She has taught and carried out research at various universities including Columbia and American University (USA), Oxford (UK) and York (Canada). Hans is also a representative of the South Asia drafting committee to the United Nations Global partnership on Conflict Prevention and a member of international high level dialogue teams to Nepal to initiate peace. As the co-founder of Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre (SMRC), a DPO in India, she has worked on issues of gender and disability at a national and international level with UN and its various agencies. Also, since 1999, Hans has initiated policy and programmes on inclusion of disability in emergencies in India and various parts of the world. She has worked with Handicap International and Rehabilitation International on creating change in emergencies through inclusion and serves as a consultant and advisor to Sphere Humanitarian Charter for inclusion as well as to the World Bank (GPDD) and UNDP on disaster and disability issues.

Pauline Kleinitz Disability Technical Officer, Western Pacific Regional Office, WHO

Pauline Kleinitz is the Disability and Rehabilitation Technical Officer for the World Health Organisation in the Western Pacific Regional Office. She has worked in the disability sector for twenty years within a variety of agencies, including government, university, local and international non-governmental organisations. Her key areas of expertise are rehabilitation and disability inclusive development where she has undertaken technical advisory, training and research roles. She holds a bachelor in Physiotherapy and Masters of International Development

Session 7. Mainstreaming Disability into Development Programs

Akiko Ito Chief of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations

Akiko Ito is Chief of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and UN/Focal Point on Disability. She is also a Departmental Focal Point for Women of Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations and the DESA Focal Point for Human Rights Mainstreaming for UNDG. Ito has extensively lectured and published on issues of concerning disability and human rights at the United Nations. Previous to her current post, she worked in the Legal Affairs Section of the United Nations Drug Control Programme in Vienna, Austria. Her academic background is in international law and the area of interest is domestic application of international law, with a focus on the rights of minorities and other disadvantaged groups. She has an LL.B. in International Legal Studies from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago and an LL.M. from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley.

Hyung Shik Kim UN Disability Rights Committee Member

Hyung Shik Kim serves as a current member of the UN Disability Rights Committee and a professor at the Department of International Cooperation of the Korea University of International Studies. His teaching, research and activities center around development cooperation/assistance and NGO operations in developing countries. He is also a Board Member of the Roosevelt Foundation in USA. Through his experience of becoming a person with disability at a young age during the Korean War, he is devoted to building capacity of persons with disabilities and has been actively involved in social campaigns since the 1960s to fight against discriminations directed to persons with disabilities. An expert in disability policy, he also has been developing strategies on the UNESCAP’s Decade of Implementing the CRPD in the Asia Pacific Region.

Aleksandra Posarac Lead Human Development Economist, Social Protection Team, Human Development Network, World Bank

Posarac is a Lead Human Development Economist in the Social Protection Division of the Human Development Network. She leads the World Bank's work on disability and development. She joined the World Bank in 1998 after a distinguished career as a Senior Research Associate at the Belgrade Institute of Economic Sciences where she led research on public finance, poverty and human development. In the World Bank, she has led both operational and analytical work in human development and poverty and has led the World Bank technical advice on social safety net and pension system and policy development in a wide range of countries, including Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Serbia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Jordan, Lebanon, India and Pakistan. She served as the Human Development Sector Coordinator for the South Caucasus Counties in 2004-2008.