The Global South to North Disability Research Network E-Newsletter: 5th Edition (September, 2010) Welcome to the 5th Edition of the Global South to North Disability Research Network E-newsletter. This e-newsletter is in association with the Research Institute of Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University, Breakthrough UK Ltd, Centre for Rehabilitation Studies, Stellenbosch University [South Africa]) and Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin, Disabled People International and African Network on Evidence-to-Action in Disability (AfriNEAD). We would like to congratulate the 12 CRPD Committee members elected at the 3rd Conference of States Parties, at the United Nations in New York on the 2nd September, 2010. In particular, we congratulate Ron McCallum, the only candidate elected to the CRPD Commitee on the first ballot. This represents a strong endorsement of Ron's first term on the Committee and especially his time as the chair since the beginning of this year. We wish the whole team all the best in their appointments and in their responsibilities. If you want to share your Masters, PhD, or ongoing research work, please send us the abstracts so that we can publish them in the newsletter as we intend to make this a regular feature. For theses, please indicate if you are willing to share with readers the whole thesis or just the abstract. Include the name of the university and year the study was completed. You will also see that we have included a section on new publications. Therefore, if you have any latest publication(s), we will be glad to include your hard earned product(s) in our newsletter for wider readership. As we always say, the aims of our e-newsletter are to provide informal, off the press and informative monthly details of global south and global north disability research activities, which might be of interest to audiences including disability activists, organisations of disabled people, students, researchers, policy makers, families, practitioners and local authorities. This sharing and networking links into the aims of the Disability Studies Association (http://www.disabilitystudies.net/), African Network on Evidence-to-Action on Disability (www.afrinead.org) and Disabled People International (www.dpi.org). We look forward to your contributions for the 6th Edition (October) by latest 30 September 2010 so that we have time to put together the e-newsletter. We would appreciate to have contributions from all the continents so that we establish stronger links between the global south and global north. When contributing, please include the following: *  Funding priorities which readers might be able to link into for funding bids. The details of your institution and one contact person and their email address * Monthly commitment to provide us with BRIEF information (including related web links) about disability research activities you and your colleagues are involved with. This could be no more than a few lines. Please ensure that you do not send attachments as we want to keep it workable, informal and relatively easy to read. * To provide details on such things as news on forthcoming publications; conferences/seminars you are attending or hosting; funding opportunities of interest to disability researchers; news from local and national government; international disability issues; stories from research; ideas for research that you would like to explore with interested others; disability studies teaching materials and resources; links to new policy and user consultation, theses, etc? * To provide in your email information categorised in terms of your institution e.g. News from the Research Institute of Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University or Activities of the Disability Studies team at University of Cape Town, etc. * To make the email simple text without loads of formatting for ease of putting together the online e-newsletter. * To posit other ideas for developing the e-newsletter. When submitting, please remember to use simple text version for easy accessibility. Once again, thank you for your support, and please submit your contributions to Tsitsi at: tchataika@sun.ac.za   We hope that you will find this newsletter informative. Feel free to distribute to your colleagues. Very best wishes Editors: Tsitsi Chataika (Stellenbosch University, Centre for Rehabilitation Studies & Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin); Dan Goodley (Manchester Metropolitan University) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1. News from Stellenbosch University, South Africa Contact: Marcia Lyner-Cleophas - cleophas@sun.ac.za I am currently undertaking a PhD study and my thesis title is “Staff and students experiences of support, inclusion and exclusion at Stellenbosch University”. I am kindly requesting for any relevant literature on disability and higher education. I am looking for learning theories, disability-related theories with regard to support, inclusion and exclusionary practices, developmental theories, etc, in the field of higher education and training. If you have any relevant information, could you please email me at cleophas@sun.ac.za 2. News from Breakthrough UK Ltd, Business Employment Venture Centre Contact: Gary Timperley - g.timperley@breakthrough-uk.co.uk (a) Call for Papers from disabled writers (i) Disabled people – a right to live? All three papers will take a social model approach and will address the issues around the ‘Right to Live’ agenda for disabled people from birth through to death. We are interested to show how each individual paper relates to the others. The papers should explore the impact on British society; compare/contrast with the values of other cultures (especially non-Western); how the issues are driven/influenced by the tug between secular and non-secular, cultural beliefs and by financial resources agenda which may be hidden under the guise of 'rights', 'choice', 'control' and 'ethical/moral' considerations The papers will address one of the following:- * Pressures that families / parents may face, during a pregnancy, to terminate a life due to either impairment of the foetus or the mother’s and/or father’s impairment, * The involuntary mercy killing of disabled people by professionals / paid carers / family members and friends * The ‘Right to Die’ issues, euthanasia, and assisted suicide relating to disabled people.   (ii) Submission Procedure Three copies of the abstract for your chosen paper (an abstract of 100 – 150 words) should be submitted to Policy and Research Unit, c/o Gary Timperley, Policy and Research Assistant, Breakthrough UK Ltd, Business Employment Venture Centre, Aked Close, Ardwick, Manchester M12 4AN, on or before Friday 29th October 2010. Further details available on our website www.breakthrough-uk.co.uk (iii) Tender Brief – Description of service required This document will introduce you to the company, its aims and objectives and give a brief outline of the proposed work. Title of piece of work: - Disabled people – a right to live? a) Breakthrough UK Ltd: Breakthrough UK Ltd is a successful independent social enterprise, managed mainly by disabled people. It brings together disabled people, local businesses, and other agencies to plan and deliver projects and services to promote independence. Based in the North West of England, Breakthrough UK provides independent living support, training, employment and business opportunities to disabled people within the social model of disability. On average 60-70% of Breakthrough’s staff are disabled people, with firsthand knowledge and experience of the barriers to independence and employment. We are proud that Breakthrough was cited in the ‘Improving Life Chances’ report as a good practice example of a social enterprise working in the field of employment and disability. The Breakthrough Policy Think Tank is a response to what we see as a ‘policy vacuum’ in relation to disability. Its membership brings together a small group of people known to subscribe to the social model, who are known for their analytical approach, and their tendency to “stretch the boundaries” in a variety of areas. The Policy Think Tank has two major aims: * To influence government, or other strategic bodies, on matters to do with disability, from a ‘social model’ perspective. * To provide briefings on current matters to do with disability for general dissemination. The Social Model of Disability: traditionally disabled people have been seen as a problem, to be tackled by focusing interventions on the individual. Developed by disabled people themselves, the social model locates the problem with the structures and organisation of society, which take little or no account of what disabled people need to be autonomous and to live independently. We believe that all policy and practice proposals relating to disability and disabled people should be rooted in the social model of disability – adopted by the government through the “Improving Life Chances” report of 2005. b) Brief description of Proposed Tender Breakthrough UK Ltd (BUK) wishes to commission a consultant/researcher(s) to research and report on the issues around the whole life agenda for disabled people from birth through to death. The series of three papers will address the issues relating to; i. Pressures that families / parents may face, during a pregnancy, to terminate a life due to either impairment of the un-born child(foetus) or the mother’s impairment, ii. The involuntary mercy killing of disabled people by professionals / paid carers / family members and friends iii. The ‘Right to Die’ issues, euthanasia, and assisted suicide relating to disabled people. All three papers will take a social model approach to the issues; will be aware of how each individual paper relates to the other two: and will report / recommend within a common framework. The papers should explore the impact on British society; compare/contrast with the values of other cultures (especially non-Western); how the issues are driven/influenced by the tug between secular and non-secular beliefs and by (a hidden?) financial resources agenda under the guise of 'rights', 'choice', 'control' and 'ethical/moral' considerations   The completed research will form a report that details the findings, highlights good practice and outlines any recommendations. This report will be available to a variety of sources and will be launched at a Conference in February/March 2011 (a) Pressures that families / parents may face, during a pregnancy, to terminate a life due to either impairment of the un-born child(foetus) or the mother’s impairment This paper will investigate the issues relating to how health care professionals, especially hospitals, doctors, midwifes and others, place pressure on expectant mothers to terminate life if they perceive there will be no quality of life. It will investigate how pregnant women may be treated differently if they are disabled. It will look at how the media adds further pressure, and how political interventions influence this issue. Over the past year there have been many pieces of research and debates in relation to the right to live: this paper would investigate the issues and pull together recommendations and suggested actions for future dissemination. The successful tender bid will be required to produce a number of key outputs as identified in Section 3c of this briefing document. a) The involuntary mercy killing of disabled people by professionals / paid carers / family members and friends Over the past year there have been articles and debates focused on the issues of lack of support and the pressures put on unpaid carers of disabled family members. There is a huge pressure on the unpaid carers of disabled family members. Providing 24 hour care is an exceptionally difficult, and stressful, task: this makes the adequate provision of support services, suitable to individual needs an absolute necessity. a) The ‘Right to Die’ issues, euthanasia, and assisted suicide relating to disabled people. This final paper in the series looks at the issues around ‘The Right to die and assisted suicide in general’. Over the past year we have seen the rise in television and press coverage of political and societies objections to people taking their own lives and many professionals have expressed their views as to how disabled people should be allowed to have their feelings respected and be allowed to make their own independent choice. This paper should focus on the following: 1.1 Whether disabled people have a right to have their own choice and to decide what they want to do, and when, 1.2 Differences between national and international legislation, and how legal systems treats people differently, 1.3 Ethical issues for the medical and the ‘caring’ professions, 1.4 Ethical issues for the individual and their families, 1.5 Individual’s rights for dignity and respect. The Conference/ Seminars will offer a chance to present all three papers in a coordinated way, to identify good practice, and to make recommendations. 5). Contract supervision: the research will be coordinated by the Policy and Research Assistant at Breakthrough, whilst the manager of the contract will be the Head of Policy / Chief Executive 6). Indicative budget available: £2,000 per research paper Production costs of the final version of the report will be retained by Breakthrough UK Ltd 4. News from Disabled People International Contact: Frank Mulcahy - fmulcahy@iol.ie (a) Impact of Pakistan Floods on Disabled People You are all aware of the major floods that have hit most of Pakistan and the impact that the floods have on millions of people.  Of course, in the millions we have a huge number of disabled people.  I enclose a short note done by an organisation of the impact that the floods have on a small number of disabled people.I am certain that if you want to contribute to a fund, then perhaps you could ask Ghulam Nabi - ghulamnabi.nizamani@gmail.com.  He is a great leader of disabled people in Pakistan and I know that he will direct you to someone who will have an impact on disabled people caught up in the floods. (b) Pakistan Floods: Picture report by Milestone (DPO), Pakistan - We are in tragedy again Below are some pictures of our today’s activities in Mazafargarh. It was very much difficult to imagine how disabled persons could survive in such a difficult situation. A young boy is arranging a Charpai to carry a disabled person. It’s very difficult for disabled persons to move for rescue but not impossible It is not picnic at all; it was a dangerous place full of snakes and other dangerous insects. There was very bad smell around us and Rizwan try his best to put energy for the movement of the boat.. No food no shelter… Only hope to find the place where they can spend their childhood… It is their home now. She could have new clothes and also could enjoy Milestone rice for some days. But later on nobody knows..... 5. Theses and Research Abstract (New!) (a) PhD Thesis (Congratulations to Dr Judith Anne Mackenzie for this great accomplishment) Author: Dr Judith Anne Mckenzie (jmjudymckenzie2@gmail.com; jmckenzie@sun.ac.za) PhD Title: Constructing the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education: a discourse analysis using Q-methodology University: Rhodes University Date: April 2010 Abstract The education of intellectually disabled (ID) people is constructed within mass education systems as a problem requiring specialised intervention, separation from “normal” school contexts and the application of professional expertise. A social model of disability resists these practices from a human rights perspective and underpins an inclusive education approach. In this study, a post-structuralist disability studies theoretical framework, drawing particularly on the work of Foucault, was used to examine discourses that construct the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education. The study was conducted in Buffalo City, South Africa at a time when an inclusive education policy is being implemented in the country. The research questions were: What discourses are deployed in the representation and educational practices of those identified as ID? What are the effects of these discourses in constructing the ID subject and associated educational practice? The study utilises Q-methodology, a factor analytic method that yields whole patterns of responses for analysis. A process of sorting selected statements along the dimension of agree to disagree was completed by three groups of participants, namely adults with ID, parents of people with ID and professionals working with ID. Discourses of representation and of educational practice were identified through statistical and interpretive analysis, following the discourse analysis school of Q-methodology. The findings of this study reveal the operation of power in a medico-psychological gaze that makes ID visible and supervises disability expertise within education. Representations of ID suffused with religious notions support the exercise of pastoral power by disability experts. Human rights discourses in education can marginalise ID people if applied uncritically. Fixed notions of impairment constrain an intellectually disabled subject who is vulnerable and incompetent. This study argues instead for a theory of (poss)ability, underpinned by an understanding of the situational and shared nature of competence and a fluid conception of impairment. Human rights should be supplemented by an ethics of care and belonging in the community (ubuntu). A research agenda supporting this effort would examine the ways in which ID people work on themselves as subjects (subjectivisation) and explore the potential for resistance in this process. The thesis is available for download from http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1652/ Please share your research work so that this section remains alive! 6. News from the Editors’ Desk (a) Free Symposium - The Space Between Disability In and Out of the Counselling Room A Symposium jointly presented by the Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology, and the Department of Sociology & Equity Studies of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.  It is generously sponsored by the Centre for Diversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy. When: October 8, 2010 Time: 9am – 5pm Where: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada As its central premise, this symposium holds that disability always exists as a relational, fluid dynamic between two or more people as opposed to an unshifting biomedical condition or ‘defect.’ Session 1 - 10am - 11pm: Disability in the Counselling Room and the Doctor's Office (i) "From Tragedy to 'Crip' to Human: The Need for Multiple Understandings of Disability in Psychotherapy." - Kaley Roosen (ii) "The Melancholy of Pain: Misrepresentation of Women’s Chronic Pain Experiences" - Maria Guadagnoli-Closs (iii) "Achieving and Maintaining The Third Space In Counselling Clients with Learning Disabilities." Madeleine Lerch Session 2 - 11:15am - 12:15pm Disability in the Academy & in Neo-Liberal Spaces (i) "Conversations about Disabling Education, (Hidden) Practices and Policies in Academia: A Case Study." - Nancy La Monica (ii) "Is Passing Even an Option? Accommodations within Post-Secondary Education and the Rights of Non-Visibly Disabled Students" - Fady Shanouda (iii) "Playing With Disability as the Space Between: Reciprocity in a Neoliberal Context" - Catherine Aubrecht Keynote Address 1: 1pm to 1:45 - "The Space Between Disability Studies and Psychology: A Place for Community Psychology?" - Rebecca Lawthom Session 3 (concurrent with Session 4). - 2pm to 3pm. Disability in the World (i) "Crippling narratives and disabling shame: Disability as metaphor, affective dividing practices, and an ethics that might make a difference." - Chris Chapman (ii) "Breaking A Disabled Limb: Social and Medical Constructions of ‘Legitimate’ and ‘Illegitimate’ Impairments" - Isaac Stein (iii) "Attitudes Towards Persons with Physical Disabilities: The Impact of Television Presentations of Paralympic Athletes" - Lianne Trachtenberg Session 4 (concurrent with Session 3) - Special Paper and Workshop Presentation (i) Workshop: "Growing up with parents with mental health difficulties" - Natasha Kis-Sines and Ruth Pluznick Keynote Address 2: 3:30 - 5pm - “Disability Studies and Psychoanalysis: Time for the Couch or Culture?" - Dan Goodley To register for this free symposium, please send an email with your full name to isaac.stein@utoronto.ca (b) Call for Papers: Nordic Network on Disability Research 2011 Conference Where: Reykjavík, Iceland When: 27 – 28 May, 2011 Language: The conference language is English The Nordic Network on Disability Research (NNDR), is pleased to announce a call for papers for its 11th Research Conference. NNDR (www.nndr.no) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers. The NNDR conferences bring together researchers, policy makers, activists and practitioners to share scholarship and ideas, and provides a forum for Nordic and international collaboration in disability studies. We invite submissions of abstracts for symposium, paper or poster presentations and welcome a wide range of contributions applying social, cultural, historical and philosophical perspectives to the study of disability. In particular we welcome papers focusing on the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and how the Convention is implemented to promote and protect the human rights of disabled people. The NNDR conferences have been particularly welcoming and supportive of research students and young scholars who are presenting for the first time at an international conference. Keynote speakers include 1. Steven J. Taylor, Professor of Disability Studies and Director of the Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, USA 2. Anna Lawson, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the Schoolof Law, University of Leeds, UK 3. Adolf Ratzka, PhD, Co-Director of the Institute on Independent Living, Stockholm, Sweden Important dates December 1, 2010 - Abstract submission deadline February 1, 2011 - Abstract acceptance information February 10, 2010 - Early registration deadline Conference homepage: www.yourhost.is/nndr2011 For more information please contact Rannveig Traustadóttir Professor, University of Iceland - rannvt@hi.is or Snæfridur Th. Egilson, Professor, University of Akureyri - sne@unak.is (c) International Conference of Disability Studies Topic: Diversity in Quality of life Where: The Netherlands and VU University, Amsterdam. When: 2 – 4 December 2010 (i) A new Initiative - Disability Studies in The Netherlands Disability Studies is a relatively new field in the social sciences that studies functional impairments of human beings in a social rather than a medical or psychological context. The distinctive theoretical contribution of this field has been the development of the social model according to which disability is not regarded as a physical, intellectual, or mental deficit of the individual, but as a social construct that relegates persons with functional impairments to a marginal position in society. 'Disability' is studied as a notion that signals stigmatization and exclusion from equal participation in society. Disability Studies searches for ways of inclusion in theory and practice. Disability studies in The Netherlands aims - through developing and sharing knowledge - to contribute to the quality of life of persons with a functional impairment by enabling them to be in control over their own lives, guided by their own values and ideals. The overall aim is to build an inclusive society that creates equal access and opportunities for all its members, in which they can participate by using their own talents and building on their own experience. (ii) Partners in this Conference Disability Studies in The Netherlands (DSiN) wants to celebrate the start of its research program with an international conference in cooperation with VU University, which supports this event as part of the lustrum agenda Freedom and Responsibility, on occasion of its 130th birthday, starting in October 2010. The conference will be organized under the auspices of VISOR (Interdepartmental Research Institute of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Philosophy), in cooperation with the Athena Institute (Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences) and Metamedica (VU University medical centre). (iii) Conference theme The theme of the conference is 'diversity in quality of life.' The conference invites scholars to further develop the concept of quality of life from a disability studies perspective. Research from a disability studies perspective contributes to this understanding of 'quality of life' by focusing on diversity. It presupposes that persons with functional impairments possess a quality of life that is defined foremost by the appropriation of their own life-story. This involves active contribution of persons with functional impairments that strengthens their own voice, and that reflects differences between cultural perspectives, including non-western ones. (iv) Subthemes: To be or not to be? In the classical version of the social model 'disability' is understood as an assigned social 'role'. Any reference to a natural condition was rejected as 'essentialist.' Recent developments in thinking about the relation between 'disability' and 'identity' suggest a re-evaluation of the connection between 'disability' and 'being'. a. Coordination: Ingrid Baart What distinguishes disability studies? Disability studies presents itself as a distinct approach to disability research in that it does not regard people with disabilities as the object of its research. But then what is its proper object? And what are appropriate methodologies? b. Coordination: Geert Van Hove How does disability experience affect quality of life? In recent times 'quality of life' has become a well-established concept for the prospective evaluation of living conditions in the medical and behavioural sciences. What happens when persons with functional impairments claim ownership over their own conception of quality of life? c. Coordination: Alice Schippers Multi Cultural Perspectives on Quality of Life Quality of Life studies must be sensitive to cultural differences. What are the implications of bringing voices from different cultures to this topic? d. Coordination: Wim van Brakel (iv) Format The conference will start with a public lecture. Four keynote speakers will present a plenary address of 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes for questions and comments. Four subthemes will be developed in three concurrent sessions in four lecture halls. Each session will have a few paper presentations. Poster boards will be available for poster presentations. (v) Instructions for Submitting Paper Abstracts Abstracts must be in English. In submitting an abstract, you will be asked for the following information: * Contact Information - Please specify your name (the submitting author), institutional affiliation, email address and contact details. * Abstract Title - This should be brief (no more than 100 characters + spaces) but clearly indicate the content to be presented. * Author(s): Please indicate the first and last name of each author as well as their role (presenting author, submitting author, co-author....). * Presenter's Email and Affiliation - Please indicate the email address and affiliation of the presenting author only * Abstract - This is structured using the subheadings: Aim, Method, Results, Conclusions. Overall, it should be no more than 350 words. * Subtheme - Specify which of the four subthemes your paper will address: To be or not to be, What distinguishes disability studies?, How does disability experience affect quality of life?, Multi Cultural Perspectives on Quality of Life. (vi) Mode of Presentation Indicate 'oral presentation' or 'poster presentation' (vi) Student Papers - Students who would like to present a paper in the concurrent sessions are invited to submit an abstract. (vii) Submission: October 1st 2010 Send your abstracts to Prof. Hans Reinders Mail address: Faculty of Theology, VU University De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands Email: Js.reinders@th.vu.nl (d) Call for Submissions: Disability History Anthology This anthology is intended to introduce readers to new topics, interpretations, approaches, and theoretical models in disability history. We especially seek projects that explore the complex and interrelated experiences of diverse peoples across time, cultures, and broad geographical areas and that critically considers the connections between disability and other social categories, including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, age, religion, and sexuality. Subjects may include, but are not limited to: culture(s), politics and economics (broadly defined), theory and methodology, medicine and science, communities, war and conflict, family and kinship (broadly conceived), and life span histories.  We encourage authors to write in clear accessible prose, which will enable a wide range of readers to use this anthology. (i) Some general details: Chapter length will be 5,000-7,000 words (20-30 pages). Essays may be co-authored. Disability may be broadly defined. All geographical contexts are welcome [this is not restricted to North American or western locations]. To be considered for this collection please send a brief (250-500 word) abstract of your project by October 18, 2010. Full drafts of accepted projects will be due by June 10, 2011. Questions and submission may be directed to Co-editors Susan Burch - sburch@middlebury.edu and Michael Rembis - marembis@buffalo.edu (b) CREA's South Asia Movement Building and Human Rights Institute When: 1-5 November 2010 Where: Kathmandu, Nepal (i) How to apply Please visit www.creaworld.org for brochure and application form. Applications are due on or before 10 September 2010. Please send your applications to Sushma Luthra - Email: sluthra@creaworld.org - Fax: +91 11 2437 7708. Post: 7 Mathura Road, 2nd Floor, Jangpura B, New Delhi - 110014. India. (ii) About the Institute The South Asia Movement Building and Human Rights Institute is an annual five-day residential training program designed by CREA. This Institute is designed for women working in NGOs in South Asia in mid-level leadership positions, and aims to build the conceptual clarity of participants on gender, feminism and movement building and their link to human rights in the South Asian context. The Institute also aims to build the skills of participants for mobilizing oppressed / marginalized women to claim their rights. (iii) Course Content This Institute offers mid-level women leaders in NGOs an opportunity to enhance their conceptual understanding as well as build their skills to do effective activism and advocacy on human rights. The Institute will build: * Conceptual understanding of participants on gender, feminism and movement building and their link to human rights. * Strategic skills by looking at and analyzing some social movements and successful advocacy campaigns in South Asia. * Communication skills that will enable participants to prepare effective written communication material, social messaging in videos and documentaries and use ICTs for human rights work. (iv) Faculty Activists and academics from the Global South will teach the course using classroom instruction, group work, case studies, simulation exercises and films. Resource persons include: (v) Core Faculty Srilatha Batliwala (India) and Sunita Kujur (India) (vi) Participating Faculty Ayesha Khan (Pakistan – to be confirmed), Bishakha Datta (India), Kaushalya Perera (Sri Lanka), Maheen Sultan (Bangladesh – to be confirmed), Rita Thapa (Nepal) (vii) Organizer CREA is a feminist human rights organization based in New Delhi, India, and led by women from the global South. CREA promotes, protects and advances women's human rights and the sexual rights of all people by strengthening feminist leadership, organizations and movements, influencing global and national advocacy, creating information, knowledge and scholarship, changing public attitudes and discourses, and addressing exclusion. (viii) Participants Women working in NGOs in South Asia, in mid-level leadership positions, and committed to human rights work are eligible. 25 participants will be selected based on their application form. Participants are required to stay for the duration of the course. (ix) Venue and Dates The Institute will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal during November 1- 5, 2010. (Begins 9 am on the 1st; Ends 6 pm on the 5th). Participants will stay in double rooms. (x) Cost The Institute is supported by the Ford Foundation, allowing CREA to cover tuition, boarding and lodging costs for all participants. Participants must cover their own travel expenses. A limited number of travel scholarships from CREA are available on a need basis. (c) Registration is open for the Currents in the Mainstream Conference: The MeCCSA Disability Studies Network presents a conference on current images of disability at De Montfort University, Leicester on the 22nd September from 09-30 until 4-30. This day conference aims to re-visit and re-evaluate the complex issues at stake in contemporary representations of disability and impairment from a variety of critical perspectives, investigating both continuities and new trends in representing disability. Presenters include Paul Darke, Debs Williams and Sonali Shah. Papers /presentations will include work on television, film, journalism and performance. For more details please see: http://currentsinthemainstream.co.uk/ . Contacts: Alison - aliwilde@fastmail.fm and Margaret - MMontgomerie@dmu.ac.uk (e) Election of Twelve Committee Members of CRPD Committee at 3rd Conference of States Parties, 1 September 2010 United Nations, NY - The States Parties to the CRPD opened the Third Conference of States Parties (COP) by electing twelve CRPD Committee members today. Each candidate had to be presented by a country that is a State Party to the Convention. The CRPD Committee is now expanding from twelve to eighteen members in accordance with the Convention, which says that after sixty ratifications additional to the first twenty, the CRPD Committee will expand from twelve to eighteen members. The elections were conducted by secret ballot. In the first round of voting, only one candidate got the required absolute majority: the current Chair of the CRPD Committee, Mr. Ron McCallum (Australia) (re-elected for a four-year term). Next elected were Ms. Edah Wangechi Maina (Kenya), Ms. Theresia Degener (Germany), Mr. Hyng Shik Kim (Republic of Korea), Mr. Carlos Rios Espinosa (Mexico), and Mr. Lotfi Ben Lallahom (Tunisia), who will all serve four-year terms. Mr. McCallum, Ms. Maina and Mr. Lallahom were existing members who were re-elected. An additional six members were elected for the new seats resulting from the expansion: Mr. Gabor Gombos (Hungary), Mr. Damjan Tatic (Serbia), Mr. Stig Langvad (Denmark), Ms. Silvia Judith Quang Chang (Guatemala), Ms. Fatiha Hadj Salah (Algeria), and Mr. German Xavier Torres Correa (Ecuador). Of the latter six, the experts from Guatemala, Hungary, and Algeria will serve two-year terms (drawn by lot) while the rest will serve four-year terms. The full Committee of eighteen members also includes the current members, Ms. Amna Ali Al Suweidi (Qatar), Mr. Mohammed Al-Tarawneh (Jordan), Mr. Monsur Ahmed Choudhuri (Bangladesh), Ms. María Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Chile), Ms. Ana Peláez Narváez (Spain), and Ms. Jia Yang (China), all of whose terms expire in 2012. In 2012, there will be nine open Committee member seats. (c) New Publications (1) Lord, J., Posarac, A., Nicoli, M., Peffley, K. McClain-Nhlapo, C. and Keogh, M. (2010). Disability and International Cooperation and Development: A Review of Policies and Practices. World Bank Publication. This publication can be downloaded for free at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Publications-Reports/Disability_and_Intl_Cooperation.pdf (2) Disabled People International (2010). Position Paper on Disability and Poverty Eradication - In accordance with the Millennium Development Goal 1 – Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger. Available at: http://v1.dpi.org/langen/resources/details.php?page=998 (3) Carol Thomas, C. and Watson, N. (2011) Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies. Routledge A detailed and up-to-date overview, the Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies provides an authoritative overview of the main issues in the field around the world today. Consisting entirely of newly commissioned chapters and arranged thematically, it surveys the state of the discipline, examining emerging and cutting edge areas as well as core areas of contention. Divided in five sections, this comprehensive handbook covers: * Different models and approaches to disability studies * How five key impairment groups have engaged with disability studies and the writings within the discipline * Policy and legislation responses to disability studies and its activism * Disability studies and its interaction with other disciplines, such as history, philosophy and science and technology studies * Disability studies and different life experiences, such as ethnicity, sexuality, gender and ageing. Containing chapters from an international selection of leading scholars, this up-to-date handbook is an invaluable reference for all academics, researchers and more advanced students in disability studies and associated disciplines such as sociology, health studies and social work. (4) Kristiansen, K. and Shakespeare, T. (2010). Arguing about Disability. Routledge Disability is a thorny and muddled concept - especially in the field of disability studies - and social accounts contest with more traditional biologically based approaches in highly politicized debates. Sustained theoretical scrutiny has sometimes been lost amongst the controversy and philosophical issues have often been overlooked in favour of the sociological. Arguing about Disability fills that gap by offering analysis and debate concerning the moral nature of institutions, policy and practice, and their significance for disabled people and society. This pioneering collection is divided into three sections covering definitions and theories of disability; disabled people in society and applied ethics. Each contributor – drawn from a wide range of academic backgrounds including disability studies, sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, law and health science – uses a philosophical framework to explore a central issue in disability studies. The issues discussed include personhood, disability as a phenomenon, social justice, discrimination and inclusion. Providing an overview of the intersection of disability studies and philosophical ethics, Arguing about Disability is a truly interdisciplinary undertaking. It will be invaluable for all academics and students with an interest in disability studies or applied ethics, as well as disability activists. (5) Goodley, D. (2010). Disability Studies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction. SAGE Publications Ltd  This introduction to disability studies represents a clear, engaging, and consistently thought-provoking study of the field. The book discusses the global nature of disability studies and disability politics, introduces key debates in the field and represents the intersections of disability studies with feminism, queer, and postcolonial theory. The book has a clear and coherent format which matches the interdisciplinary framework of disability studies - including chapters on sociology, critical psychology, discourse analysis, psychoanalysis and education. Sitting alongside discussions on the global and glocal significance of disability studies these chapters include: Sociology: structure, ideology and story Psychology: subjectivity, self and others Discourse: of bodies, minds and institutions Culture: the imaginary and symbolic foundations of disablism Each chapter engages with important areas of analysis such as the individual, society, community, and education to explore the realities of oppression experienced by disabled people and to develop the possibilities for addressing it. Broad, dynamic, and interdisciplinary in scope this book will be crucial reading for students, researchers, and practitioners alike. (6) Lavia, J and Moore, M (Eds) (2010) Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Policy and Practice: Decolonizing Community Contexts, New York: Routledge. This book provides a space in which struggles for indigenous knowledge within communities are articulated, valued, heard, and responded to. The volume takes change as its focus, yet acknowledges that the origins and significance of change are frequently found to be unsettling. Contributors explore different understandings of change that forge sustainable, inclusive and just communities and examine issues related to citizenship, resistance, peacemaking, critical literacies, and second chance opportunities. The authors seek to promote advocacy of change that recognises the importance of an informed engagement with cross-cultural issues in order to foreground those missing perspectives that are often marginalised, silenced, ignored or denied. All contributors are concerned with how the process of change can bridge the gap between social justice and exclusion and develop critical understandings of the implications of changing policy and practice for those within and working with the educational organisations and communities. (d) Jobs – New!! There is an immediate opening for a full-time position of Latin America Regional Officer for the Disability Rights Promotion International (D.R.P.I.) project. D.R.P.I. is a collaborative project working to establish a holistic and sustainable global system to monitor the human rights of people with disabilities. D.R.P.I.'s International Coordination Centre is based at York University in Toronto, Canada. In collaboration with  Red Latinoamericana de Organizaciones No Gubernatmentales de Personas con Discapacidad y sus Familias (R.I.A.D.I.S.) and its Argentina member organization, Disability Rights Network (R.E.D.I.), D.R.P.I. is establishing a Regional Centre for Latin America in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Latin America Regional Officer will work from the Buenos Aires office, Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm. The D.R.P.I. project is guided by the principle that people with all types of disabilities and their representative organizations should be actively involved in all aspects of disability rights monitoring. D.R.P.I. adopts a holistic approach to monitoring disability rights, focusing on three inter-related areas: individual experiences (gathering information about the personal experiences of people with disabilities), systems (assessing laws, policies and programs impacting the rights of people with disabilities) and societal attitudes (examining the coverage and depiction of disability in the media). Further information may be found on the project website at http://www.yorku.ca/drpi/. Dr. Bengt Lindqvist (UN Special Rapporteur on Disability 1994-2002) and Dr. Marcia Rioux, Professor, School of Health Policy and Management, M.A. and Ph.D. (Critical Disability Studies), York University co-direct the project. Duties: The position will involve working under the direction of D.R.P.I.'s Co-Directors and with the co-supervision of R.E.D.I. to: * Collaboration with the D.R.P.I. Coordinator and other researchers Coordinate a regional disability rights monitoring training including the logistics of organizing the venue; participant travel, board and lodging; printing of materials, etc. * Plan and supervise disability rights monitoring projects; * Liaise with D.R.P.I. project personnel and partners; * Seek funding opportunities for disability rights monitoring activities; * Assist national and local organizations of people with disabilities to apply for and secure funding; * Offer support to disability rights monitoring activities taking place in Latin America; * Develop and foster partnerships between and among disability rights and human rights organizations in Latin America; * Assist with the preparation of reports to funding bodies and international and regional human rights monitoring mechanisms; * Raise awareness of disability rights monitoring activities taking place in Latin America (by, for example, coordinating media campaigns, writing content for the D.R.P.I. website and list serv, attending and presenting at relevant meetings, etc. * Maintain accurate accounts of funding and provide periodic reports to D.R.P * Other tasks, as required by the D.R.P.I. Co-Directors or their designate. Qualifications: Required: 1. Experience in project administration and management, organizing events and writing funding proposals; 2. Experience contributing to effective communication strategies including newsletters, reports, websites, etc; 3. Excellent oral and written communication skills in Spanish; 4. Able to communicate in English effectively. 5. Understanding of human rights and of disability as a human rights issue; and 6. Willing to travel. Preferred: 1. A university degree in the area of law, social sciences or other related discipline. 2. Personal experience of disability and/or working with people with disabilities. 3. Fluency in Portuguese is a strong asset. 4. Pan-Latin American working experience. Salary: Compensation will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate. Please note that it will not be possible to cover the cost of the successful candidate's moving and/or relocation expenses. We encourage applications from persons with disabilities, women, ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups. Applications will be accepted until September 5, 2010. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and their résumé to Dr. Marcia Rioux at mrioux@yorku.ca. Please indicate "APPLICATION - LATIN AMERICA REGIONAL OFFICER" in the subject line of the email. For further information about this posting, please contact: Dr. Marcia Rioux, Disability Rights Promotion International (D.R.P.I.) York University, 4700 Keele St., Suite 5021,TEL Building, Toronto, ON  M3J 1P3, Canada Telephone:  +1  416 736 2100 extension 22112 Email:  mrioux@yorku.ca +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For any further contributions and information, please contact email Tsitsi Chataika at tchataika@sun.ac.za Physical Address Dr Tsitsi Chataika - Postdoctoral Research Fellow Stellenbosch University, Centre for Rehabilitation Studies; Research Associate – Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin; Honorary Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University, RIHSC Tel: +27 219 389 816 Fax: +27 219 146 875 Email: tchataika@sun.ac.za Website: www.a-podd.org NB: A copy of this Newsletter and previous editions are available at: http://www.breakthrough-uk.co.uk/Resources/drn End of Newsletter Page 1 of 23