President's Message
RI members and friends:
2007 has been a most significant year for persons with disabilities worldwide. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was signed by over 100 countries and the CRPD is now moving towards ratification and implementation. Our RI Secretariat and many Executive Committee and RI members are actively involved in promoting this first human rights convention of the 21st century.
The challenge for RI is to be at the forefront of the CRPD implementation process - and we are moving to achieve this in a number of ways - within our RI network and through effective partnerships and collaborations.
Within RI we have established a Finance Committee, Membership Committee and the RI Foundation - to provide the structure and financial framework to effectively implement RI and CRPD programs and activities at community, regional and international levels.
Our partnership activities during 2007 included RI participation in the January Panel of Experts meeting in Doha, Qatar, together with active involvement in IDA (International Disability Alliance) meetings in New York and Geneva (in February and September). During the year, I also attended a number of interesting meetings and conferences including a Conference on Ageing and Disability in Toronto and an Access Workshop in Doha.
In April, our Executive Committee met in Quebec and we also reviewed planning and preparations for our August 2008 World Congress. In October, our Executive Committee, Assembly and associated meetings were held in Djerba, Tunisia.
Our Djerba meetings provided an important forum for discussion on the image, name and focus of RI. Our legal name, Rehabilitation International, was adopted in 1972 and Djerba provided a framework for ongoing discussion on this important issue. The CRPD reaffirms the transition from a medical model to a rights-based approach - centered on empowerment and capacity building and in this regard the RI Assembly made a significant decision in Djerba. The RI Constitution now requires that the majority of our RI Executive Committee members are persons with a disability.
I look forward to our continuing challenges and achievements together - as we move towards our goals of effectively implementing the CRPD and advancing the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities worldwide.
Michael Fox, RI President