RI Global: Office of Communications
Contact: Adrian Brune, +1 347-759-9501
From 4-6 October, the RI Executive Committee, Commissions, and General Assembly met in Warsaw, Poland to discuss various topics related to the present situation of RI and future plans.
As part of the General Assembly meeting, an election was held to decide the new RI President Elect. After 54 votes, Ms. Zhang Haidi of China was chosen to succeed current RI President Jan Monsbakken in 2016.
Haidi is the Chairperson of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF), which is headquartered in Beijing. Established in March 1988, CPDF is a national umbrella organization of and for persons with diverse disabilities. CDPF’s mission is to promote the full participation of persons with disabilities in society on an equal basis with others, ensure that persons with disabilities share in the material and cultural achievements of society, as well as foster humanitarianism in society.
The meeting also included an overview of the upcoming RI 23rd World Congress in the U.K., which is being organized by RI member Shaw Trust and will take place in 2016. The theme of the event is “Making a Difference” and some current planned subthemes include accessibility and inclusion, leisure and sport, disaster management, and education.
Three of RI’s newest members were welcomed at the meeting by Veijo Notkola, Chair of RI’s Policy and Services Commission: Beit Issie Shapiro (Israel), the Lithuanian Association of Rehabilitologists (Lithuania), and the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Belgium).
RI Global: Founded in 1922, Rehabilitation International (RI Global) is a worldwide network promoting the rights and inclusions of persons with disabilities (PwDs) through advocacy, habilitation and rehabilitation to achieve an inclusive world in which all people can enjoy full human rights.
Join us at the 2016 RI Global World Congress: riworldcongress.com
