Media & Public Education

In the following productions children and adults with disabilities are primary presenters of messages and information, activists of their own behalf. Varied and modern formats are used: from public services announcements to nationally televised news programmes to newly available cable networks. These shorter, more direct approaches are relatively recent, compared to the more familiar documentary format. Some of the presentations were created to broaden public understanding of specific disability issues, while others were specifically developed to offset a negative situation in the mainstream community.

  1. Beginning of the New Decade This video was produced for television to highlight the results of the UN Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992) in Japan and to inaugurate the Asia Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, begun in 1993. Several media events are included. 30 minutes. - Available from: JSRD, 1-22-1, Toyama 1 chome, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162, Japan. Tel: 81-3-5400-91/92; Fax: 81-3-5400-1638.

  2. Beyond Illusions is a commercially-released movie directed by Lars Mullback, a Swedish filmmaker with cerebral palsy "Beyond Illusions" recounts the making of this film and traces Mullback's lifelong commitment to becoming a filmmaker. The documentary focuses on how the director developed his creative processes with the support of his family and colleagues. 60 minutes - Available from: Lars Mullback, Brannkyrkagatan 41, 118 22 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel/Fax.46 0 86 42 3623.

  3. Conócenos (Get to Know Us). Attitudes based on prejudices take a very heavy toll on how we look at people with mental impairments. What is mental impairment? It is not an illness, but a condition that levies some limits on someone's abilities to develop some activities. When we talk to them we become aware of their great possibilities for personal growth, and of their potential to participate both in the workforce and a fulfilling social life. Spanish, 18 minutes, produced in 1991. - Available from: APDEMA - Asociación Pro-Deficientes Mentales de Alava (Pro-Mentally Impaired Association of Alava-Spain), La Paloma, 1, 01004 Vitoria, Spain

  4. Integración Social y Discapacidad: Las Personas con Síndrome de Down (Social Integration and Disabilities: People with Down Syndrome). The video deals with the genetic and medical issues related to Down Syndrome, and shows how people with Down Syndrome were pushed aside from society right up to the most recent past. Nowadays attitudes have changed and there is a tendency towards academic and social integration. Professor Leo Brown, an expert in the field, is interviewed by a group of teenagers with Down Syndrome. He speaks of the need to a standardised integration. The video shows that people with Down Syndrome are a group of different individuals with specific and diversified personal characteristics. The video shows some examples of participation in the labour market. Spanish, 30 minutes, produced in 1990. - Available from: Fundación Calalana Síndrome Down (Down Syndrome Catalan Foundation), Valencia 229. Ppal, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

  5. Frentes de la Accesibilidad (Fronts of Accessibility). Disabled people's struggle for accessibility covers several fronts. There are fronts for physical access, access to education, jobs, community life and recreation. As shown in the video, in most cases solutions are very simple. Not at all impossible to attain is installing ramps in public buildings, mainstreaming in education and providing incentives to reintegrate people with some impairments into the labour market. Spanish, 13 minutes, produced in 1989. Spanish. Subtitled version also available. - Available from: Real Patronato de Prevención y de Atención a Personas con Minusvalía, Serrano 140, 28006 Madrid, Spain

  6. It's Not My Choice is a dramatisation of a rural community in Kenya and its attempt to change attitudes towards people with epilepsy. This video won a prize in the Rehabilitation International World Congress Film Festival held in Kenya in 1992. - Available from: Kenya Association for the Welfare of Epileptics, P.O. Box 42325, Nairobi, Kenya.

  7. Mãos (Hands) is the name of a 15 minute video made by the Centre for Independent Living of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (CVIRJ). It is an artistic and highly visual depiction of the artistic beauty and talent of people with disabilities. The video is also produced in such a way that it totally negates any negative image or stereotype that viewers might have had about the capability of persons who are disabled. It includes a professional dancer using a wheelchair, a mother who is quadriplegic with her infant on her lap, several artists and a group of students using sign language with an interesting background of drumming. The people depicted in the film exude self-confidence, talent and pride. - Available from: CVIRJ - Rua Marques de São Vicente 225 - Est. PUC - Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil - 22451-041, Fax: (55-21) 239-6547

  8. Polio Prevention Public Service Announcements Produced in 1990 by the Government of Nepal and UNICEF-Kathmandu, these spots were developed following research which showed that current immunisation campaigns were encouraging fear of disability and disabled persons. This campaign utilised disabled adults in a positive manner to urge parents to immunise their children. 15 minutes - Available from: UNICEF-Kathmandu, c/o 3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017 USA

  9. Poor Dear is a programme produced for the BBC and is a three part series. It includes informative and entertaining information about the images proliferated by charities, a look at what many of these charities really provide for people with disabilities and how the charities are preoccupied with cure. The series is very oriented to the U.K. but the message and approach can be transferred to all countries. Cost: 120 Pounds for the series and 64 Pounds for one episode. - Available from: BBC Videos for Education and Training, 80 Wood Lane, London, W12 OTT, U.K. 10. Psicoballet Maite León. In 1987, the Psicoballet received the Queen Sofia Award on Social Integration. The ballet, as dance company, integrates a group of boys and girls with different impairments that include Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. The video explains Maite León's, its founder, philosophy. This philosophy is based on the amalgamation of body-mind-senses towards any form of corporal expression expressing a particular emotion. Throughout training sessions, the teens enjoy, relate to each other and learn how to express feelings. The result is an overwhelming and beautiful artistic presentation. Spanish, 30 minutes, produced in 1988. - Available from: Real Patronato de Prevención y de Atención a Personas con Minusvalía, Serrano 140, 28006 Madrid, Spain

  10. Real Life Produced in 1995 by the Independent Living Research Utilisation programme, Houston, for broadcast via cable and satellite. Hosted by Lex Frieden, an independent living expert, this is one of a four part series discussion among disabled and non-disabled media specialists about how disability issues are being conveyed to the public. 30 minutes. - Available from: ILRU, 2323 South Shepherd, Suite 1000, Houston, TX 77019. Tel. 800 949 4232 or 1 713 520 0232. Fax. 1 713 520 5785.

  11. Outstanding Reports on Disability - Hong Kong. These Media Awards are part of over a decade of collaboration and commitment in Hong Kong by the Government, Media and NGOs to increase public education about people with mental illness. The video documents a successful programme which reintegrates people who have suffered from mental illness back into the community and work force. 30 minutes. There is this one English programme, but the video includes the award winners from Cantonese speaking programmes as well. - Available from: Hong Kong Council of Social Service, 15 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong, SAR.

  12. The Pannwitz, Stare is a film on the theme of discrimination towards people who are mentally and physically disabled from Germany. In it, the interviewees with disability talk about "the glass eye" of the camera lens from which society focuses on them and defines how they are perceived. The film also includes sequences where people with disabilities are confronted with scenes from Nazi propaganda as well as from contemporary Germany. - Available from: Medien-Werkstatt Freiburg, 0-7800 Freiburg, Konradstrasse, 20, Germany

  13. Trans-Russia Wheelchair Marathon Produced in 1993, this is a news presentation, featured on nation-wide broadcast TV, telling the story of three disabled athletes who wheeled from ocean to ocean. Unlike many marathons, this one was devised to expose the situation of disabled Russians in the villages, small cities and rural areas and illustrates how a message can be promoted by media-savvy groups. 10 minutes -Available from: All-Russian Society for the Disabled, Kutvzovsky 30/32 Moscow, Russia 121165. Tel.7 095 241 1880. Fax. 7 095 241 8180.

  14. Tools for Change is part of a package on self-advocacy that includes performance by U.S. based actors with disability as well as information on how individuals with disabilities can organise. The first of the series, package is called Self-Advocacy: Freedom, Equality and Justice for All and is based on a method called Popular Education, originally developed by Paulo Freire where collective participation and learning is emphasised. - Available from: Advocating Change Together, Inc. 1821 University Avenue, Suite 306-South, St. Paul, Minnesota 55104 USA. Fax: 1 612 641 4053.

  15. Touched By An Angel is the name of a television series in the USA. In the 1997 season, several persons with Down Syndrome acted in episodes, often to present awareness raising about Down Syndrome and disability issues. For example, one episode revolved around neighbours who were resistant to a group home for adults with Down Syndrome. The persons with Down Syndrome were all actors who have performed on television before ranging from the children's television programme, SESAME STREET to another US based series called Life Goes On, where one of the lead characters had Down Syndrome. - Available from: CBS Entertainment Studio Centre, 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604 .USA.

  16. Wall of Glass is a dramatisation of a love story between deaf and hearing adults. The story explores attitudes about people who are deaf in the Hong Kong Chinese community. The video won an award in the 1992 Rehabilitation International World Congress Film festival in Kenya. - Available from: Radio Television Hong Kong, RM111, 1/F, 79 Broadcast Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR.

  17. It's So Easy is a video originally designed for people working in the airline industry in Australia who have to serve people with disabilities. It is, however, one of the best examples of simple, practical information that is useful for every non-disabled person to know about all types of disability. This makes an excellent training film or it can be used as part of a public education campaign promoting positive attitudes. The concept can also be broken down into several short Public Service Announcements. - Available from: ACROD, P.O. Box 60, Curtin ACT 2605, Australia.

  18. See and Sign This fast, fun video makes it easy to learn basic American Sign Language just by watching. All 29 lessons feature subtitles and spoken audio in order to make each new sign easy to learn. This video could be adapted to teach sign language from other countries. Cost: $29.95. A 105 minute video. - Available from: KIDSRIGHTS: 10100 Park Cedar Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210 USA. Fax. 1 704 541 0113.

  19. Liberdade, Corpo, Expressão (Freedom, Body, Expression) A 18 minute videotape produced by the Center for Independent Living of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (CVIRJ). The video is designed to demystify the stigma of using a wheelchair. It does this in an artistic way showing how this aid provides freedom, expression and opportunities instead of a "prison" as is often thought by non-disabled persons in society. The script presents people with disabilities who use wheelchairs in a very positive way, comparing them with other people in the mainstream of society. The cost is $25 and the language is Portuguese. - Available from: CVIRJ, Rua Marquês de São Vicente 225, PUC, Gavea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, 22451-041. Tel. 55 21 512 1088. Fax. 55 21 239 6547. Email: cvirj@ax.ibase.org.br.

  20. Sobre Rodas e Movimento (About Wheels and Movement) is a video about the medium of wheelchair dancing and the numerous positive effects it has had in people, disabled and not, who are part of this programme in Brazil. A dance professional is shown teaching children and adults and their performances are interspersed with interviews about how this dance has changed their lives, as well as the attitudes of others. It is a good illustration of the potential of wheelchair dancing and other fine arts forms.40 min. Portuguese. English sub-titles. - Available from: CVIRJ, Rua Marquês de São Vicente 225, PUC, Gavea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, 22451-041. Tel. 55 21 512 1088. Fax. 55 21 239 6547. Email: cvirj@ax.ibase.org.br.

  21. All Ways Welcome is a delightful 18 minute video that depicts the often humorous first encounters between individuals with disabilities and their non-disabled counterparts. It is particularly helpful to those in the hospitality industry who want to understand "disability etiquette" as it relates to customers with disabilities. It is produced by the Canadian Ministry of Tourism and Recreation. - Available from: Provisional Recreation Programmes Branch, Canadian Ministry of Tourism and Recreation, 77 Bloor Street West, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9 Canada. Fax: 1 416 314 7458.

  22. A Different Approach is a 22 minute video popular since 1978 that humorously portrays various perceptions and attitudes about people with disabilities. The video contains some "Americanisms" but has been used in other countries in public education about people who are disabled and the oftentimes misconceptions and stereotypes of non-disabled persons about the disabled communities. Several American actors star in this video. The cost is $200. - Available from: California Governor's Committee on Persons with Disability, 722 Capital Mall, MIC 41, Sacramento, CA 95814 USA.

  23. A Better Life: Deaf People's Use of the Telephone is a sign language video presentation of research on telecommunications for deaf people. It is presented in British sign language by Gloria Pullen and is produced by Lesley Jones. It is a 20 minute video that focuses on deaf people who use sign language as a first language. The origin of the research came from the British Government who wanted to know what deaf people thought about using the telephone. The cost is 10 pounds. - Available from: Publication Office, Social Policy research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DT, U.K.

  24. Everything You Wanted to Know about Deaf People but Didn't Know How to Ask is a guide to deaf people's participation in research. Oftentimes, people who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing are left out of any research. This video guide shows how to use appropriate language and communication in order to make research accessible to this group of people. It shows how deaf people are not all the same and how one can use either British Sign Language or speech. The cost is 7.50 pounds for individuals and 12 pounds for institutions. - Available from: Publications and Information Office, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DT, U.K.

  25. Sound Advice: a training video for health workers on communication with people who are deaf is a light-hearted look at how an insensitive doctor gets a knock on the head and wakes up in a ward where everyone uses sign language. The doctor has a sign above his bed that says "Hearing, can't sign". On his return to the hearing world, he changes his ways. The video is 20 minutes and costs 25 Pounds. - Available from: Lesley Jones, Sellars house, Appleton-le-Moors, York YO6 6TF, U.K.
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