The 3rd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress
Guest Remark for the Third Asia-Pacific Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Congress Keio Plaza Hotel, Tokyo, Japan on 1 September 2015 by Dr. Tej Bunnag Chairman, Executive Board,Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD)
His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi, Royal Patron of Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
H.E. Ms. Keiko Nagaoka, State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan,
Mr. Shigeru Sumitani, Chairperson, the 3rd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress Organizing
Committee
Her Excellency Mdm. Alicia Bala, Deputy Secretary General, ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community, ASEAN Secretariat
Ms. Tulika Das, Acting Chair, CBR Asia-Pacific Network
Mr. Ryosuke Matsui, President, Japan NGO Network on Disabilities
Ms. Pauline Kleinitz, Technical Lead, Disability and Rehabilitation Unit, World
Health Organization
Distinguished Guests, Friends and Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD), I would like to commend and congratulate the organizers, Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (JSRPD), Japan NGO Network on Disabilities (JANNET) and the Community-Based Rehabilitation Asia-Pacific Network, for all your hard work in organizing the 3rd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress here in Tokyo, Japan. It must have really been challenging for all of you but your tireless efforts to make this congress a success adds more significance to the uniqueness that this Congress brings, including the diversity which we have now in this room which we truly respect and celebrate. APCD as the secretariat of the CBR Asia-Pacific Network, we are indeed happy to see that our partners get together in one place and elaborate the future direction jointly.
Following the 1st Asia-Pacific CBR Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2009 and the 2nd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress held in Manila, Philippines in 2011, the 3rd Asia- Pacific CBR Congress is the first Congress held in one of the developed countries to demonstrate that Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) or Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) is a truly universal approach regardless of the development stage of their economy at hand. Each of these communities from many different countries may have their own unique ways of implementing CBR/CBID but we are always in agreement that everything leads towards a comprehensive community-based inclusive development for all.
Since the theme of this year’s CBR Congress is “Poverty Reduction through Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are reminded once again that poverty reduction strategies can only be made fully effective if we include persons with disabilities not only in the planning but more importantly in the implementation of all our development strategies. It doesn’t matter if it’s small scale or large scale but what matters is that persons with disabilities are involved from the very beginning not just as beneficiaries or spectators but as implementers.
APCD has been implementing various CBID activities in partnership with the Royal Thai Government through the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, APCD has proactive cooperation with the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) in relation to the theme of this Congress. These activities are towards the poverty reduction of persons with disabilities in ASEAN through the creation of accessible rural markets, as well as capacity-building of emerging groups such as persons who are hard of hearing, autism and intellectual disabilities.
Like our cooperation projects with JICA and JAIF, there may be several other projects of this kind which we will be fortunate to witness in some of the presentations lined up for the next 3 days. If you are already doing projects that contribute towards poverty reduction or is in the planning stage for implementation, please ensure that persons with disabilities are at the forefront of your projects as they can truly contribute towards the development of their own communities. We at APCD, as the secretariat of CBR Asia-Pacific Network, are also doing our best to ensure that persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific are always given the opportunity to be empowered and contribute towards the development of their societies in general.
It is my sincere hope that the Asia-Pacific CBR Congress is to be continued as a venue to honor and recognize the hard work and dedication of:
1) persons with disabilities and their families who face their respective challenges to contribute positively to the development of their own communities;
2) government and non-government organizations including many CBR/CBID practitioners and other supporters from different sectors who have unselfishly dedicated their time and efforts to make our societies better for everyone;
3) all others who have continued to embrace and respect human diversity. Finally, I would like to wish you all a successful and memorable 3rd Asia-Pacific CBR
Congress which must be a good forum to learn from each other and share all the work that we did for the betterment of mankind.
Thank you very much.