Panel discussion on "The Promise of Technology: Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action"
Program
Panel discussion on "The Promise of Technology: Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action"
Co-organized by DESA & the Nippon Foundation, co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Japan
Aim:
Persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected in disaster, emergency, and conflict situations due to inaccessible evacuation, response and recovery efforts. The panel will highlight available technologies to support inclusive disaster risk reduction and emergency response. Additionally, the potential of innovative and assistive emerging ICT technologies will be explored, such as early-warning, location and navigation applications that could save the lives of persons with disabilities in disaster and emergency situations.
Background Note
Opening remarks: H.E. Mr. Motohide Yoshikawa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
Moderator: Mr. Hiroshi Kawamura, Disability Group Focal Point, 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
Ms. Akiko Fukuda, Secretary-General of the World Federation of the Deaf-blind Japan
Ms. Elina Palm, Liaison Officer of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Office in New York
Dr. Elizabeth Lockwood, UN Advocacy Officer in New York, CBM
Web Cast
Opening Remarks by H.E. Mr. Motohide Yoshikawa
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
It is my great honor to deliver an opening statement today as a co-sponsor of this panel discussion held on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
I wish to extend my appreciation to my fellow co-organizers, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the Nippon Foundation.
I would also like to thank today's moderator of our dialogue, Mr. Hiroshi Kawamura, one of the contributors of the Digital Accessible Information System, known as DAISY.
DAISY's electronic navigation system has helped persons with disabilities to easily understand how and where to escape at the time of disaster.
DAISY proved to be useful during the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 where more than 15,000 people died.
After ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in January this year, Japan is now at the stage of the full implementation of the Convention.
Japan joined the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention as a State Party for the first time this June.
In my statement, I stressed 'disability and disasters' as one of three main points.
At a side event of the Conference, a representative from Japanese civil society underlined that persons with disabilities must be given priority in the evacuation when a disaster occurs.
I believe that technology such as DAISY will help those with disabilities in the event of disasters.
We believe that it is important to integrate the needs of persons with disabilities into our disaster policies to save their lives in disaster and also into international discussions on the matter.
The Government of Japan will co-host the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai-the region devastated by the 2011 Earthquake.
I am sure that today's discussion will provide meaningful input for the Conference as well as the post-2015 development agenda.
The panelists are here to discuss this year's theme?"Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology."
I thank all the panelists for their participation.
My special gratitude goes to Ms. Akiko Fukuda who came from Japan despite her very severe physical conditions.
Your inputs today are critical to advancing the cause of mitigating the effects of disaster on those with disabilities.
We would especially like to hear from you your own personal experience on this matter.
I thank you very much for your time and I now give the floor to Mr. Kawamura.
Original：
http://www.un.emb-japan.go.jp/jp/statements/yoshikawa120314.html
Speech by Ms. Akiko Fukuda
My name is Akiko Fukuda.
I am Secretary General of World Federation of the Deafblind, and I am also an international corporation committee member at Japan Deafblind Association.
I am totally deafblind, meaning, I cannot see at all and I cannot hear all.
I also use a wheelchair with a ventilator.
I communicate through tactile sigh language.
I see what I see, and I hear what I want to hear through these warm hands I am touching next to me.
If these hands leave me, I have no idea even where I am, or even whether I am speaking in front of people, or, even you are standing next to me.
Based on the information coming through these hands, I make every decision myself and I am living independently in my community.
Now, I want you to close your eyes just for 1 minute ---
My world is so quiet like a deep down bottom in the ocean where, I sometimes, think I would never be able to come up again.
How hard I cry, my voice may not be heard, I feel hopeless that way sometimes.
But I never stop crying, because I want to tell others 'I AM HERE'
I would like to ask you a simple question.
ARE YOU ENJOYING YOUR LIFE NOW?
Ask your heart.
Are you living your life to its fullest?
(You do not have to raise your hands)
OK, please open your eyes.
Life is full of unexpected things.
I never imagined that I would lose all my sight and hearing ten years ago, and my legs becomes wheels. Even machine is breathing for me.
My world was once shut down. When I lost communication and mobility, I felt that I was disconnected from literary everything in this world.
I gained new communication methods, and started using interpreter-guide system for the Deafblind, and there were supporters and friends who dedicated themselves and they did not give up during my recovery. So I am here.
Each of us who is deafblind has some sort of survival experience called 'loss and recovery,' which can be somewhat applied to disaster. Recovery is a hard and long-time process but we are not giving up. It is easy to give up but I do NOT want to.
I have survived to this day, and I know life can be full of joy if we are alive.
Disaster should not block us in any means.
What I want to say here is to creating a meaningful life with joy is a solid foundation of DRR.
I…and many of my friends with disabilities are surviving everyday life in extremely limited accessibility. I believe that there was a meaning of sharing our experience with you.
OK. Please close your eyes again. Ask your heart.
There is a huge earthquake coming in no minute.
How do you tell me its coming?
Tsunami is reaching. You may know but I can't tell.
What would you do?
This room is caught on fire. I may not know until I feel hot and burned.
Would you leave me?
Please open your eyes.
About technology…..
Yes, it makes our lives convenient and open up our possibilities.
It is true that our lives cannot be sustained without technology.
They are great but to be honest, there are not so many devices available for the Deafblind. Even an alarm clock, there is no alarm clock I can set by myself. No thermometer, no scale, nothing really I can use on my own.
I dream, one day in the future, I can watch TV on my own.
But we haven't been able to implant human arms into TV machine.
Some have a great idea to install the Braille system into the TV set, yes, but it may be boring to read soap opera in Braille.
Without these hands next to me, I cannot survive and enjoy this world.
People create technology, but technology does not create people.
We, Deafblind, can survive and continue to be resilient in unexpected situations when there are someone out there around us and think of us.
You may think we are vulnerable, but our weakness is strength to make our world better place. We know how to be connected to other people. Disability is an asset.
What I want to say here is that 'people can only survive in the connection to the other people'. Our survival is decided where there is someone who thinks of us, who cares about us.
With a help of technology, people saves people's lives. People's lives are saved by people.
Thank you.