The Asia-Pacific Commemoration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities will be co-organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Australian Embassy Thailand, NOVA Employment’s Focus on Ability Film Festival, Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disabilities (APCD) and World Food Programme (WFP).

The first section of the Regional Commemoration will focus on discussing ways to accelerate progress on the implementation of the Jakarta Declaration, with inputs from representatives of government, United Nations entities, the private sector and organizations of persons with disabilities. The ESCAP publication on the final review of the third Decade, “A Three-Decade Journey towards Inclusion: Assessing the State of Disability-Inclusive Development in Asia and the Pacific” will also be launched at the Commemoration.

The second section of the Commemoration will consist of a film screening led by the Australian Embassy. The film screening will feature several of the winning short films from the Focus on Ability film festival, a yearly festival created by NOVA Employment. All of the films are focused on the theme of abilities or star an actor with disabilities, highlighting persons with disabilities as rights holders. The objective of the film screening is to showcase the potential power of film to change perceptions related to persons with disabilities. 

In line with the global theme of International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022, “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world”, transformative solutions and innovative practices will be highlighted throughout the Commemoration.

Please register to attend the Commemoration via Zoom here: https://indico.un.org/event/1003348/registrations/9294/

The Commemoration can also be viewed live on ESCAP’s YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vGomp8spqk