Australian Federation of Disability Organisations - general

August 2008 Issue Volume 2, Issue 2

brenda — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:24:34 +1000

Welcome to the next issue of the AFDO newsletter.

In this issue ....

AFDO inaugral CEO elected President World Blind Union
AFDO congratulates Maryanne Diamond on her election, unopposed, to the presidency of the World Blind Union.

Bill Shorten, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services

Policy About Us, For Us! A Practical Revolution in the Lives of People with Disabilities

brenda — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:36:53 +1100

CONFERENCE POSTPONED

AFDO are in the position of having to recruit anew CEO and allow for them to settle in to the job and the organisation so after much consideration it has been decided to postpone the AFDO conference till May next year.

We will keep you informed of the new date and hope you will continue to support the conference.

Thank you

Samantha Jenkinson

About AFDO

brenda — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:42:38 +1100

The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) has been established as the primary national voice to Government that fully represents the interests of all people with disability across Australia.

The mission of AFDO is to champion the rights of people with disability in Australia and help them participate fully in Australian life.

Click here for more information about AFDO

Monitoring Welfare to Work

brenda — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:45:54 +1000

Have you been affected by the Federal Government’s Welfare to Work changes?

AFDO is collecting stories about the impact of these changes on people with disability.

We would love to hear your story.

We have prepared some information "About the project" and "Why take part?"

You can download the forms to tell us your story from this website and email them to us. Or, if you need help telling your story, you can call us on 03 9662 3324.

This project has been supported by the Reichstein Foundation.

Demo Survey

adrian — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:05:18 +1100

AFDO inaugral CEO elected President World Blind Union

brenda — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:48:00 +1000

AFDO congratulates Maryanne Diamond on her election, unopposed, to the presidency of the World Blind Union.

The World Blind Union is an international organisation representing people who are blind or partially sighted. They have played a significant role in the development of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as representing the interests of those who are blind and partially sighted in developing countries.

The 5th National Deafness Sector Summit

brenda — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:00:45 +1000

Kaye Gooch
AFDO Board Member

Over the weekend of 24th-25th May, I attended the 5th Deafness Forum Deafness Sector Summit. This event is held every two years by Deafness Forum of Australia, and I found this, my first Deafness Sector Summit, an educational and enlightening experience.

The Summit was at Rydge’s Lakeside Hotel in Canberra, an excellent venue. The opening began with a “welcome to country” by Agnes Shea, elder of the Ngunnwal Aboriginal people; then Alex Jones, Chairman of Deafness Forum, welcomed us all.

Accessible Accommodation

brenda — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:56:22 +1000

The University of Tasmania has accommodation available over the summer period (start of December to end of January) at it's Hobart site.

The site is located at Sandy Bay which is about five minutes drive from the centre of Hobart.

There are nine wheelchair accessible units. They are situated in six bedroom apartments which each have a wheelchair accessible bathroom/toilet.

Apartments come with TV, DVD, Austar and cooking utensils. Individual rooms have a king size single bed and mattress, wardrobe and mirror, heating, desk and drawers, study and easy chairs, telephones (no rental fee),security locks and pin boards.

Fire or Flood? Is the Slow Burn at an End?

brenda — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:32:42 +1000

Samantha Jenkinson, Chair of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations presented a speech on employment to the Julia Farr "The Good, The Bad and the Unfair" forum.

You can read her speech called "Fire or Flood? Is the Slow Burn at an End” clicking on this link to download the word document.

The National Disability Strategy. Can it make connections for people with a disability?

brenda — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:30:12 +1000

By Samantha Jenkinson
Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, Chairperson

The federal government's announcement of the social inclusion agenda left people with disability feeling hopeful. The further announcements of the National Disability Strategy (NDS) and the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy (NMHDES) made us feel that maybe change can happen.

We are hopeful because the disability service system and the response to people with disability across government is a fragmented, inflexible mess at the moment. A person might be on a waiting list to receive services to support them to live, while being expected to find work, or not be able to move interstate for work or to be close to family because support, accommodation and services may not be available or there are waiting lists. People with disability often have little choice or control of the services that are available to support them, while system and environmental barriers to their participation lie unaddressed elsewhere.