RI Global: Office of Communications
Contact: Adrian Brune, +1 347-759-9501
Members of the Executive Committee (EC) of Rehabilitation International had a successful meeting in Hong Kong on September 19 and 20, hosted by the Hong Kong Joint Council on Disability, otherwise known as RI Hong Kong. One of the highlights of the EC meeting was the announcement by RI President Elect, Haidi Zhang, of a donation of 500,000 RMBi (approximately USD$78,000) from the Chinese Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF), otherwise known as RI China, to support the implementation of RI’s Membership Strategy for Africa. Earlier, a donation of USD $3500 was made by RI Hong Kong to support this initiative.
The EC meeting in Hong Kong tackled very important issues that will ensure continuation of RI’s active engagement in various initiatives related to rehabilitation and disability, including playing an important role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted at the SDGs Summit held in New York, 25-27 September 2015.
Roy O’Shaughnessy, CEO of Shaw Trust, RI’s member organization in the UK which is hosting RI’s 23rd World Congress next year, provided the EC the latest information on preparations for the World Congress. The theme is “Create a More Inclusive World,” and the main venue is the Edinburgh International Convention Center (EICC), which can accommodate up to 1,100 participants. A gala dinner is planned at Edinburgh’s national museum for participants in the Congress. The Prime Minister of the UK has accepted the invitation to grace the Congress with his presence, the Royal Family is likely to send a representative and world famous cosmologist with a disability, Stephen Hawking, may speak to the RI Congress by video link. There is also an ongoing negotiation with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) about coverage of the RI Congress.
RI President Jan Monsbakken thanked RI Hong Kong for having accepted the task to organize RI’s EC and other meetings on short notice. Several issues of importance to the future of RI were dealt with and decided in this meeting, and more will be discussed when the EC convenes in Tokyo in April 2016 for the next EC meeting, to be organized by RI Japan.
RI Global: Founded in 1922, Rehabilitation International (RI Global) is a worldwide network promoting the rights and inclusions of persons with disabilities (PwDs) through advocacy, habilitation and rehabilitation to achieve an inclusive world in which all people can enjoy full human rights.
Join us at the 2016 RI Global World Congress: riworldcongress.com
