100 Years · 1922- 2022

Centenary Anniversary in 2023

Rehabilitation International (RI) is excited to announce that the 100th Anniversary Celebration will be held on May 19-23, 2023, in Beijing, China.

We are celebrating 100 years

The 100th anniversary is a remarkable milestone for RI that grew from its small-town roots in the American Midwest in 1922 to an internationally prominent organization in the past century. Generations of successors of RI members have been making consistent efforts to offer expertise and solutions aimed at providing people with disabilities the chance to lead full and productive lives.

RI has been an important force in advancing the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities globally. RI and its members work to protect the rights of people with disabilities, including ensuring access to and improvement of crucial services for persons with disabilities and their families. RI also promotes collaboration among stakeholders and advocates in order to build strong policies and legislation to identify and remove barriers such as physical, communication, and attitudinal, that hamper individuals’ ability to have full participation in society on the international, regional, and national levels.

RI members and RI leadership have been key players in various important disability-rights movements throughout history. Some notable events include:

Petitioning the League of Nations to establish an office to oversee the collection of disability-related statistics in 1929
Sowing the seeds for the international paralympic game in Italy in 1960 on the strength of the 5th RI World Congress in 1951
Creating the original International Symbol of Access in 1969, which is regarded as one of the five most recognized signs in the world today
Setting down a list of policies to govern the use of the International Symbol of Access in 1978
Participating continuously for in the formulation and implementation of World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons and promoting the Year of the Disability of UN in 1982
Adopting the Beijing Declaration on the Rights of People with Disabilities in the New Millennium together with Inclusion International, Disabled People’s International, World Blind Union and World Federation of the Deaf in 2000.
Promoting the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006

With the same values that have sustained our organization for the past century, Rehabilitation International is leading into the future with a continued focus on rights and inclusion for persons with disabilities globally.
Hereby, members of the RI family as well as colleagues who are engaged in disability-related affairs or care for persons with disabilities are cordially invited to attend the celebration that will take place on December 3rd, 2022, in Beijing, China to review the past century and witness the opening of a new era of RI.

Read more of our history, work, and impact of the last 100 years in our book:

A Memoir of Rehabilitation International’s Centenary 1922-2022

Engage

There are several ways to get involved during our centennial year.

Celebrate

Participate in our centennial events throughout the year culminating to a special week of events in December.

Award

The Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements.

In 2019, RI aiming to draw more attention to disability affairs and inspire greater contributions to a more equal, inclusive, and accessible society worldwide, initiated the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements, recognizing individuals and/or organizations who/which have made outstanding contributions to or exerted far-reaching impact on the work for persons with disabilities worldwide.

The Award is intended to promote the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and advance the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities globally.

Championing the concept of enabling and empowering persons with disabilities, the RI Awards for Outstanding Achievements 2019 will emphasize achievements and contributions in the following three categories:

The Award in Humanitarianism: will be given to an individual or organization who or which has made outstanding achievements in humanitarian activities. Such achievements include but are not limited to demonstrating outstanding humanitarianism by continuously taking care of people with disabilities, substantial contribution in safeguarding the rights and dignity of people with disabilities, eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities, and advocating inclusion and equal participation for people with disabilities.

The Award in Rehabilitation: will be given to an individual or organization who or which has made outstanding achievements in rehabilitation. Such achievements include but are not limited to facilitating rehabilitation with excellent medical expertise, boosted rehabilitation-related industries, etc.

The Award in Innovation: will be given to an individual or organization who or which has made outstanding achievements in innovation. Such achievements include but are not limited to breakthroughs in the concept, application, or methodology of the work for people with disabilities, technology innovation in areas such as rehabilitation, accessibility, assistive technology, etc.

Laureates of the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements 2019

On September 27, 2019, the Award Committee of Rehabilitation International (RI) Award for Outstanding Achievements convened in Beijing and announced the Award winners.

In total, the Award Secretariat received 64 applications out of which 22 failed the preliminary selection reviews process due to not providing the requested documents as per the Award Announcement, as a result 42 applications were carefully reviewed by the RI Award Jury Committee.

Mme. Zhang Haidi, President of RI, said that there are one billion persons with disabilities in the world. Most of them, especially those in developing countries, still live in hardships. They need help. The Award will draw more attention to disability affairs and inspire greater contributions to a more equal, inclusive and accessible society.

Through recognizing individuals and organizations who/which have made outstanding contributions to or exerted far-reaching impact on the work for persons with disabilities, the Award is an endeavor to promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to encourage rights protection of persons with disabilities, and to advance disability-inclusive development worldwide. Each laureate will be awarded a prize of USD 200,000.

The three laureates are from Ecuador, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka respectively.

The Award Committee of Rehabilitation International

has decided to award

the 2019 RI Award for Outstanding Achievements in Innovation to

Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa

“for her Innovative work in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities globally”

The Award Committee of Rehabilitation International

has decided to award

the 2019 RI Award for Outstanding Achievements in Rehabilitation to

Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society

“for bringing light to many in need”

The Award Committee of Rehabilitation International