Assistant Director-General
for Communication and Information
Address by Mr Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director-General for
Communication and Information of UNESCO,
on the occasion of the Opening of theConference “Art Beyond Sight:
Multimodal Approaches To Learning, Creativity and Communication”
Organized by
Art Education for the Blind & The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Via live videoconference
New York, 28 September 2007
3.45 - 3.55 pm (Paris time) – Welcoming remarks by Emily Rafferty, President of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
3.55 - 4.05 pm (Paris time) – Mr Khan’s opening remarks introduced by Nina
Levent, Associate Director of Art Education for the Blind
Audience: educators, museum professionals, researchers, neuroscientists,
people with disabilities, graduate students.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to convey the best wishes of UNESCO to the
Conference on “Art Beyond Sight: Multimodal Approaches To Learning, Creativity
And Communication”. I regret that I am not able to be with you in person in New
York today, but due to the current session of UNESCO’s Executive Board, I am
obliged to be at Headquarters here in Paris.
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP, France
Tél. : +33 (0)1 45 68 40 74
Fax : +33 (0)1 45 68 55 81
www.unesco.org
Original : English
Let me first congratulate Art Education for the Blind and The Metropolitan
Museum of Art for organizing this Conference which will address the important
challenges of creating multimodal learning opportunities that better serve the
needs of all people, including those with disabilities. I would also like to pay
tribute to the work of Art Education for the Blind to make the world’s visual culture
accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.
May I also say how pleased I am that this Conference has gathered such a
widespread audience, including educators, artists, researchers, scientists,
architects, designers, teachers, students, and people with disabilities. Your
presence today at this Conference gives testimony to the deep felt need within
the international community to counter the current upsurge in marginalization of
people with disabilities. You will all agree with me that this marginalization is very
often the result of lacking access to appropriate learning environments,
employment opportunities, proper health care, relevant information, as well as
other services and facilities to improve their daily lives.
Today there are more than 600 million people with disabilities around the world 1,
the majority living in developing countries. In addition to being acutely vulnerable
to exclusion, disabled people are disproportionately poor, and poor people are
disproportionately disabled.2 The first Global Forum of the United Nations Global
Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies, held in New
York in March 2007, raised the challenge of “digital divide that still exists between
people with disabilities and those who are not”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For UNESCO, the challenge of accessibility resonates strongly with the
Organization’s commitment to build inclusive knowledge societies.
In advocating knowledge societies, UNESCO promotes the vision of peoplecentred and development-oriented societies where the power of information and
communication helps all people access the knowledge they need to develop
themselves and achieve their full potential.
1
UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/questions.shtml#one
2 The World Bank, Human Development Network, “Disability and Development”
http://www.worldbank.org/disability
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UNESCO recognizes the importance of access to information and knowledge as
an integral component for learning and personal development, as a fundamental
building block of knowledge societies, and pays particular attention to the needs
of persons with disabilities.
The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities on 13 December 2006 lays the foundation to the work of governments,
intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and organizations of people with
disabilities in the area of access. I am pleased that to date, more than 100
countries have signed the Convention with 59 signatories to the Optional Protocol.
For the first time in history, a legally binding instrument has been created to
promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by
persons with disabilities.
The Convention is a major step towards the
equalization of opportunities and full participation in society of persons with
disabilities. It is a unique normative instrument. For the first time NGOs actively
participated in the formulation of a human rights instrument. And for the first time,
there is a tool to force States to introduce measures to promote the human rights
of persons with disabilities without discrimination, as well as to take measures
that make services and goods accessible to persons with disabilities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this context, new methods of information acquisition in education, science and
culture, that integrate all of our senses and grasp the benefits of new technology,
become important.
UNESCO is committed to ensure the participation of all in knowledge societies
and to help improving the capacity of people with disabilities to access
information and knowledge. UNESCO works to promote the rights and needs of
people with disabilities among professionals, encourage the development of
adaptable policy frameworks, and increase awareness and knowledge of
accessible ICT and support their developments.
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This is why the theme of this conference, “Multimodal Approaches To Learning,
Creativity, and Communication,” is very much at the heart of UNESCO’s mission.
I am delighted that my colleagues from UNESCO New York have put together a
panel that will feature some of the work UNESCO has done in this direction
around the world.
I would like to commend the representatives of museums, libraries, cultural
centres, educators and researchers from all around the world who are with us
today for their commitment to innovation and information accessibility in a broad
sense, including making our shared culture accessible through new and
innovative methods.
I wish you a successful Conference.
Thank you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This Global Forum has many promises to engage youth in planning, share best
practices and foster the use of information and communication for development. I
am looking forward to our debates.
Tomorrow morning, UNESCO will provide a platform for further detailed
discussions on the issue of ICT in Education. The topic will be examined by
experts and youth from a multi-faceted perspective. It would be for me a great
pleasure to welcome you to this event.
I wish you a successful Forum.
Thank you.
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