Radio Thailand Interview Transcription
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Sunday News and Talk Program
Bruce (Radio Thailand Program Co-Host): Now for a special interview. We have Dr.
Derrick L. Cogburn, who is the Associate Professor of International Relations,
Executive Director of the Center for Research on Collaboratories and Technology
Enhanced Learning Communities, and the Executive Director of the Institute on
Disability and Public Policy for the ASEAN region. He’ll be speaking with us today on
the virtual Master’s degree program in disability policy. Dr. Cogburn, are you on the
line?
Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn (IDPP Executive Director): Yes, I am Bruce. Thank you very
much.
Jane (Radio Thailand Program Co-Host): Thank you, Dr. Derrick. I’m Jane, a cohost
as well with Bruce. We are delighted to have you on board here. We want to ask you
a few questions of – why disability? Why this Master’s program in disability?
Dr. Cogburn: Well, disability issues are becoming increasingly important around the
world for socioeconomic development and for security for a range of reasons. The
United Nations has a new convention that’s the first human rights convention of the
21st century called the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the
CRPD.
Jane: Right.
Dr. Cogburn: And it focuses on fifty articles that deal with multiple areas of disability
around the world.
Jane: Right, okay. My question actually was – why are we promoting disability for
the ASEAN region? You’ve mentioned that it is important and that we need to focus
more and concentrate on the disabled, but this particular subject actually, how
would it interest people worldwide?
Dr. Cogburn: Sure, so first off, in Southeast Asia, there’s one of the highest levels of
disability in the world, so the numbers of people with disabilities in Southeast Asia
is extremely high. The most recent World Bank and World Health Organization
report has described more than a billion people with disabilities in the world and
the numbers in Southeast Asia is very high. And, one of the other ways to think
about this is, everybody, as we get older, has the possibility to develop some aspects
of being disabled, either becoming visually impaired or hard of hearing or becoming
mobility impaired. So it’s an issue that’s important to all the people who currently
have disabilities, as well as to the rest of society because we may become disabled.
And there’s another important aspect when we look at ASEAN and all the countries
in the region that are trying to move towards socioeconomic development. It’s an
important approach to make sure that we harness all of our population, all of our
citizens to contribute to economic development in the region.
Bruce: Can you give some examples of positive policies in the ASEAN region in terms
of disability policy?
Dr. Cogburn: Some of the policies that are helpful, or some of the policies that might
need to be addressed?
Bruce: Some helpful policies and also some policies that could be improved.
Dr. Cogburn: Sure. So, I guess one example to focus on right here at Mahidol
University that is quite useful and in the sense that in education, its important to
provide information in multiple formats. And so Mahidol has a policy that when one
of its classes is over, it makes materials available in audio format immediately after
class. It makes accessible materials available in its knowledge and learning centers.
And in Malaysia, the University of Malaya’s International Institute of Public Policy
and Management has done a survey of every university in the country and has
identified areas that are positive and also areas that need development.
Jane: Right. Dr. Derrick, I have one interesting question. Actually, I’m curious, you
said that in Southeast Asia alone, disability is one of the highest in the world. Now
comparing to Africa, where do we stand?
Dr. Cogburn: I believe Southeast Asia is still higher even than the African region. I
have to double check that. My understanding is that this is certainly one of the
highest in the world.
Jane: Right, okay, and you’re saying ‘disability’ meaning not disability from birth but
when you get older?
Dr. Cogburn: Right, not just from birth. Disability is a very complicated term. So
trying to understand how we define disability is very important and a contested
issue. Many people define disability differently. Our particular program focuses on
three types of disabilities.
Jane: Right.
Dr. Cogburn: People who are blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, or
mobility impaired. And it doesn’t have to be from birth. These are all conditions that
people can either be born with or develop at different periods of their life. So let me
give you one example. This is actually outside the region, but the current Vice
President of Ecuador is mobility impaired. He’s a wheelchair user.
Jane: Right.
Dr. Cobgurn: But he wasn’t always a wheelchair user. I believe he was shot in some
kind of a robbery and became mobility impaired. So, this could be something that
can affect any of us at any time and it’s one of the reasons out of many why this
should be an important issue for us to focus on.
Jane: Right. So you mentioned three issues that the School of International Service
would be focusing on, which are visual impairment, and hearing, and also mobility,
yes?
Dr. Cogburn: Yes, so blind or visually impaired, or hard of hearing, or mobility
impaired. Those are the three areas that are the primary areas for our fellowship
provided by The Nippon Foundation to support study in this virtual Master’s
program.
Jane: And this Master’s program – what can it contribute to disability in general,
finally?
Dr. Cogburn: Well, our goal is to create a cadre of leaders in Southeast Asia who is
able to understand this complex intersection of disability issues as well as public
policy issues. And we hope that the cadre of leaders who are now equipped with this
Master’s in Comparative and International Disability Policy will be able to help
countries in the region understand the policy environment to be able to bring their
domestic policy in line with their commitment to the UN convention.
Jane: Right. Okay, so now, what do you hope in your students once they graduate
from your program on the disability and public policy? How would they contribute
to the three issues that you mentioned about being visually impaired, hearing
problems, and mobility issues as well?
Dr. Cogburn: Well, the idea is that these students can work in the government, they
can work in the private sector, they can work in NGOs, they can work in
international organizations, but the idea is to ensure that they understand the policy
environment that can best support persons with disabilities here in Thailand, the
Philippines, or around the region.
Bruce: So I understand that this program is actually a partnership of many
universities and entities. So could you just explain the background and the
developments in the process of this program thus far?
Dr. Cogburn: Sure. The program started with an idea from The Nippon Foundation
that a virtual graduate school might be able to help provide a human capacity to
understand these policy issues in the ASEAN region. We were contacted at American
University to contribute to developing a program that would be the world’s first
virtual Master’s degree in disability and public policy. We helped to create this
network organization that consists now of thirteen universities that include Mahidol
University here in Thailand, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore,
American University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Those were
the four, the first four universities, and then we started to expand and we moved to
the Philippines, where Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines was our next partner. We
also have the College of St. Benilde in the Philippines. We have partners in the
University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, the National Islamic University, the
University of Malaya, the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia has been
invited. And in Vietnam, we have the Academy of Social Sciences and Graduate
Academy of Social Sciences, the Hanoi School of Public Health, and Hanoi University.
Jane: What kind of students do you cater to in this particular program?
Dr. Cogburn: So these are students who already have a bachelor’s degree, and are
interested in public policy as well as disability issues. And as I mentioned, the
fellowship is designed to focus on students from the ASEAN region and particularly
those students who have one of those disability categories. So either blind or
visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, or mobility impaired. But the fellowship
is also open to any student from the ASEAN region who is interested in the
intersection of disability and public policy so students don’t have to have a disability
in order to be considered for the fellowship.
Jane: Right. So okay, sorry, but out of curiosity, there are also many programs
considering disability in other universities outside of Thailand too, isn’t there? In
Europe and the US, UK, and Australia.
Dr. Cogburn: I’m sorry, what was the question?
Jane: I’m saying that the Institute, okay, so the subject of the Master’s program or,
say, any topic concerning disability is not just in Mahidol, as well, isn’t it? Its not just
one particular subject, it is worldwide as well. Disability programs, academic-wise,
can be found in Australia, England, America, Canada, and Europe as well.
Dr. Cogburn: Yes, so if you think about our program, our program has two unique
elements. One is the combination of disability and public policy. There are a number
of programs that focus on disability around the world, and there are a number of
programs that focus on public policy around the world, but there are very few
Master’s programs that focus on the intersection of disability and public policy.
Second, one of the other aspects that makes our program unique is that we’re the
first virtual graduate program that offers a Master’s degree on disability and public
policy in the world. Our students can get our Master’s degree in one year, it’s an
accelerated program, so they can complete it in one year, or they can complete it in
as long as they need, completely online. This is the first completely online degree
from American University as well. So the students have the flexibility of staying in
their home country, continuing to work if they’re currently employed, and focus on
getting a Master’s degree virtually.
Bruce: And are you trying to also recruit more Thai students to—
Dr. Cogburn: We hope to recruit more Thai students. We’re delighted that Mahidol
University was one of our first partners in the region, and they hosted the signing
ceremony in April last year when we launched the Institute on Disability and Public
Policy for the ASEAN region, and they hosted our Two-Week Residency last year as
well as the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability here in Bangkok, and
they’re hosting our Two-Week Residency this year. So Mahidol has been a fantastic
partner and we would love to have more Thai students apply for the fellowship and
apply for the Master’s program.
Bruce: And what future plans do you have for the program, in closing?
Dr. Cogburn: The program is designed to continue to grow. We want to have at least
one partner from each of the current ten ASEAN countries. We currently don’t have
partners in Myanmar, Laos, or Brunei. And we want to deepen the relationships
with the partners that we have. We want to continue to provide opportunities for
our students such as this summer. One of our students from the Philippines who is
blind was able to be placed at the World Health Organization in Geneva. We also
have another student from the Philippines who’s going to be working with APCD
here in Bangkok on virtual web-based technologies and tools. So we want to
continue to provide opportunities for our students to be placed in the government,
private sector, or international organizations, and we also want to continue to bring
and train new cohorts of students.
Jane: Right, this sounds like a very interesting topic – disability. Can I apply as well?
Dr. Cogburn: You should apply. We’d be delighted to have you apply—
Jane: I’d be happy to contribute to this society, you know, especially in the three
issues that you just touched upon – visually impaired, hearing problems, and also
mobility. I think I can do a lot on that.
Dr. Cogburn: Well, one of the interesting things is, if you could think about the idea
of the UN Convention is to level the playing field to create opportunities, when Dr.
Surin—
Jane: Pitsuwan, you’re saying, right?
Dr. Cogburn: …addressed our students who are graduating on Tuesday, he made the
point that our students are not looking for a handout. They’re looking for an
opportunity to excel. They’re looking for a level playing field. And that’s what the
Convention puts in place.
Bruce: Thank you very much, Dr. Cogburn.
Jane: That was an interesting conversation. Thank you very, very much.
Dr. Cogburn: It was my pleasure to speak, and good luck with the rest of your
program.
Jane: Right, and it’s a very, very interesting subject.
Bruce: Okay, goodbye.
Jane: Thank you very much.
Dr. Cogburn: Thank you.
Bruce: And that was Dr. Derrick Cogburn, the Executive Director of the Institute on
Disability and Public Policy for the ASEAN region. And those were our business
stories for tonight. Sunday, August 19th, 2012. Up next: key events and important
dates you must take note of for next week.