EASIT: Easy Access for Social Inclusion Training
Unit 1. Media accessibility.
Element 3, What is universal design?
Video: The right to understand.
This video is reproduced with permission of: Fundación Visibilia.
Overview.
This viedo includes Dominique Kantor's speech,
from Fundación Visibilia in Argentina,
at the World Down Syndrome Day 2020
United Nations Virtual Conference.
It stresses the need to include persons with diverse capabilities
in the process of content creation,
in line with the concept of participatory approaches to design.
The right to understand
Dominique Kantor Fundación Visibilia, Argentina
Good morning.
My name is Dominique Kantor and I come from Argentina.
Many thanks to Inclusion International
and Down Syndrome International for calling me.
It is an honor for me to share this day with everyone.
Today I am going to reflect on 4 ideas.
The first idea is that understanding is a right.
Thus, it is important that the information is accessible.
When the information is accessible,
we can obtain information of what we need
and understand more easily.
This helps us be more independent
and be able to exercise other rights.
Understanding is a right
included in the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Article 2 talks about plain language
and Article 9 about information accessibility.
I read the easy-to-read version
of the convention, adapted by Fundación Visibilia.
I use the easy-to-read convention
in my group to better understand the articles we discuss.
The second idea is that organizations working
on inclusion have to be the first to include.
For example, Fundación Visibilia gives opportunities
to persons with diverse abilities.
In the editorial process,
some of us are text validators and others are illustrators.
Last year the project of adaptation to easy reading
of the gender laws of Buenos Aires was developed.
who also...
Women with intellectual disabilities
who had also been victims of violence worked in it.
I worked last month as a storybook validator.
All people are paid for their work.
And that is important because there are those who claim
that persons with intellectual disabilities
work for free or volunteer without salaries.
The third idea
is that to include it is important to respect the supports
that each person needs.
At Visibilia some work via computer
or via cell phone. I work from my cell phone.
Other persons need to be present at the meetings
and if they need a sign language interpreter
we call them.
I use the computer with the highlighter as a support
and with large print taking my time.
Accessing information with our supports
also helps [meet] some of the world's goals,
such as having less inequality, more work, more education.
Finally, the fourth idea is that they do not write
for us without us.
In all Visibilia work teams there are persons with intellectual disabilities
because we add value.
When we all work together,
books and materials are better understood.
They are even much more fun.
Persons with intellectual disabilities must be included
in the materials adaptation teams
so that they can give their views, opinions, ideas, etc.
This is how we make sure that what is said is clearer
and know what they can understand in a text.
Participating and understanding are our rights
so that we can decide what we want and how we want it.
We decide. Thank you very much.
Source: Fundación Visibilia.
Year: 2020.
The project EASIT has received funding
from the European Commission
under the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships
for Higher Education programme,
grant agreement
2018-1-ES01-KA203-05275.
The EC support for the production of this publication
does not constitute an endorsement of the contents,
which reflect the views only of the authors,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Partners of the EASIT project:
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,
Università degli Studi di Trieste,
Universidade de Vigo,
Stiftung Universität Hildesheim,
SDI München,
Dyslexiförbundet,
Radiotelevisija Slovenija,
Zavod Risa.
EASIT: Easy Access for Social Inclusion Training