NEADS Conference 2004 - Right On!

Speakers

The National Educational Association of Disabled Students invites interested individuals to serve on one of three workshop panels at our next conference entitled: "Right On!" which will take place at the Delta Hotel and Suites, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on November 13th to 14th, 2004. Speakers will include students, consumers, advocates, professionals and anyone else interested in the conference themes.

Workshop Themes

The following are the three workshops and possible topics we are looking to have addressed by our panels.

Theme 1: Human Rights

The World Health Organization estimates that at least 10% of the world's population, 600 million people, have some form of disability. As more people with disabilities are seeking to enforce their right to full-citizenship, education and entry into the work force become key issues in this pursuit. People with disabilities continue to be faced with barriers to full participation in society. These barriers impede fundamental access to education and employment subjecting persons with disabilities to discrimination, poverty, sub-standard housing and care, and even abuse. Barriers such as these are systematic, socio-economic, attitudinal, cultural and physical by nature. Failure to address and remove such barriers seriously violates the rights to equality and human dignity shared by everyone.

The Human Rights workshop will explore both the domestic and international environments in order to address crucial issues relating to access to education and employment for all students with disabilities.

The Human Rights panel will consist of lawyers, academics, students, advocates and a breadth of people experienced in the human rights field.

Key questions to be addressed include:

Do we have a right to an education? What are the limits on this right?
Do we have the right to accommodation? What is involved in this right for employers and post-secondary institutions, to accommodate people with disabilities?
What is meant by the concept of "undue hardship" as a key concept in anti-discrimination legislation? What are the limits of this term?
How do students with disabilities enforce their rights?
What is the UN convention to protect and promote the rights and dignity of people with disabilities?
What protections are available for people with disabilities internationally?

Theme 2: Inclusion in Campus Life

The benefits of involvement in extra-curricular activities have been well established for students. It is essential that students with disabilities have opportunities to participate fully in and benefit from all aspects of campus life, including involvement in campus-based extra-curricular activities.

In 2004 NEADS began work on a project to promote the inclusion of post-secondary students with disabilities in college and university-sponsored campus activities. This project, supported through funding from the Government of Canada, aims to provide activity programmers and student union executives with the tools they need to organize activities that are accessible to all students.

We are looking for several speakers who would be willing to share their personal and/or professional experience and expertise in this area.

Possible topics we would like to explore include:

What are the current barriers to the participation of students with disabilities in campus activities?
What steps can campus programmers and student unions take do to reduce or eliminate barriers?
What can students with disabilities do to ensure their place in the out-of-classroom experiences on their campuses?
What are some examples of model inclusion of students with disabilities in campus activities?
What are some examples of model students who have participated in campus activities?

Potential speakers might include:

Students with disabilities having successfully participated in extra-curricular activities on campus;
Activity programmers who have developed model strategies for including students with disabilities in their activities; and
Persons who are knowledgeable of the barriers to the participation of students with disabilities in extra-curricular activities.

Theme 3: Access to Academic Materials for Print-Disabled Post-Secondary Students

Access to information is a fundamental right of all Canadians. Since only three percent of the world's literature is converted into multiple formats, post-secondary students with print-disabilities are dependent on programs, service providers and librarians to obtain the information and materials they need to meet their course requirements. Program completion at the post-secondary level is the most direct way to ensure employability and integration for people with disabilities into the economic and social mainstream of Canadian society.

In December, 2003 the National Educational Association of Disabled Students began work on a new project initiative: Access to Academic Materials for Print-Disabled Post-Secondary Students: A Partnership of Users and Service Providers. This sixteen month project is funded in part by the Government of Canada's Social Development Partnerships Program.

The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), is working on this initiative along with the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC), and the Council on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians. The overall goal is to provide French and English post-secondary students, who cannot access academic materials using conventional print formats, with the information, services and materials they need to meet their education and career goals.

This interactive conference workshop will provide delegates with an opportunity to learn about the research and preliminary findings of a survey that will be implemented across Canada in September 2004, and to contribute their insights to the issues at hand. A workshop panel will include members of the project Steering Committee, students with print-based disabilities, librarians and disability service providers.

The following key questions will be addressed in the Access to Academic Materials workshop:

How are academic materials in alternate formats being delivered to Canada's post-secondary students?
What are the strengths of this delivery system? What are the weaknesses?
What role do different groups play in improving the delivery of these materials: students, librarians, service providers, non-governmental organizations, Library and Archives Canada, publishers?
Are there model programs in this area?
Does computer technology level the playing field and present opportunities for improved access in the future?
How can NEADS play a role in the future in addressing access to alternate format materials as a fundamental right in post-secondary education.

Potential speakers might include:

Students who have print-based disabilities and require alternate formats in their post-secondary studies.
Librarians and service providers who are involved in the acquisition of these materials, working on behalf of students.
Student leaders who run disabled students' groups and/or access committees involved in addressing the issue of the availability of accessible materials on their campuses.
Experts on the benefits of academic materials in the format of choice to the success of persons with disabilities in college and university education.
Publishers who produce materials that are used in higher education.

Instructions and Deadline

Expressions of interest should be no more than 500 words and must clearly state which workshop theme you are interested in, and the specific issue that you will address in your presentation.

Submissions and presentations are encouraged in either English or French, and we invite international submissions. We are able to accept material in print, on disk or by e-mail. In case a speaker drops out, we will choose an alternate from the submissions received.

Due to limited funding, only student members of panels can be considered for financial support.

Deadline for receipt of all material is Friday, August 13th. Submissions will be reviewed by the Conference Planning Committee, and those selected will be notified over the summer. If possible, please include any additional contact information for the summer period.

Download the Conference Speaker Registration Form in PDF