Pretoria – The Disability Rights Summit, which will put the spotlight on the challenges and rights of people with disabilities, gets underway in Centurion this morning.
President Jacob Zuma will open the three-day summit, which is hosted by the Department of Social Development, under the theme ‘Unified in diversity and disability, together advancing people's power’.
The summit seeks to strengthen consensus on an accelerated programme of action to implement the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (WPRPD).
The summit – which also coincides with Human Rights Month – will also showcase the Disability Rights Exhibition, which will provide information and exposure on the various types of reasonable accommodation support for persons with disabilities. It will also have a reader's corner with exhibits of books published by writers with disabilities.
There will also be a Disability Awards ceremony to recognise people with disabilities and disability rights activists who have excelled during 2015.
On the sidelines of the summit, President Zuma will also preside over the first meeting of the Presidential Working Group on Disability. The summit will end on Saturday. - SAnews.gov.za
