2000 ESCAP HRD Award, Theme: HRD for the Empowerment of People with Disabilities

Background

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) established the ESCAP HRD Award in 1990. The Award is presented annually in recognition of exemplary work in the field of human resources development (HRD).

The ESCAP HRD Award is administered in pursuance of the Jakarta Plan of Action on Human Resources Development in the ESCAP Region. That Plan provides guidelines for transforming the principles of HRD into practice. It constitutes a policy framework within which Governments, with the support of regional and international organizations and other agents of development, formulate and execute policies and programmes to address the particular needs, and respond to the individual priorities, of countries.

One of the major concerns of the Jakarta Plan of Action is to promote research and training on key HRD issues as a basis for national policy-making. In response to this concern, the ESCAP HRD Award was established as a means of encouraging exemplary research, training and other innovative achievement in the field of HRD.

HRD for the Empowerment of People with Disabilities - Theme of the 2000 ESCAP HRD Award

The Asia-Pacific region has the largest number of people with disabilities in the world. Most of them are poor, their concerns unknown and their rights overlooked. In order to address the major issues that disabled persons face and thereby enhance the quality of their lives, the governments of the Asia-Pacific region declared the period 1993 - 2002 as the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons. This regional initiative focuses on the inclusion of people with disabilities in society and in all mainstream development programmes to reach the Decade goal of full participation and equality of people with disabilities.

In light of these developments, the theme of the 2000 ESCAP HRD Award is "HRD for the Empowerment of People with Disabilities." Empowerment of people with disabilities is predicated on the belief that disabled persons themselves are the most important resource for promoting their own development. Empowering people with disabilities through HRD means creating and supporting conditions under which people with disabilities can achieve full participation in society and equality in the development process. Within the HRD context, enabling conditions for the empowerment of people with disabilities include access to education, training and employment, information and technology, support for self-help and group formation among people with disabilities, creation of physically accessible environments, promotion of positive attitudes and practices that support the participation of people with disabilities in mainstream development programmes or projects, as well as access by disabled persons living in poverty to health and rehabilitation services.

Much work is underway in the region by the public, NGO and private sectors to empower people with disabilities. The 2000 ESCAP HRD Award aims to support these initiatives through recognition of innovative achievement by individuals, government, NGOS and the private sector.

Criteria for Selection of the Award Winner

•     Degree of HRD commitment
•     Responsiveness to the needs of the target group
•     Innovativeness of the approach
•     Impact
•     Sustainability of the activity

Prize

The Award-winner will receive a prize of US$ 30,000 in the form of a grant in support of further work for the empowerment of people with disabilities. The 2000 HRD Award has been made possible through the financial support of the Government of Japan.

Administration of the Award

The 2000 Award process will be administered by the ESCAP secretariat in consultation with the Government of Japan. ESCAP will verify the authenticity of the applications through a team of advisers. An independent international jury of experts will be established to review the nominations and select the Award-winner. The Jury may also confer honourable mention on selected candidates.

The Award Presentation Ceremony

The winner will be invited to Bangkok to receive the Award at a ceremony to be held on the first day of the Ministerial segment of the 2001 session (around April 2001) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESC AP). The Executive Secretary of ESCAP and a senior representative of the Government of Japan will preside at that ceremony. A short film on the work of the winner of the Award will be shown at the ceremony. The film will be produced by ESCAP.

Eligibility

The Award is open to individuals (resident nationals), organizations and institutions in both the government and non-governmental sectors in developing and transitional countries and areas of the ESCAP region who/which have undertaken practical research, training or other innovative HRD work relating to the empowerment of people with disabilities. Organizations and individuals engaged in the following HRD aspects of empowerment of people with disabilities may apply for the Award:

•     Access to education, training and employment, information and technology;
•     Support for the development of self-help and group formation among people with disabilities;
•     Creation of physically accessible environments;
•     Promotion of positive attitudes and practices that support the participation of people with disabilities in mainstream development programmes
      or projects;
•     Access by disabled persons living in poverty to health and rehabilitation services.

Application Procedure

Applications for the Award should be in English, and should contain the following information.

A. Summary of activities related to the theme of HRD for the Empowerment of People with Disabilities, including:

1. Name of applying individual or organization
2. Address, including fax, cable, telex, e-mail and/or telephone numbers
3. Summary of the applicant's HRD work, focusing on the following five elements:

* Degree of HRD commitment
* Responsiveness to the needs of the target group (people with disabilities)
* Innovativeness
* Impact
* Sustainability

The summary should be no more than 10 pages in length (A4 size paper).

B. Letters from two independent referees

The application should be accompanied by letters from two independent and reputable referees in support of the application and should indicate their contact addresses.

C. Project Proposal

A project proposal for use of the US$ 30,000 grant for further work to promote the empowerment of people with disabilities, which should include:

1. Name of individual or organization
2. Address, including fax, cable, telex and/or telephone numbers
3. Project title
4. Problem addressed
5. Project activities
6. Expected impact
7. Time schedule
8. Itemized budget

The project proposal should be no more than 5 pages in length (A4 size paper).

D. Supplementary information

Evidence in support of the application, such as publications, photographs, blueprints, video cassettes (optional).

Resident nationals and organizations in the following countries and areas of the ESCAP region are eligible for the Award:

Applications should be sent by 30 November 2000 to:

Chief
Human Resources Development Section
Social Development Division
ESCAP, United Nations Building
Rajdamnern Avenue
Bangkok 10200
Thailand
Fax: (662) 288-3031
Telephone: (662) 288-1502

The information in this brochure can also be found on the ESCAP HRD website:
http://www.escap-hrd.org/ .
Please note that no applications sent by electronic mail will be accepted.