Annual Report 2005 - The National Disability Authority
Annual Report 2005 - The National Disability Authority
Annual Report 2005 - The National Disability Authority
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<strong>National</strong> <strong>Disability</strong> <strong>Authority</strong><br />
Committees. Five lunch time briefings on Dementia and Older People, Child and<br />
Adolescent, Mental Health Promotion, Forensic and Adult Mental Health. A sixth<br />
briefing on Social Justice and Citizenship was postponed to 2006. This work has led to<br />
ongoing contact between the NDA and colleagues in Northern Ireland.<br />
<strong>National</strong> Adult Literacy Agency (NALA)<br />
<strong>The</strong> NDA provided advice and assistance to NALA, to assist in the production of an<br />
interactive CD, Simply Put. This is a tool developed to support bodies and individuals<br />
in using plain English when writing and designing documents. This was launched in<br />
November <strong>2005</strong> and represents an important development, particularly in light of the<br />
requirements in section 28 of the <strong>Disability</strong> Act <strong>2005</strong>.<br />
European Contacts<br />
During a visit to Brussels in November, an NDA delegation met with the President<br />
of the Inter-Group on <strong>Disability</strong> and the European <strong>Disability</strong> Forum. <strong>The</strong> purpose of<br />
this visit was information sharing, to profile the work of the NDA and to develop<br />
relationships with colleagues working on the European disability agenda.<br />
<strong>Disability</strong> in Europe Seminar<br />
In order to promote awareness and dialogue about the disability agenda in Europe, the<br />
NDA held a seminar on this topic in November. Keynote presentations were made<br />
by Ms Wallis Goelen, Head of the Unit on the Integration of people with Disabilities,<br />
European Commission and Ms Carlotta Besozzi, Director of the European <strong>Disability</strong><br />
Forum and People with Disabilities in Ireland.<br />
Contacts with Sister Organisations in Britain, Northern Ireland<br />
<strong>The</strong> NDA communicated with similar statutory bodies in the UK, the Equality<br />
Commission of Northern Ireland and the <strong>Disability</strong> Rights Commission in England,<br />
Scotland and Wales. An NDA delegation met with colleagues in the <strong>Disability</strong> Rights<br />
Commission in London in November to share information on our organisations and<br />
work programmes, as well as emerging national and international disability agendas.<br />
44<br />
Continuing education and training of professions<br />
NDA Conferences in <strong>2005</strong><br />
<strong>Disability</strong> and Employment<br />
<strong>The</strong> fourth annual NDA <strong>Disability</strong> Research Conference took place in the Great<br />
Southern Hotel on 11 October on the theme of <strong>Disability</strong> and Employment – What<br />
the Research Tells Us. Over 200 delegates attended the proceedings. Keynote speakers<br />
included Professor John Martin from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation<br />
and Development; Ilene Zeitzer of the US <strong>Disability</strong> Policy Solutions; Brenda Gannon,<br />
Economic and Social Research Institute; Dr Donal Mc Ananey, Rehab, and Dr Richard<br />
Wynne, Work Research Centre and Tony Tyrrell and Tom Ronayne, WRC Social and<br />
Economic Consultants. <strong>The</strong>re was also a presentation in relation to the NDA’s research<br />
entitled <strong>Disability</strong> and Work. <strong>The</strong> conference also included parallel sessions with<br />
submitted papers. <strong>The</strong> conference concluded with the announcement of this year’s<br />
recipients of grants under the Research Promotion Scheme and the launch of the<br />
NDA’s Guidelines on Ethics in <strong>Disability</strong> Research.