Será lançada durante o Forum Social organizado pelo Alto Comissariado para os Direitos Humanos das Nações Unidas, de 3 a 5 de outubro, em Genebra, uma iniciativa que pretende alavancar a inclusão das pessoas com deficiência na sociedade, através da mídia.

Criada por uma brasileira, uma americana e uma australiana, todas ativistas pelos direitos pessoas com deficiência, a GADIM (Aliança Global para Inclusão das Pessoas com Deficiência na Mídia e Entretenimento ) pretende promover uma cultura inclusiva. “Assim como temos o racismo e o machismo arraigado em nossa cultura, temos também o capacitismo, ou seja, gente que acha que pessoas com deficiência são menos por terem uma deficiência. Essa é a imagem do senso comum vigente, que queremos mudar”, diz Patricia Almeida, criadora da GADIM. Ela acha que as Paralimpíadas serviram para mostrar que essa mudança é possível, e que é preciso aproveitar a onda de conscientização. “Agora já temos no Brasil crianças com deficiência em escolas regulares que vão criando o ambiente inclusivo naturalmente, mas é preciso reforçar essa imagem. Além disso, é uma questão de representação. Ora, temos quase 1 em cada 4 pessoas com deficiência no Brasil. Onde elas estão no cinema, no jornal, nas revistas, nos brinquedos, nos livros, nas novelas, nos gibis, na publicidade? A máxima de outros grupos oprimidos serve também para as pessoas com deficiência – O lugar das pessoas com deficiência é em todos os lugares.”

Segundo a ativista, muitas iniciativas que existem no Brasil poderiam ser replicadas em outros países, e citou os personagens com deficiência em novelas, como a menina com síndrome de Down, Clarinha, em Páginas da Vida e a modelo tetraplégica Luciana, em Viver a Vida, de Manoel Carlos. As experiências com novelas na TV Globo, vêm desde 1986, com a novela Roda de Fogo, de Lauro César Muniz e Marcílio Moraes, onde o ator Jayme Periard viveu o personagem Roberto Labanca, que era paraplégico. “Mas essa inclusão deve ser feita sempre em estreita consulta com o movimento das pessoas com deficiência, para que o tiro não saia pela culatra”, ressalva a criadora da GADIM. Por seu trabalho na área de merchandising social, a TV Globo foi convidada para participar do evento de Mídia e Pessoas com Deficiência que marcará o lançamento internacional da GADIM.

“Há muito que pode ser feito com pouco ou nenhum custo extra. Basta iniciativa. Os criadores precisam ser mais inclusivos.”, afirma Patricia.

Da mesma maneira, há organizações como a “Starting with Julius”, da Austrália, dirigida pela co-fundadora da GADIM, Catia Malaquias, que promove a inserção de modelos com deficiência na publicidade. “Tudo isso ajuda a mudar a imagem da pessoa com deficiência. Ela passa a ser vista como consumidora, cidadã comum”, afirma Malaquias.

A terceira co-fundadora da GADIM, a americana Beth Haller, é pesquisadora e professora de Comunicação e Estudos da Deficiência, uma especialidade que ainda não existe no Brasil, em universidades dos Estados Unidos e Canadá, com diversas publicações na área.

A GADIM é a mãe da GADIM Brasil, que foi lançada durante as Paralimpíadas, onde procurou influenciar a cobertura da imprensa nos Jogos. “Acho que fomos bem-sucedidos”, conclui Patricia.

GADIM – www.gadim.org

GADIM Brasil – www.gadimbrasil.org

GADIM PRE-LAUNCH

INVITATION

Dear friend,

We would like to invite you to participate in the side event on Media and Disability, during the 2016 Social Forum of the Human Rights Council, which will take place from 3 to 5 October at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, given your work for the promotion of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities through the media.

The event is organized by the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (GADIM), the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with support of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the UN in Geneva.

In its resolution 29/19 the Council decided that the 2016 Social Forum should focus on “the promotion and full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities in the context of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).”

Detailed information about the Social Forum can be found at:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/SForum/Pages/SForumIndex.aspx

GADIM is a new collaborative platform, developed voluntary by activists on media and disability, which will be pre-launched at the Social Forum and aims to bring together likeminded initiatives to speed up the promotion of the representation of persons with disabilities in an inclusive way in the media.

We invite you to have a look at our website, that is under construction, make any comments and suggestions. It would be great to work collaboratively with you in this initiative.

Please do not hesitate to us should you need any additional information.

Best regards,

Patricia Almeida
GADIM

Media and persons with disabilities 

Co-organised by IDA, OHCHR, UNICEF, GADIM & sponsored by the Brazilian Mission 

Side Event at the Social Forum 2016

3 October 2016 – 1.15 to 2.45 pm, Room 24

Draft Concept Note

Focus and objectives: Based on Article 8 of CRPD on Awareness Raising, the side event seeks to discuss strategies that can be led at local, national, regional and international levels to encourage the media outlets to increase the participation of persons with disabilities in press coverage, advertising and entertainment productions in a manner consistent with the purposes of CRPD, in order to raise visibility and promote rights as well as to discuss media role in the promotion of positive perceptions and greater social awareness towards persons with disabilities.

Abstract:

The media can be an important and cost effective ally when it comes to promoting inclusion and addressing some of the vital issues that dominate the lives of persons with disabilities around the world. However, people with disabilities are still almost invisible in media, advertising, cultural and entertainment productions. According to GLADD’s “Where we are on TV” report, that monitors the content in US TV, in 2015 characters with disabilities were represented in less than 1% of entertainment productions. Recently, the Ruderman Foundation published a report, which found that 95% of characters with disabilities on American TV are played by non-disabled actors. There is still no specific data about the numbers of people with disabilities present in news stories in any country, but research has found that, when they appear, people with disabilities are shown with an ableist look, perpetuating a long lasting stigma.

Attracting media’s attention to the rights of persons with disabilities beyond the superficial label of objects of charity or care or sporting Paralympian superheroes can be a challenge.

In recent years, further initiatives are being taken in various countries to foster the participation of persons with disabilities in the media in an inclusive way in the press, advertising, and entertainment industries, increasing visibility: fashion shows, ads, soap operas, films, books and others. Many of these initiatives are not spontaneous. They are provoked by advocates that are actively searching for companies, agencies and newsrooms to foster the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the general media content.

Concrete actions vary – a journalist with disability that receives a grant to be in a newsroom; a parent with a child with disability working in the advertising industry or model agency; a public employee with an inclusive vision in the communication area of a government. At the same time, internet and social media became extraordinary and accessible tools for self-advocates to reach out and be reached, starting online campaigns, writing articles, suggesting stories and becoming direct sources. UNICEF, for instance, just developed the Inclusive Communication Module, which presents experiences from over 30 country officers and tools on how to communicate about and confidently interact with children with disabilities, and to develop materials and organize meetings that are inclusive of and accessible to people with disabilities.

Drawing on the inspiration and experience of two other UN organisations, UN Women’s Global Media and UNESCO’s Global Alliance on Media & Gender, a Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (GADIM) is being formed, with the support of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) to share best practices and encourage persons with disabilities to partner with the media to speed up inclusion.

Some of the questions to be raised:

• How can the media become an integral partner in achieving progress in the rights of persons with disabilities, as set out in the work of the Committee and the Special Rapporteur, including SDGs for persons with disabilities by 2030?

• How to better brief the media on their work and impact, and also provide a nuanced understanding of existing or emerging issues on the rights of persons with disabilities?

• How to increase dialogue and collaboration with the media, with the goal of setting persons with disabilities high on the news and public agenda?

Expected Outcomes

• A crucial goal of the Social Forum is to deliver key messages and action plans to ensure SDG implementation under the Convention. In that framework, the media and disability rights session would adopt a key message on the important role of media in promoting disability rights to be part of the Forum’s key messages on The Future We Want!

• Working collaboratively with the invited journalists prior to, during and after the Social Forum, to develop clear positions on covering the disability rights issues that matter to people with disabilities in their daily lives. The aim is to encourage and help journalists to produce stories that will resonate with readers, viewers and listeners, eg. on advertising, media, education, sexual health and reproductive rights, religion, sport, and fashion.

• Commitment from participants to involve and invite media to all major events on disability rights as an integral player and not an afterthought, so key messages can reach beyond the confines of the usual echo chamber of stakeholders to reach the general public.

Moderator: Penny Hartin, Chief Executive Officer of the World Blind Union

Opening remarks: H.E. Ms. Roseane Cavalcante de Freitas Estrela, National Secretary for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of Brazil

Speakers:

• Facundo Chávez, OHCHR Human Rights and Disability Advisor

• Ruth Warick, International Federation of Hard of Hearing People

• Rosangela Berman-Bieler, Unicef

• Patricia Almeida, GADIM, MetaSocial Institute and Inclusive – Inclusion and Citizenship, Brazil

• Veronica Carolina Gonzalez, journalist, Argentina

• Beatriz Azeredo, Director of Social Responsibility and Public Relations, TV Globo, Brazil

• Catia Malaquias, GADIM, Starting with Julius and Attitude Foundation, Australia

Format of the discussion

The panel discussion will be opened by the Moderator, followed by five-minute statements by each panellist. The ensuing interactive discussion will comprise interventions, comments and questions from the floor, followed by replies from panellists. At the end, panellists will make their concluding remarks, followed by final remarks by the Moderator.

Live webcast and captioning will be provided.

Contact the Brazilian Mission (rafael.soares@itamaraty.gov.br), by

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GADIM