The event takes place on 16 and 17 September at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand and forms part of the ACSA Disability Trade and Lifestyle Expo which ends on 18 September. The Conference theme is "Alleviating Poverty - Solutions and Resolutions".
"There is power in being disabled," says Allon Raiz, CEO of Raizcorp, claimed to be the only private, self-funded, profitable business incubator on the African continent. "People with disabilities must not think of themselves as disabled and disadvantaged - they are advantaged. Because they don't get the breaks, they know what it's like to fight hard."
Raiz will discuss various strategies for the development of entrepreneurship at the Disability Conference. He poses a logical observation as an example:
"People who don't get things easily in life are more likely to become successful entrepreneurs than people who do."
"It is a well-known fact that people with disabilities are more poverty stricken than anybody else in South Africa," says Ari Seirlis, spokesperson for the South African Disability Alliance (SADA), which comprises 13 leading disability organisations in the country. "Solutions do not necessarily lie in increasing grants, but rather by developing the skills of people with disabilities and ensuring there is decent work available for them through mainstream employment channels."
Commenting on SADA's decision to support the Disability Conference, Seirlis adds: "There is a common slogan in the disability sector that says, 'Nothing About Us Without Us'. By endorsing this conference, and being a part of the planning of its aims and objectives, the disability sector will have a forum to engage."
Based on data culled from South Africa's 1990 national census, people with disabilities tend to have a higher rate of self-employment and small business experience than people without disabilities. The actual statistics indicated 12.2% of people with disabilities ran their own businesses compared to 7.8% of people without disabilities.
More than 10% of the world's population has a disability of some kind, with 15% more living expenses than able-bodied people. With 95% of South African people with disabilities unemployed, disability places huge pressure on society and government. It is an unfortunate fact that poverty makes people more vulnerable to disability, and disability exacerbates poverty.
A recent research study on poverty and disability in Johannesburg found that, despite government commitments to uphold the basic human rights of people with disabilities, most remain poor, have less education and are not able to earn a meaningful living. The Johannesburg Poverty and Disability study conducted by the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) in collaboration with the UK's Department for International Development revealed that in eight of the poorest wards of Johannesburg, 82% of people with a disability or chronic illness were unemployed.
"The current situation is not sustainable," says Bette McNaughton, a director at Fair Consultants, organisers of the conference. "Viable solutions need to be identified and implemented. This Conference aims to bring together all stakeholders - business and the public sector, disability organisations, policy makers and decision-makers - to debate the issues and map a way forward".
Local social fund manager Tshikululu Social Investments will be highlighting the role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Social Enterprise at the conference. The company has been entrusted an allocation of developmentally informed investments in excess of R2-billion in the last decade, supporting more than 15 000 projects and hundreds of South Africa's champions of change.
A conference session on development programmes and funding will give delegates the opportunity to learn more about the opportunities available for people with disabilities to access funding.
One source is the Thabo Mbeki Development Trust for Disabled People (TMDT) which focuses on three areas: facilitation of skills development and employment for people with disabilities, a poverty alleviation programme; and the provision of assistive devices to support the employment equity of people with disabilities.
The Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) will update delegates on its projects and programmes aimed at developing and improving the lives of people with disabilities.
Nokwazi Mazibuko, Provincial Manager for the National Development Agency of Gauteng will address the topic: 'Funding in South Africa: What, Who and Why'. The NDA is a statutory organisation whose mission is to contribute to the eradication of poverty and its causes.
• Keynote address by Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya of the Ministry for Children, Women and People with Disabilities, South Africa
• UN Convention - First Country Report and Processes by Benny Palime, Programme for Persons with Disabilities
• Funding and resources for entrepreneurial development by Nicola Jowell, foundation manager at SA Breweries.
• Municipalities and Persons with Disabilities - presentation by the South African Local Government Association
• Special Education and Inclusive Education in South Africa by Marie Schoeman - deputy-director, Inclusive Education: Department of Basic Education, South Africa
• Rural Development by Maanda Lukoto, acting director, Organisational Transformation Office, Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, South Africa
• Projects and Programmes aimed at developing and improving the lives of people with disabilities
• Keynote Address: Accessibility and Infrastructure Development by Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, deputy minister Department of Public Works
The ACSA Disability Conference forms part of the ACSA Disability Trade and Lifestyle Expo. Targeting both trade and consumer audiences, ACSA Disability 2010 is aimed at anyone involved in supplying and purchasing equipment and services, as well as all end users, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
This includes: government (correctional services, defence, health, education, transport), private clinics, hospitals, medical specialists, orthopaedics, physiotherapists, the sports industry, shopping centres, old age homes, special schools, aid agencies and non-governmental organisations, employment agencies, pharmacists, orthotists, orthopaedic surgeons, disabled homes and institutions, clinics and hospitals, the corporate sector and consumers.
The ACSA Disability Trade and Lifestyle expo showcases products and services available to people with disabilities of all types - physical, mental, sensory and intellectual. The show provides an opportunity for employers and the community at large to learn about what tools and information are available to facilitate access of people with disabilities into the workplace and mainstream society.
The following sectors were represented at ACSA Disability 2009: Mobility aids, prosthetic artificial limbs, wheelchairs, walking sticks, hospital furniture,
emergency medical supplies (such as bandages, rubber gloves, condoms, products and aids for the Deaf and Blind, communication aids, occupational products, training institutions, physio equipment, adapted vehicles, ADLs (assisted daily living equipment & services), showering devices / building products, sports equipment, hand cycles, patient handling devices (hoists etc.), hearing aids, wheelchair clothing and easy reaches.
ACSA Disability runs alongside Pan African Health. The Pan African Health Expo is the premier event for the broad healthcare community in Southern Africa. The Expo will allow manufacturers and distributors of medical equipment and technology to showcase their products with healthcare professionals in attendance, thereby giving an indication of how much the industry has progressed. The 2010 Pan African Health Expo promises to be a comprehensive event encompassing preventative, promotive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare.
Conference contact person: Fuzlin Esau - Fair Consultants. Tel: +27 (0) 21 713 3360, email moc.stnatlusnocriaf@secnerefnoc. Expo contact person: Heather Hook- Fair Consultants. Tel: +27 (0) 11 803 9362, email moc.stnatlusnocriaf@rehtaeh or go to www.fairconsultants.com.
