On the occasion of the Network’s first anniversary, we are pleased to announce our latest initiative: the Youth Advocacy Forum 2009. The Forum is being organized in collaboration with the Children’s Museum for Peace and Human Rights (CMPHR). Both organizations share the adoption of a rights-based approach toward the improvement of the quality of life of persons with disabilities. Based on their shared vision, NOWPDP & CMPHR will host the Youth Advocacy Forum, the main purpose of which is to lobby for the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCPRD). The Forum will be held on the 14th of May 2009 at the Aga Khan University.

The Forum intends to highlight the main features of the Convention, drawing attention to its importance and the immediate need for ratification. Through this Forum, we hope to encourage children to participate with even greater enthusiasm in the activism movement as well as increase their awareness and understanding of the cause. Children from special schools will also be invited to attend, thus giving able-bodied youth the opportunity to see their equal capacities and unique skills first-hand.

400 students from able and special schools are expected to attend. A key representative of the Government of Pakistan will also be invited to attend, alongside other members of the bureaucracy. A document outlining the immediate necessity of ratification as well as its petition for ratification will be circulated. A presentation on the current legal status of people with disabilities will follow. A brief presentation or film on the short history of the Convention, along with the progress that has been made in terms of Pakistan will be shown along with a mini-documentary on the activism movement and the benefits of having the Convention ratified. Children from special and able schools will enact a short skit or entertainment performance that draws focus to the cause of persons with disabilities. A short Concert will conclude the event. Snacks will be served to the children, while hi-tea arrangements will be made for guests, at the conclusion of the programme. Media will be present to provide extensive coverage of the event.

The NOWPDP-CMPHR Youth Advocacy Forum aims to strengthen the existing lobby for ratification of the Convention through increasing awareness, whilst appreciating the efforts of those who have already been active in this movement. We hope to encourage other members of civil society to step up to the challenge, by highlighting the success and commitment of these young activists, and increase the number of signatories to the CMPHR petition and hence generate a stronger lobby with the Government of Pakistan to ratify the UNCPRD. We wish to raise awareness amongst the young activists of the true nature of their cause, and enable them to further appreciate the potential of people with disabilities.