International Day for People with Disabilites

Happy International Day for People with Disabilities!  This day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues, the rights of persons with disabilities and benefits of integration in every aspect of the political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities.

Here at Kanchi, we are celebrating by recounting the success thus far of the O2 Ability Awards 2010.  This year, 105 eligible organisations registered to participate in the O2 Ability Awards 2010.  Of these registered organisations, 85 submitted final detailed application forms.  A record breaking 70% of these were new organisations: organisations which had not been deemed an “Ability Company” by Kanchi’s O2 Ability Awards before. Organisations from across 25 different industry sectors and 21 Counties applied.

It should be noted the standard of applications was incredibly high this year.  Therefore, 42 organisations will receive on-site assessments. This is a testiment to the commitment Irish companies are making to the business case for disability.

Gaby Murphy, Kanchi’s Managing Director said: “It is fitting that we can today announce details of the growing level of interest in the O2 Ability Awards which reflects Ireland’s commitment to the United Nations International Day of Disabilities. The quality and calibre of entries this year is significant in terms of organisations not only embracing disability policies put putting them into action - there is clear evidence of a positive shift in practice when it comes to accommodating both employees and customers with disabilities”.

A full list of companies shortlisted will be released during February 2010.  A televised series documenting a selection of organisations that participate in the O2 Ability Awards will be broadcast on RTÉ in May.

• Posted:03 Dec 2009 at 11:00 am

Demystifying Disability in the Workplace

Next Monday, November 23rd, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD) will launch “Demystifying Disability in the Workplace”, a book published by Willing Able Mentoring (WAM).  Senator David Norris will be in attendance and discussion will take place around the illusive topic of reasonable accommodation.

This book aims to provided practical guidelines for managers and supervisors on tackling everyday issues that arise in the recruitment and management of people with disabilities. Taken from the real life experiences of both parties, “Demystifying Disability in the Workplace” includes info sheets on both mental health and physical disabilities. Chapters are dedicated to frequently asked questions including: “What can I ask to make a good recruitment decision?” and “Productivity, health and the fluctuating symptoms of disability”.

Would you like a copy?  Contact Niamh Hayes, Blogger for GetAHEAD and fellow Kanchi Sounding Board Member at getahead@ahead.ie.

• Posted:18 Nov 2009 at 12:00 pm

PwC Now Assessment Partner for O2 Ability Awards

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is the assessment partner for the O2 Ability Awards 2010. The PwC team will work alongside Kanchi’s disability management consultants in the assessment and verification of organisations shortlisted for the O2 Ability Awards. These shortlisted organisations will receive a free full-day, on-site assessment.

Speaking at the announcement, Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers said: “We are delighted to become the assessment partner for the O2 Ability Awards.  PwC is committed to having a positive impact on the people and communities around us and supporting the O2 Ability Awards is a key way of achieving this.”

Created by the founder of disability organisation, Kanchi and visually impaired social entrepreneur, Caroline Casey, the O2 Ability Awards promote organisations that think and act differently in relation to people with disabilities; who recognise ability and talent over disability; who see the economic and personal potential of employees and customers with disabilities, making products and services available to all.

Since 2005, over 100 businesses and organisations including Superquinn, McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Kerry County Council and Aura Sport & Leisure, have been selected as O2 Ability Award organisations. Awards will be presented across six categories and there will be three overall winners: one each from the private and non-private sectors as well as an award for the Best Small Company. A televised series documenting a selection of organisations that participate in the O2 Ability Awards will be broadcast in May 2010.

• Posted:21 Oct 2009 at 10:00 am

A Birthday for Ben

Special Stories Publishing is an award winning Irish publishing company, producing children’s books which introduce disabilities, social, health and education issues to children, parents and schools.  Each book aims to help children learn the importance of accepting friends and classmates who are different to them.

A Birthday for Ben, part of Series Two in Special Stories, is told through the eyes of Ben, a young boy who is deaf. He is about to celebrate his birthday, but not exactly thrilled about it.  Fearful he will be left out when the music starts playing, his Mum helps him realise all kids are able to have fun on their birthday.

Authored by Kate Gaynor (Photo Left) and beautifully illustrated Karen Quirke (Photo Right), A Birthday for Ben draws from the experience of Irish Deaf Kids Founder and Kanchi Sounding Board Member, Caroline Carswell (Photo Center).

“The idea for the Birthday for Ben book came from my summer camp experiences as a kid. My primary school was deaf-aware, with 4 pupils in different classes at about the same time. However, at summer camp, I had to explain what my hearing-aids were, and why I wore them. This was fine in itself, but a few of the other kids seemed to find the concept of deafness really hard to “get”.” explains Carswell.

”’A Birthday for Ben’ is a very welcome resource for both parents and teachers as it introduces the whole notion of hearing and deafness to young children,” continues Carswell, “By making the book available to primary schools throughout Ireland, IDK and Special Stories hope to highlight the everyday issues that deaf children may encounter on a daily basis in mainstream school”.

Series Two also introduces Autism, Dyslexia, Down Syndrome.

Karen Quirke, the Illustrator behind “A Birthday for Ben”, is also the artist behind Irish Deaf Kid’s 2010 Calendar, now available at most major book stores throughout Ireland.

• Posted:15 Oct 2009 at 03:00 am

Positive Solutions

The Irish Association for Supportive Employment will hold a national conference in Kilkenny this Friday and Saturday.  Entitled “Supportive Employment – Positive Solutions”, this conference offers a great opportunity to network with a wide variety of organisations and interested parties to discuss how to improve employment  and customer service for people with disabilities. Keynote speakers, workshops and a marketplace of information will be available to all attendees.

Kanchi’s Managing Director, Gabrielle Murphy and Sinéad Harding, Project Manager of the O2 Ability Awards 2010 will be in attendance.  Gabrielle Murphy will be presenting on the O2 Ability Awards at IASE’s Awards for Best Practice in Supportive Employment.  The Irish Association for Supportive Employment is an Endorser of the O2 Ability Awards 2010.

• Posted:07 Oct 2009 at 12:00 pm

Arts and Disability Awards Info Session

The deadline for your second chance to apply for an Arts and Disability Award is fast approaching.  November 2nd will mark the closing of applications for the 2009 Arts and Disability Awards (Round II).

The Arts & Disability Awards Ireland is a bursary programme for individual disabled artists living in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland working in ALL artforms. An information and advice day on the Arts & Disability Awards will take place in Dublin on Wednesday October 14th, 2009 at Fire Station Artists’ Studios.  Contact the Arts and Disability Forum to register.

The Awards are the result of a partnership between the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaìon and the Arts & Disability Forum.

• Posted:05 Oct 2009 at 12:00 pm

An Impressive Handicap

Today the world’s best known amatures and professional champions of golf will tee off at St. Andrews in Scottland, home of golf. 168 teams made of up one Champion and one Amateur will compete over the next four days in the  The 2009 Alfred Duhall Links Championship.

To play at the “home of golf” among professionals such as Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy would be a dream for any amateur golfer.  However for Manual De Los Santos, playing at St. Andrews is not only a dream come true, but a testament to how thinking differently can lead to world recognition.

At 18 years old, De Los Santos was pursuing a career as a professional baseball player.  However, after a motorcycle accident, he became a left leg amputee. Upon discovering a baseball grip and golf grip are similar, he decided to change games.  Today he is sponsored by Allianz and Winner of many tournaments across Europe including the highly regarded 2008 Swedish Invitational Open.  Manuel De Los Santos plays with an impressive handicap of only three.

Read full article in The Irish Times

• Posted:01 Oct 2009 at 10:00 am

The Specialists

SPECIALISTERNE, a company in Denmark, is mixing idealism and business; two elements they believe are essential in order to remain sustainable. The idea? Give people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) the opportunity to use and develop their special skills based on their own qualifications, strengths and ambitions. The business? Offer new special skills to the business community in niche areas which demand insight, precision and regularity.

This award winning company offers services such as testing, data registration and quality checking. SPECIALISTERNE has attracted some of the best talent by creating an environment where abilities are easily accessed. In turn, this talent has attracted business from some of Denmark’s leading companies, including Microsoft (PDF Doc).

Albert Einstein, Socrates, Charles Darwin, and Sir Isaac Newton were all known for their expertise and brilliance. All also probably had a mild form of ASD called Asperger’s Syndrome. Translating to “the specialists” in Danish, SPECIALISTERNE brings this specialised talent to markets across the world.

• Posted:15 Sep 2009 at 11:00 am

Do Touch

Bread. Do you need eyes and ears to appreciate it? To bake it?  Inside a theatre in Tel Aviv, an ensemble of eleven actors who are deaf and blind invite you to explore these questions and your own senses through the theatrical performance, “Not By Bread Alone”.

This is the Nalaga’at Theater Dead-blind Acting Ensemble’s second production at the Nalaga’at Center.  Today the Center employs 70 people who are deaf, blind or deaf-blind and is visitied by  thousands each year.   Together, they search for a unique “theatrical language”, as well as increase awareness of deaf-blind persons’ needs, in Israel and the rest of the world.

If the aroma of freshly baked bread during the performance leaves your stomach rumbling, the Centre also offers two unique dining experiences.  In Black Out, a restaurant run in total darkness, you are served by waiters who are blind.  Alternatively, Café Kapish and its wait staff who are deaf or hearing impaired offer you the chance to order your cappuccino by way of sign language.

“Nalaga’at”, translating to “Do Touch”, seems a fitting title as its performances, workshops and dining experience offer participants the chance to reach out, ask questions and learn from difference.

In their words “A visit to the center will change the way you think, the way you feel, the way you are…”

• Posted:20 Aug 2009 at 03:03 pm

Schizophrenia in the Summer

Time to Change has produced and launched two short online films.  Each challenges the common belief that mental illness and violence go hand in hand, especially when it comes to schizophrenia.

The first video, Kids Party, plays on people’s fascination with the sinister.  It has been posted to video sharing sites such as YouTube with the title ‘Schizophrenic man terrifies kids at party’ and gives you the illusion of home video footage rather than an ad campaign around prejudice.

The second, Schizo, takes the form of a horror film trailer, demonstrating how fear increases the likelihood people will fall back on their stereotypes.  Before conclusion, both films introduce you unexpectedly to meet Stewart, a real man who has schizophrenia.

Time to Change is UK based programme which aims to inspire people to work together to end the discrimination surrounding mental health. Learn more about Time to Change through the FAQ’s about their Summer Campaign.

• Posted:17 Aug 2009 at 04:14 pm