Speak Out August 2019 Digital Edition

Association news

LEFT: Professor Sharynne McLeod, Derek Munn the Director Policy and Public Affairs, Royal College of Speech Language Therapists and Speech Pathology Australia Chief Executive Office Gail Mulcair, outside the UN building in New York. ABOVE: Professor Sharynne Mcleod, Former SPA President Gaenor Dixon, SPA Vice-President Belinda Hill, Meredith Allan, President, International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication and SPA CEO Gail Mulcair inside the UN General Assembly Hall.

Championing communication disability at the UN

special issue of the International Journal of Speech Language Pathology: Communication is a Human Right: Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Initiated and edited by Professor Sharynne McLeod, this issue showcased different perspectives of communication disability through a human rights lens.

Speech Pathology Australia’s presence at the United Nations (UN) in June in New York was highly strategic and successful, and in this article, we are pleased to share further images and highlights of the activities leading up to and during this momentous occasion for the Association but more importantly for people with communication disability. Speech Pathology Australia has been championing the rights of those with communication disability in many forums for many years, with the Association’s vision itself reflecting this message: “Effective communication and safe swallowing a right for all Australians across the lifespan”. Other promotions have also highlighted our key message that Communication is a basic human right. Collaborations also with our sister associations globally, through the International Communication Project, have worked towards raising the profile of communication disability with international bodies. The Association’s successful accreditation with the UN’s Conference of State Parties (COSP) on the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disability last year was the first step in being able to attend and speak at the UN on the rights of those with communication disability. In conjunction with the Royal College of Speech Language Therapists (who also gained COSP accreditation last year) and the International Communication Project partners, the Association led the development of a side event (presentation) including a number of panel presenters, highlighting the impact of communication disability and how this needs to be explicitly considered as part of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) and in working towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. An important backdrop to this work was the highly successful

Speech Pathology Australia also sought, and was granted permission to speak at the Civil Society Forum of the Conference as well as at the General Assembly itself, which was an exciting and unique opportunity to promote the rights and needs of people with communication disability at this broader stage. The strictly timed, three minute presentations, called Interventions, allowed countries and civil societies (NGOs) to make affirming statements on their specific topics or activities. The Association’s statements, delivered by Vice President, Belinda Hill, at the Civil Society Forum and at the General Assembly by CEO, Gail Mulcair, presented

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August 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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