Speak Out December 2018

Communication International Project

Speech Pathology Australia marks UDHR 70th anniversary

On 10 December , Speech Pathology Australia, celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a landmark document in the history of human rights and was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. Article 19 of the UDHR was one of the first contemporary expressions of the right to communication. It reads:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

This authoritative statement emphasises that all people have the right to communicate. Speech Pathology Australia, together with the other founding members of the International Communication Project (Speech- Language & Audiology Canada; New Zealand Speech-language Therapists Association; the Irish Association of Speech & Language Therapists, the Royal College of Speech Language Therapists; and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association), actively worked to use the anniversary as an opportunity to promote communication as a basic human right and to advance the International Communication Project’s (ICP) advocacy agenda. Early in 2018, an article written by Gail Mulcair, the Association’s Chief Executive Office, Arlene Pietranton (ASHA), and Cori Williams (SPA) appeared in the special edition of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (IJSLP), titled “Communication is a human right: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. The ICP article titled, “ The International Communication Project: Raising global awareness of communication as a human right ”, outlines the advocacy work and agenda of the ICP, and how the ICP is striving to raise the profile and status of communication disabilities with international health bodies and policy makers. Professor Sharynne McLeod was the guest editor for the special IJSLP edition and has been a champion in raising international awareness of communication as a human right. Throughout 2018 members of Speech Pathology Australia have attended a number of workshops and forums to promote communication as a human right against the backdrop of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the year, sessions were presented at the ASHA Convention in Boston as well as a forum at the University of Technology

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December 2018 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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