Address 7th Helen Keller World Deafblind Conference

Good morning. Welcome to New Zealand, to the 7th Helen Keller World Conference and the founding General Assembly of the World Federation of Deafblind People.

I hope you have all slept well and your body clocks are beginning to adjust to our time zone.

Given recent events in the United States, I want to thank you for continuing with your travel plans so this important event could go ahead.

This is the first time such a prestigious conference has been held in the southern hemisphere. It is wonderful to be able to welcome more than 300 people from 46 different countries – including deafblind participants, their communicators and guide helpers.

Gatherings like this remind us how small our planet is, how inter-connected our interests. They renew hope that we can work and live together. They affirm both our common humanity and your special identity as deafblind people. Thank you for coming.

I want to commend the Waipuna Hotel for the accessible facilities which have made it possible to hold the conference in this venue.

I want to thank our hosts, Deafblind New Zealand, and in particular Jan Scahill, chairperson of the conference committee, and Graham, her husband and right-hand man. Organising an event of this size is a huge job, which Jan and her committee have done superbly.

I also want to acknowledge the work of Deafblind New Zealand, set up 12 years ago by deafblind people for deafblind people. The society has gone from strength to strength and now has member groups in most cities.

I know it has been an uphill battle to get deafblindness recognised as a condition in its own right. Some countries still deny its existence and the fact that they have deafblind citizens.

Which brings me to the first of the three themes for your conference: Identity.

Identity
Deafblind people need to be able to say:
"I am deafblind. I am not a blind person who happens to be Deaf. Nor am I a Deaf person who happens to be blind. I face unique challenges that require special methods of communication, mobility and learning."
Acknowledgement of each person's unique identity lies at the heart of 'a fully inclusive society' - the vision of the New Zealand Disability Strategy, launched by the Labour/Alliance Government in April.

The strategy gives us, for the first time, the framework to begin addressing disability issues across all sectors. That's why Gary Williams, head of the national disability advocacy organisation, DPA, has described it as "the most important thing that has happened to people with disabilities in this country". I agree with him.

The strategy says a fully inclusive society will be realised when (among other things):
·the diversity of people with disabilities is recognised, and there is flexibility to support their differing aspirations and goals;
·people with disabilities are integrated into community life on their own terms; and
·interdependence is recognised and valued, especially the importance of relationships between people with disabilities and their families, friends, whanau and other people who provide support.

Diversity. Integration on your own terms. Interdependence. These are all key features of deafblind identity - supported by the New Zealand Disability Strategy - which will no doubt be explored more fully during this conference.

Rights
Out of a sense of identity spring rights, the second major theme of this conference. It is only when we know who we are - are proud of who we are - that we can stand up for our rights to be valued and supported to participate fully in our communities.

Human rights are guaranteed under international and national law. New Zealand's legislation includes the Bill of Rights Act, the Human Rights Act which the government is in the process of strengthening, and the Privacy Act.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy is a rights-based document. It says that human rights must be 'protected as a fundamental cornerstone of government policy and practice'. One of its 15 objectives focuses solely on ensuring the rights of people with disabilities.

Rights underpin all the other objectives too, which cover things like education, employment, support systems, community living, lifestyle choices, and relevant information.

Communication, and access to information, are key issues for deafblind people. Too often, people are not able to participate fully in society because they cannot get the information they need in the form they need it.

That is why both the discussion document and the final disability strategy were published in Braille, audiotape, large print, easy-to-read and pictorial versions, as well as conventional formats. The result was an impressive 700 submissions from a wide cross-section of the disability sector, including feedback from 68 consultation meetings throughout the country.

Mark Graham, a UK disability consultant, recently ran a number of workshops on disability and conflict resolution in this country. Mr Graham observed that New Zealand is ahead on disability rights legislation, but that the lobbying and political activism needed to back up the law are only just emerging.

"The focus needs to shift to the rights of people with disabilities and their capacity to contribute, and away from the belief that people with disabilities are people who need to be looked after," he said.

Organisations like Deafblind New Zealand - and events such as this conference - strengthen the advocacy arm, and hence the rights, of deafblind people.

Helen Keller, the patron of this conference, was simply the first of many role models who insisted on the right of deafblind people to a happy, meaningful and productive life.

On this note, I am delighted to be able to tell you that the government is in the final stages of contract negotiation with the Royal NZ Foundation for the Blind to provide services specifically for deafblind people - the first official recognition of the need to support deafblind people in their own right.
I know this funding has taken longer to come through than it should have. But I hope it will have positive spin-offs for the deafblind community throughout New Zealand - not only in making specialist services more available, but in helping you gain access to generic services you have been excluded from in the past.

New Zealand is a small country with a small economic base, and deafblindness probably affects somewhere between 1000 and 1500 of our total population. So it is essential that our general support services – our teachers, therapists, doctors, home support services and so on - are all equipped to deal with deafblindness.

The same is true for aged care providers. Older people are the biggest - but least visible - group in the deafblind population. Too often, they are isolated in their own homes without enough support or moved into residential care, where their dual sensory loss is not noticed or considered an inevitable part of growing old.

Raising public awareness is a key aspect of the New Zealand Disability Strategy - particularly since consultation showed that negative attitudes are the biggest barrier preventing people with disabilities from participating fully in our communities. .

The Like Minds Like Mine media campaign, where high-profile New Zealanders describe their personal experience of mental illness, has been very effective in increasing public understanding and reducing discrimination in this area. I am keen to support a similar campaign for disabilities in general.

A number of other initiatives are also in the pipeline. I am pleased to say that we are making excellent progress towards the provision of TTY services, and I will be very interested to hear the outcome of Bobbie Blackson's workshop on expanding these services for deafblind people in Australia.

We are also working hard to get recognition of New Zealand Sign Language as an official language.

Unity
Finally, I would like to say a few words about unity, the third theme of the conference.

Deafblindness is relatively rare. To maintain a distinct identity, you must be united – as individuals, across organisations and countries.

This is a challenge. While all deafblind people share communication, learning and mobility needs, these needs vary enormously according to age, onset and type of deafblindness.

Unity cannot mean a 'one size fits all' approach. But it does mean defining a common deafblind identity, sharing information and good practice, and networking across national boundaries - all of which is happening at this conference.
The Nordic Centre for training deafblind interpreters is an excellent example of what can be achieved when countries work together.
Advances in technology and the internet also provide opportunities for communication and cooperation that were unimaginable in the past.

Like it or not, ours is a global world. The founding General Assembly of the World Federation of Deafblind People, to be held on Thursday and Friday, is a testimony to the growing strength and unity of the international deafblind movement.

Congratulations for setting up the federation and for your commitment to making the world a better place for deafblind people. I wish you all the best over the next four days as you discuss what it means to be deafblind.

As New Zealand's first Minister for Disability Issues, I can assure you that you have my full support. And now it is my great pleasure to declare the 7th Helen Keller World Conference officially opened.

Thank you.