– Narayan Dhungana
The Seventh International Conference on ‘Developmental Disabilities’ began in Rajshahi in Bangladesh to discuss about global efforts being made to development capacity of the persons with disabilities and challenges they face worldwide. The event kicked off Friday.
Over 500 representatives from Nepal, Malaysia, China, Spain, Bangladesh, the US, India, Japan, Portugal, Sri-Lanka and Sweden are attending the conference. The delegates include psychiatrics, psychologist, health experts and those working and researching in the field of psychology who will exchange their experiences in the respective fields.
The conference is focused on finding out the mental status of the people with disabilities, ways for improving their condition, country-wise situation of disabilities, how works are going on there to deal with the issues and sharing experiences by seeking ways to face challenges towards that end.
International Chair of Socio-Individual Development through Collaboration (SIVUS) International Dr Katsuhiro Yamashita said the major objective of the conference was to contribute significantly for the meaningful life of persons with disabilities, their guardians and those taking their care and protection.
The event is organised by the SIVUS International which was founded in 1974. It focuses on collaborative efforts for the promotion of mental health of the people with disabilities, their management and capacity development.
It had held its first conference in 1993 in Norway. Similarly, it organised similar programmes in Japan in 1997, in Kolkata of India in 2002 and 2018 and in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh in 2009 and 2006.
The institution has been working on protection of the human rights of the people with disabilities as well as promoting the quality of their living conditions and their mental health.
SIVUS International’s vice-chair Prof Dr Antonio Pinto Moterio opined the methodology adopted by SIVUS was useful for every country as it incorporated multiple topics related to the people with disabilities.
Rajshahi University, Department of Psychology, Centre for Mental Health director Prof Dr Anawarul Hasal Sufi also reiterated that the methodology adopted by SIVUS would be important in promoting the mental health of people with disabilities in South Asia.
Professor at the University Dr Chaudhary M Zakira and SIVUS International Bangladesh vice-chair Prof Dr Sultana Najin said the severity of the physical and mental health of people with disabilities could be improved through timely intervention.
Lecturer at Department of Psychology of Tripura University, India Dr Anjana Bhattacharya stressed the need of incorporating the collaborative approach in the school curriculum itself.
The two-day conference will discuss 60 working papers on six major themes. Four papers will be presented from Nepal. It will also issue the Rajshahi Declaration on disability.
The major themes of the conference are ‘Dementia seen in Older Persons’, ‘Prevention of Suicide’, Historical Evolution of Psychology and Present Situation of Bangladesh’, ‘Management of Stress while Taking Care of Children with Autism’, ‘Dialectic Behaviour Therapy’ and ‘Vocational Skills and Social Participation for People with Intellectual Disability’.
Chinese Psychologists Association’s Chairperson Prof Dr Buxin Han presented the paper on dementia and the Japanese psychologist Prof Dr Akira Dusda on prevention of suicide.
As the conference has witnessed the presentation of several papers on promotion of mental health of the physically challenged persons, it is expected that it would help reduce the mental health problems.
Four working papers are being presented by Nepali experts including Prof Dr Usha Kiran Subba, Chairperson of The School of Psychology Nepal, psychologist Dr Narendra Singh Thagunna, lecturer at Central Department of Psychology, TU, Khemaraj Bhatta, founder chairperson of The School of Psychology Nepal, Padma Raj Joshee.
Even the psychological counselors and teachers have been attending the conference.
According to the World Health Organization, 15 percent of the total population of the world (one out of seven) is living with disabilities. In Nepal too, 1.94 percent people are living with disabilities.