(NAME-MCE) 2008 Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities

Fri Oct 5 16:07:53 EDT 2007

24TH ANNUAL PACIFIC RIM CONFERENCE ON DISABILITIES
April 14 & 15th, 2008
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort
Honolulu, Hawai'i

Aloha.  Please see below general information about the 2008 Pacific
Rim Conference on Disabilities and specific information on 4 topic
areas in which I'm personally involved:  Independent Living; ;
Postsecondary Education; Disability Studies and International Human
Rights.
It's a lot of information because it's shaping up as a spectacular conference!
Steve

Please visit our website at www.pacrim.hawaii.edu for proposal
submission information.

This year CDS is celebrating 20 years of academic and community
excellence. Considering the excitement of this special anniversary,
and the overwhelmingly positive outcomes of previous Pacific Rim
Conferences, this is an event you won't want to miss.

As a part of the celebration, we have broadened our program to better
reflect the diverse topics encompassed by the field of Disability
Studies. Your participation and proposals are vital to make the 2008
Pacific Rim Conference the most successful yet.

Program topics are chosen each year based on suggestions from previous
conferences, the latest industry trends, and community need. Proposals
from around the world are accepted and should address best practices
and innovation within the selected program topic.

This year's program is designed to address multiple topics including:
•	Autism
•	Disability Studies: Envisioning our Future
•	Empowering People with Disabilities:  Independent Living
•	Employment:  Building a New Workforce that is Innovative and Inclusive
•	Family Supports
•	Hidden Disabilities
•	International Disability Rights
•	Native Hawaiian Education
•	Pacific Footprints of Change: Walking the Talk
•	Teach to Reach All Learners
•	Technologies for Realizing Potential and Building Community
•	Transition to Adulthood

There will also be numerous pre- and post-conference meetings,
workshops and forums including International Forum 2008: Securing the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Now is the time for you and your colleagues to consider submitting to
the Pac Rim Call for Papers.  Please visit
http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu and click on "Call for Papers" for
complete details.

If you have attended previous Pac Rim Conferences, we look forward to
seeing you again. If you have considered attending before but haven't,
this is the year for you to visit our lovely islands and experience
one of the country's largest conferences on disabilities.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Aloha,

Valerie Shearer and Charmaine Crockett

EMPOWERING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:  INDEPENDENT LIVING

"Disability is a natural part of the human experience."
Justin Dart

"Disability is Natural"
Kathie Snow

Lead Speaker:  Judy Heumann—one of the founders of the Independent
Living Movement and internationally known advocate

Living with a disability is a fact of life that almost everyone will
experience, either personally, or with family or friends.  How does a
person with a disability live independently in today's society?  This
topic area will address:

1.  What is independent living?
2.  Is independent living different in 2008 than when it came about in
the 1970s?
3.  What does it mean to say one is living independently?
4.  How does independent living relate to educational settings?
5.  How does independent living impact transitioning young and old to
the community?

Presenters will include noted speakers, advocates, consumers,
researchers, and practitioners. Please consider submitting a proposal
for a breakout session, a panel discussion, or a poster display. (The
submissions deadline is Monday, November 12, 2007).

For more information or to submit a proposal visit:
http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/submissions or contact the topic leaders:
 Patricia Lockwood at patl at pacificil.org or Steve Brown at
sebrown at hawaii.edu. For information about the Pacific Rim 2008
Conference please contact prinfo at hawaii.edu or call 956-7539.

POST PACIFIC RIM CONFERENCE ON DISABILITIES

SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS
IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

When & Where:  Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sheraton Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii
9:00am to 4:00pm

PURPOSE:  To provide professional development activities related to
postsecondary education, for attendees across a range of skill levels
and abilities.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:  Persons associated with postsecondary education
including instructional and support faculty, disability support
personnel, high school personnel, administrators, persons with
disabilities, and family members of persons with disabilities.

AGENDA: 	
9:00 to 9:30 - Introductions and Overview		
9:30 to 11:00 – Universal Design for Learning and Instruction	
11:00 to 11:30 – Overview of Hidden Disabilities		
11:30 to 12:30 – Student Panel
12:30 to 1:30 -  Lunch Provided
1:30 to 3:30 – Assistive Technology Lab and Hands on Exploration
3:30 to 4:00 – Wrap up and closing

All participants must be registered
Fee: $25.00 Registration Fee

To register please contact
Velina Sugiyama
Center on Disability Studies
1776 University Avenue, UA4-6
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: 808 956-5688
Fax: 808 956-7878
Email: Velina at hawaii.edu

Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Postsecondary Education

DISABILITY STUDIES: ENVISIONING OUR FUTURE
Pacific Rim Conference
April 14-15, 2008
Sheraton Waikiki
Honolulu, Hawaii

Disability studies is us looking out at the world and seeing how that
looks to us
 -Simi Linton
Advocate, Scholar and Author

In recent years the focus of Disability Studies has become
increasingly interdisciplinary and multicultural.  The Pacific Rim
Conference strand on Disability Studies seeks proposals for
presentations that envision the possibilities of future collaboration
between Disability Studies and other fields of study.  The strand
leaders are particularly interested in presentations that focus on
disability as a sociological and cultural phenomena within the context
of the social sciences, humanities, and arts and sciences.  The strand
will consist of (a) noted speakers (b) breakout sessions; c)
discussion panels; and (d) poster displays/presentations.  Unpublished
papers accompanying accepted presentations will be considered for
publication in a special issue of the "Review of Disability Studies:
An International Journal."

Proposals are due November 12, 2007.  For more information about the
Disability Studies Strand or to submit a  proposal go to
http://pacrim.hawaii.edu/submissions
For further information about the strand please contact the strand leaders:
Megan Conway at mconway at hawaii.edu, Steve Brown at sebrown at hawaii.edu
or Norma Jean Stodden at nstodden at hawaii.edu.  For information about
the Pacific Rim Conference in general please contact the conference
organizers at prinfo at hawaii.edu

INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY RIGHTS
The Pacific Rim Conference program on International Disability Rights
seeks proposals from persons interested in presenting stories or
information that will further discussions of the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The topic
leaders are particularly interested in presentations focused on: the
challenges faced by countries in the implementation process; obstacles
in the progressive realization of rights for persons with
disabilities; relevant encouraging prospects and examples of success;
and best practices for making 'rights' a reality for all. This topic
area will feature noted speakers, breakout sessions, panel
discussions, and poster display/presentations.
For more information on this strand, including registration materials,
please see http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/pacriminfo/pacrim2008/events/internationalForum/
or contact the topic leaders: Robert A. Stodden at stodden at hawaii.edu,
Steve Brown at sebrown at hawaii.edu, Katharina Heyer at
heyer at hawaii.edu, or Charmaine Crockett at cccrocke at hawaii.edu.

-- 
Steven E. Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Center on Disability Studies, www.cds.hawaii.edu
Editor, Review of Disability Studies, www.rds.hawaii.edu
1776 University Ave., UA4-6
University of Hawai'i
Honolulu, HI 96822
808-956-0996
808-956-7878 (fax)
Co-Founder
Institute on Disability Culture
http://web.mac.com/disculture
Movie Stars and Sensuous Scars:
    Essays on the Journey from Disability Shame to
    Disability Pride
information at:
http://web.mac.com/disculture/iWeb/Site/Movie_Stars_and_Sensuous_Scars.html

Call for Papers Now Open!
24th Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities
April 14-15, 2008
www.pacrim.hawaii.edu
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort, Honolulu