3rd International Conference "People with Disabilities and Mass Media", 23-24 June 2008
For the third consecutive year, an International Conference on the subject of "People with Disability and Mass Media" was organized and hosted by the Secretariat General of Communication - Secretariat General of Information (SGC - SGI).
The conference was held on June 23-24, 2008 at the Press Centre of the SGC - SGI (Fragoudi 11 & Al. Pantou, Kallithea). Journalists, academics and people with disabilities addressed the conference. In total, the conference hosted 40 speakers from Greece and abroad. Approximately 500 people attended the event, from all over Greece – inlcuding 90 organisation representatives. This big turnout expresses a noteworthy social interest in this conference, which has also now been engrained in the audience’s consciousness. Finally, 1,600 viewers followed the event via internet.
Several themes were discussed, including the following: New Media and Accessibility, Communication and Autism, Paralympics and the Media, the Rights of Children with Disabilities, well as the tally of international experience.
The annual research by the Hellenic Audiovisual Institute (IOM) was presented in the conference, focusing on the position of the media with respect to people with disabilities. Moreover, there was a special section on “Children with disabilities filming,” during which a workshop film directed by children was sceened. During the Conference, an exhibition of paintings by children with disabilities, from the Museum of Children's Art, was on view in the reception area.
The Minister of State, Theodoros Roussopoulos, stressed that the commitments made at last year’s event have been fulfilled and announced the new structure of the 4th Conference, which will take place in 2009: public organisations and people will be invited to present their relative views and proposals via internet and post.
Within the framework of the annual International Conference "People with Disabilities and Mass Media", the 2nd Emotion Pictures: International Documentary Festival on Disability" tooke place on June 21-23, 2008, at the New Benaki Museum for Contemporary Art and Design (138 Piraios Street, Athens).
In total, 300 applicants from 45 countries took part in the festival. Thirty films qualified for the competition, among which seven received awards. The First Prize for Best Feature-length Documentary went to the Israeli documentary film "How Dare You?". The festival attracted 5000 viewers, who were moved by the cinematic images before them.
The conference and the festival now comprise a reference point and a common ground of furtherance of subjects concerning people with disabilities and their mutual rapport with the media.
Communication sponsors of the events were Greek Public Broadcasters ERT and NET 105.8, as well as the ANA-MPA (Athens News Agency-Macedonian News Agency)
For more information on previous People with Disability and Mass Media Conferences visit our archive.