Conclusions and Proposals by the Minister of State and Government Spokesman
Athens, June 20, 2006
Upon closing the sessions of the International Conference on "People with disabilities and Mass Media", organized by the Secretariat General of Communication - Secretariat General of Information, the Minister of State and government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos delivered the following speech:"Ladies and Gentlemen,
Most people begin their speeches by reassuring their audience that they will not speak for long, they will not become tiresome. I, instead, really wish to speak for long, I would really like to become tiresome. Although this conference is coming to an end, none of the speakers began by using these words. And indeed we never got tired. Both yesterday and today, I attended all the sessions and I daresay that these have been two of my most constructive days as a minister. I daresay that I learned things which made me a better person. Judging from the result, I only hope I became a better politician as well, for politicians are judged only in terms of results. I will not speak for long; I will not make any promises, because I prefer the word "commitments".
During the last two days I drew up a text entitled "Initiatives-Commitments" which I will read to you straight away:
1.From now on, the international conference is taking the form of an international congress The second congress- as I consider this to be the first one- will take place next June and it will be organized once again by the Secretariat General of Communication - Secretariat General of Information. Mr, Nikos Voulgaropoulos- whom I must hereby thank for accepting my proposal- is going to preside over the next congress. He is the man who has already succeeded in materializing so many things, through his work on our website and magazine, thus realizing our aim of making the mass media aware of the considerations of people with disabilities.
2.Within the framework of the congress, the Secretariat General of Communication - Secretariat General of Information will establish a prize for the best documentaries, exclusively addressing issues related to the lives of people with disabilities. The five top documentaries will receive the prize of 20,000 euros each. The members of the committee of judges and the terms of participation will be announced by the congress chairman of due time. The screening of the documentaries, along with the awarding of prizes will take place during the next congress in June 2007. Following a proposition made by Mr. Antonis Rellas, (director of the award-winning documentary "Waves of the Aegean sea" and future member of the judging committee), which was endorsed by the president of ERT as well, the awarded documentaries will be broadcast on public television and "Prisma +", which, as you may all know, is already being broadcast.
3.The Hellenic Audiovisual Institute (I.O.M.), under the supervision of its President and General Director Mr. Rodolphos Moronis, will be conducting public opinion survey every year, probing the degree of accessibility of people with disabilities to mass media and vice versa. The first survey will be conducted this year, whereas the next one will take place shortly before the second congress, so that we all can compare the respective figures year by year and mark the progress made, for we wish to see our efforts bear fruit and not remain just plain talk.
4.On the website of the Secretariat General of Communication - Secretariat General of Information, we have created a new section to mark the problems and suggest solutions on the subject "people with disabilities and mass media". All available data will be processed by I.O.M.'s scientific team and the results will be conveyed to the Greek Ombudsman and to the Greek National Council for Radio and Television for further updating. Conclusions will be announced during the congress and published on our new website which, I must note, will be accessible to blind and partially sighted individuals.
5.The Secretariat General of Communication has published, for the consecutive second year a user-friendly yearbook for all journalists, institutions and citizens who wish to possess such an easily accessible handbook. From now on, we are going to publish the yearbook in the Braille system, so that it can be used by all Greek citizens who are partially sighted or blind.
6.In accordance with norms set by other member-states of the EU the Secretariat General of Communication - Secretariat General of Information, in cooperation with unions for people with disabilities and press unions, are going to publish the first guidebook with all the proper or improper terms a journalist must learn to use or avoid when referring to persons with disabilities. We all came to realize, (including myself, because more often than not I felt embarrassed as a journalist, or as a politician later on, not knowing how to address a disabled person, not knowing the proper words), that this is an issue that other European countries dealt with years ago. Nowadays, these countries have come to create important websites and publish guidebooks, similar to the one we are committed to publishing, in coordination with unions for people with disabilities and press unions, so as to help both the journalist and the citizen. In this respect, we are far behind. It is most important that we all receive the proper training, beginning with journalists, who will in turn train all citizens to use a language that does not belittle our fellow-citizens with disabilities. For it is through language that culture is created and shaped and this new culture is what we are aiming at.
7.Having consulted with the President of ERT, we decided that the "telemarathon" scheduled for December 2006 will be dedicated to people with disabilities, with the sole purpose of raising money so as to achieve the goals mentioned herein.
These are seven steps that I commit myself to before you.
This is just the first step. Constantinos Karamanlis used to say: "If you want to take a thousand steps, start with the first". Let us take the first step, so that we can take the next one sooner or later. Better late than never.
If we are to create a new culture, we must accept - as I already did - what Mr. Voulgaropulos said in such an emphatic and vivid manner: we need to show off "the beauty of disability". It is a feasible task, as feasible as the creation of the first digital television channel in Europe proved to be, broadcasting seven hours a day, especially created for people with disabilities.
Greece was among the lowest ranking E.U. countries in terms of digital television. Nowadays, however, we are becoming among the first, due to "Prisma +" which broadcasts thanks to the high spirit and team work exhibited by the staff of ERT I wish that, in a few years' time, the same conclusions will be drawn regarding the goals we have set here during this congress. We want to become pioneers in sensibility and equality; we want to enhance the quality of our democracy.
I will end my speech the same way I did yesterday: we are making a new effort, which will not be limited to conferences, or a pursuit of "talk and no action" policy. - this is why I announced specific steps to be taken. And I would like to witness the conclusion of this effort in due course. I wish that conferences and congresses on this subject will soon be rendered useless and obsolete, because I unquestionably accept what Mr. Fydanidis previously stated: a society that considers these matters as self-evident does not need conferences.
These are my commitments, these are the initiatives, but the specific proposals are up to you. What I have proposed came out of your observations, speeches and suggestions. It is most certain that a lot more will follow. However, there is something I want to insist upon, as I already did during this conference. Let us stick to the part I as a politician share, the Secretariats share, the mass media share. There are many issues to be addressed. Let us try to resolve our share of the problem, i.e. improve the accessibility of the disabled to the Media, improve the accessibility of media to people with disabilities. Only then, having solved a large part of the puzzle, will we have shed light on issues pertaining to other ministries and institutions, but most certainly relevant to what we call public space, what we call communication.
Thank you".