“I Am Autism”
The Autism News | English
By Autism Speaks
NEW YORK, NY (September 22, 2009) – Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism research and advocacy organization gathered more than 150 First Spouses and dignitaries today for the Second Annual World Focus on Autism. Suzanne Wright, Autism Speaks Co-founder and event host, announced the $100 million “Decade for Autism” initiative challenging nations around the world to fund autism research, awareness campaigns and support services for families in their countries.
The international coalition in attendance was one of the largest gatherings ever of First Spouses, a striking endorsement of global efforts to raise autism awareness. The group, which included Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, Wife of the United Nations Secretary General, Ms. Therese Rein, Wife of the Prime Minister of Australia and Ms. Maria Kaczynska, First Lady of Poland, among many others, heard from a world-class panel of experts from the scientific community and discussed an international pathway to raise global awareness and promote research into this non-discriminative disorder.
In her opening remarks, event chair Mrs. Ban Soon-taek welcomed the international group on behalf of her husband UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stating, “We meet here not as officials but as parents, grandparents and supporters of families. Our mission is to spread the word about autism’s warning signs and to promote treatment options and research.”
Announcing the “Decade for Autism,” Mrs. Wright stated that it “is the proposed timeframe in which we, the members of global autism community, come together to solve the mysteries of this heartbreaking disorder.” Calling for action, she challenged the international delegation convened, “to commit to raising 100 million dollars to fund autism. Working together, all of us who care about this issue can reach this goal by 2020. All we need is your commitment to start funding autism-related research and services in your country.”
Bob Wright, Autism Speaks Co-founder, shared some of the major accomplishments of the past year’s Global Autism Public Health Initiative and stated that “Autism Speaks has already made a one million dollar commitment to speed our international collaboration efforts, in the areas of science, research and epidemiology. As part of this, we are supporting screening and diagnostic instrument translations in at least eight foreign languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Arabic and Korean. Combined, the eight languages are spoken by an estimated 1.75 billion people worldwide.”
Academy Award-nominated director Alfonso Cuarón and Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer Billy Mann unveiled a video they created especially for this event, called “I Am Autism.” The powerful short film combines footage of individuals with autism and their families from around the world with a poem written by Mr. Mann read by a multitude of voices to show the global face of autism.
“Autism impacts all countries, no matter their size or resources,” said Hassan Ali bin Ali, Chairman of the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs in the State of Qatar. “Through the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah, the Patron of Shafallah, we are doing our best to address the stigma of autism in our region and push the envelope of scientific research to benefit children the world over. The Shafallah Center’s efforts over the next 10 years will result in an investment pledge of approximately $9.8 million dedicated to the ‘Decade for Autism.’”
Other speakers at the World Focus on Autism included: Atty. Jose Miguel T. Arroyo, First Gentleman of the Philippines; and Dr. Helia Molina Milman, Chief of Public Health Policy and promotion, Ministry of Health, Republic of Chile. Additionally, a panel of autism experts that spoke included Dr. Andy Shih, Autism Speaks’ Vice President of Scientific Affairs, Dr. Liri Berisha, President of the Albanian Children’s Foundation and wife of the Albanian Prime Minister, Dr. Young Shin Kim of the Yale Child Study Center, Dr. Hatem El Shanti of the Shafallah Genetics Medical Center, and Dr. Ezra Susser of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Source: http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/united_nations_world_focus_on_autism_2009.php
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