A specialized seminar for media workers, content creators, and representatives of state press services, dedicated to the principles of covering disability issues through the lens of the UN Convention, was held at the United Nations building in Ashgabat. This was reported by the electronic newspaper "Turkmenistan: Golden Age."
Ksenia Siminciuc from the UN Human Rights Office in Moldova served as the expert and moderator of the seminar. She shared valuable experience in implementing a human rights-based approach in her country, dwelling in detail on the fact that the main principle of any activity in this sphere is "Nothing about us without us." This postulate means that any initiatives and programs must be developed with the direct participation of people with disabilities themselves, since they are the experts on matters of their own experience and needs.
Within the framework of sessions on inclusive communication, specialists studied the specific information needs of people with disabilities and examined key aspects of communication etiquette. In the final part of the program, a presentation was held of the UNICEF guide on mental health communications.
According to the UNICEF representative, in order to support open and inclusive communication, it is extremely important to use generally accepted and professional vocabulary. To this end, a dictionary of common terminology was developed, which is available on the official UNICEF website, allowing journalists and content creators to always have reliable reference material on hand for creating ethical materials.
The organizers emphasized that the implementation of inclusive communication principles and reference to approved dictionaries is a necessary step toward creating a society in which every person is perceived as a full-fledged participant in social life, free from harmful labels and prejudice.