SM shares PWD social inclusion efforts in US Embassy Forum
Photo shows (L-R) SM Supermalls President
Annie Garcia, SM VP Bien Mateo, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, and United
Architects of the Philippines’ Committee on Accessibility Chair, Arch. Jaime Silva
during the event.
Just days after the culmination of the Philippine
National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, the U.S. Embassy held a
forum to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities
(ADA) act. The forum, entitled “PWD Rights: Diversity and Social Inclusion”,
served as an avenue for inclusive dialogue between PWD advocacy groups and various
stakholders like the academe, the government, and private companies.
Distinguished members of the panel included
Senator Sonny Angara, Honorable US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, National Council
on Disability Affairs (NCDA) Executive Director Carmen Zubiaga, Executive Vice
President and CEO of Tahanang Walang Hagdanan (TWH) Joy Cevallos-Garcia,
Be-medaled Paralympian Powerlifter Adeline Dumapong, and SM Vice President for
Operations and Program Director of Disability Affairs Bien Mateo.
US Ambassador Goldberg expressed his
gratitude to all the stakeholders present during the forum, with special
mention to SM, which according to him has done so much in the area of
disability affairs.
SM VP Mateo affirmed during his talk that
SM is strongly advocating for PWD inclusion and that several programs under SM
Cares underscore this advocacy. Some of the projects he mentioned were the Angels
Walk for Autism, the Happy Walk for Down Syndrome, the earthquake resilience
briefing for Senior Citizens and PWDs, and the SM Supermalls’ special screening
of audio descriptive movies for the blind and the deaf.
The forum concluded with the agreement that
providing equal opportunities and helping PWDs to become active and
contributing members of the community are necessary in creating a caring, nurturing,
and more sustainable society.
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