VSA is seeking partners from around the world to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2010. This will be done through a collaborative video screening, designed to generate public awareness of and support for this year’s theme. The theme is “Keeping the promise: Mainstreaming disability in the Millennium Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond.” Please submit an expression of interest by October 1, 2010.

Keeping the promise for disability-inclusive Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Persons with disabilities represent key target groups in all the MDGs, yet disability and the concerns of persons with disabilities still remain to be included in MDG processes and mechanisms. Their lack of representation could negatively impact on progress in the achievement of the MDGs.

Although, Governments, global leaders, policy-makers and other stakeholders acknowledge the need for disability-inclusive development, they must be supported in their efforts and be reminded to keep their promises. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, 2010, can be used to further ensure the full and effective participation of persons with disability in all aspects of societal life and development

Collaborative Video Screening

On the evening of December 3, 2010, selected partners will screen a high-resolution DVD video by the artist Simon Mckeown on an outdoor white to near white public building using a high-powered projector. Mckeown is internationally recognized for his moving digital sculpture, Motion Disabled, which uses motion-capture technology to record the physical movements of people with disabilities. http://www.motiondisabled.com

Partners are expected to:

• Secure a building (white to near white) on which to project the DVD video at night.
• Procure the high-powered (lumen) outdoor projector necessary for the projection per the artist’s specifications noted below.
• Distribute printed materials to inform people about the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the partnering organizations, and VSA. VSA will produce and distribute printed materials to each partnering organization.
• Encourage audiences to film their interactions with the screenings by uploading personal videos on VSA’s YouTube channel in order to document reactions.
• Ensure professional photography and video of the site

Video Specifications

Simon Mckeown
Motion Disabled, 2009
3D Motion Capture and Video Projection
Loops for approximately 10–15 minutes
© Simon Mckeown 2009—Supported by The Wellcome Trust and Teesside University , UK .

The screening will require:

• One flat side of a large white to near white building that has minimal obstruction
• AV specialist(s)
• A high-powered (lumen) HD, PAL, or NTSC projector (resolution at lines per inch: 1920 x 1080)
• A power source
• Lights on the building walls and nearby projection surface to be switched off
• Security provisions for overnight projection
• Weather-resistant equipment or protective storage

VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, was founded more than 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and to increase access to the arts for all. With 52 international affiliates and a network of nationwide affiliates, VSA is changing perceptions about people with disabilities around the world. Each year, 7 million people of all ages and abilities participate in VSA programs, which cover all artistic genres. VSA is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit www.vsarts.org.

For more information or to submit your expression of interest, contact us at December3@vsarts.org.

Geraldine Simonnet
VSA Director of Program Partnerships
(202) 628-2800 • TTY (202) 737-0645