The business case view Jeremy continues on his theme that if employers wish to take disability employment seriously then a perspective view is necessary. In this third of four podcasts produced by Lois Strachan, Jeremy Opperman explores the business case for disability inclusion as the third part of his trinocular view model. Moving away from the other two views or lenses , the legislative compliance view and the human rights view, Jeremy states that the READ MORE
Category: Disability Inclusion
Perspectives on employing Persons with Disabilities (2/4)
The Human Rights view In this podcast, produced by Lois Strachan and the second of four episodes, Jeremy Opperman continues on his trinocular theme of needing to look at the employment of persons with disabilities with perspective. Taking into account not just the legislative requirement to employ people with disability but for employers to look through two other lenses as well – the human rights lens and the business case lens – if they wish READ MORE
Perspectives on employing Persons with Disabilities (1/4)
The Legislative View The importance of perspective in understanding the employment of persons with disabilities. In this podcast, the first in a series of four episodes, produced by Lois Strachan, Jeremy Opperman discusses the complexity of employing people with disabilities in the South African context. With his characteristic frankness and drawing on his 24 years of disability inclusion experience, he unpacks the fundamental pro’s and con’s and challenges of fixating on legislative compliance rather than READ MORE
Is there Room in the Diversity Narrative for Disability?
At lunch recently with a bunch of people I didn’t know, I was reminded again how separated we, as People with Disabilities are. I was once again fascinated by the level of basic ignorance, displayed by normal average folks, about the basic capabilities of blind people, and the various bits of kit available to them, talking watches, Voice-over on the iPhone, (and you should have seen their faces when I told them that the phone READ MORE
There is No Such Thing as an Accessible Train…(on its own)
Reading a helpful tweet from Metrorail about how they can be of service and, bearing in mind that it is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, made me think of the recent rail excursion involving the Western Cape Disability Network, which included this writer. At the time, several people with visual and physical disabilities, caught the new “People’s Train” or “Blue Train”, which had long been vaunted by Metrorail as being accessible. The point of the exercise was READ MORE
Paws for Thought:
“Ok, left, left, good boy!”“Find the pole, find the pole, good boy!”“Wait, ok, forward.”“Find the kerb, good boy.”“Find the pole, good boy!”“Forward, find the kerb, good boy!” And so begins Jeremy and Guide-Dog Ronnie’s journey to a nearby park.
A Brief Overview of Blindness in South Africa
by Jeremy Opperman and Lois Strachan To say that South Africa was a complex country with regard to disability in general and blindness in particular would be a woeful understatement. Some explanation and historical context may be helpful. South Africa as a democratic country is less than 30 years old. Prior to 1994 SA was a racially divided and segregated society. At face value, this could be stated as a divide between Black and White. READ MORE