UN Chief – Global Affairs

In his message, Mr. Guterres pointed out that greater collaboration between the public and private sectors is needed to develop strategies that benefit people with disabilities, which should also be involved in their development.

Citing the UN’s internal efforts to make the organization more accessible to people with disabilities, the UN chief described the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy as a roadmap to achieve that goal.

“From headquarters to the field,” he said, “we are working to assess, address and promote digital accessibility and lead by example in the inclusion of people.”

Innovation and technology, he continued, can be powerful tools for inclusion, improving access to information, education and lifelong learning, and opening up new avenues for people with disabilities to participate equally in the labor market and society.

Breaking down barriers, one brushstroke at a time

The United Nations estimates that 15 percent of all people – one in seven – have a disability. Understanding is key to ensuring that these more than a billion people lead full lives, fully integrated into a society that respects their rights and benefits from their contributions.

A newly released UN documentary illustrates this vision of inclusion through the eyes of two South Korean artists with disabilities, offering a fresh perspective on the true meaning of inclusion in today’s diverse world.

Breaking Barriers One Brushstroke at a Time takes the viewer into the homes and lives of the artists who communicate through their images while teaching the audience to listen with their eyes.

Far more than an exercise in social development, the works of these artists with autism have intrinsic artistic value and have been exhibited at the Seoul Arts Center, the largest and most prestigious venue of its kind in the country.

Through interviews with the families and intimate glimpses into the lives and loves of two artists, Hansol Kim and Hyeshin Park, the documentary tells a specific struggle story that also has universal themes: finding our voices in a world that doesn’t listen, expresses truths , rising above the noise, and growing up by accepting who we are and what we can contribute to society.

With a measured pace and imaginative sensibility, Breaking Barriers shows that inspiration is everywhere, disability is a matter of perspective, and that we all share a common humanity that can be captured and understood through art.