The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The 10th National Day for the Disabled along with the first World Autism Awareness Day will be observed across the country today.

The theme of the National Day for the Disabled is "Social awareness about autism".

The Social Welfare Ministry, National Development Foundation for the Disabled, Social Welfare Department and National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled have jointly organised a rally and a discussion meeting on the day, a press release said.

The rally will be brought out at 10 am from in front of Bangladesh Betar in Agargaon and will end at the Social Welfare Department. After the rally, the discussion will be held in the department's auditorium.

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Social Welfare Brigadier General (retd) M A Malek will lead the rally and spoke as the chief guest at the discussion, while Social Welfare Secretary M A Hai Hawlader will attend it as the special guest.

Representatives of different organizations working with the disabled and officials of the departments concerned will participate in the rally and the discussion.

The United Nations General Assembly decided that the World Autism Awareness Day will observed across the globe on April 2 every year from 2008.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a message on eve of the World Autism Awareness Day, affirmed the UN commitment to the rights and well-being of people with disabilities.

"As we advance the universal human rights of children with disabilities, let us focus on building enabling environments for them to prosper as future members of their communities, citizens of their countries and as fully-fledged members of the global community," he said.