HIMS Instrumental in Launch of United Nations Accessibility Centre in New York City
New York City, New York (PRWEB) December 10, 2013 -- The United Nations inaugurated its first Accessibility Centre with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, on December 4, 2013, just one day after the observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The Centre is located on the ground level of the UN headquarters in New York City, and is designed to provide people with hearing, vision and physical disabilities better access to intergovernmental processes. The devices now showcased in the Centre allow UN dignitaries, members, staff and official visitors to easily access UN documents and to fully participate in meetings at the headquarters.
The creation of this Accessibility Centre comes in response to the mandate of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the recent Human Rights Council Decision (A/HRC/DEC/19/119*), and represents a landmark achievement in creating an inclusive and accessible United Nations for all. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, that this facility was, “A model of the digital United Nations we are trying to create.” He continued, “ [Tuesday, December 3rd] was the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Today we prove that we care about this issue all year ‘round.”
HIMS is supporting this monumental UN initiative with a donation of its state-of-the-art assistive devices that help people who are blind or have low vision. HIMS devices showcased in the Centre include a CANDY GRIP Handheld Video Magnifier, LifeStyle HD Desktop Video Magnifier, Braille Sense U2 and U2 QWERTY Braille Notetakers and BookSense XT DAISY Digital Talking Book player.
HIMS was represented at the inaugural ceremonies by HIMS Inc. President, James McCarthy, Director of Sales, Randy Ahn, and invited guests from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). “HIMS was honored to participate in this special event establishing the United Nations Accessibility Centre,” said James McCarthy — who himself is legally blind. He continued, “We were able to make a significant contribution to the Centre with the donation of our very popular assistive devices for people who are blind or have low vision, and look forward to playing an ongoing role in this important international initiative.”
For more information about this event or the Centre read the UN press release, “Ban Inaugurates Accessibility Centre at UN Headquarters” or visit the UN Accessibility Centre’s official website. For more information about HIMS and the company’s popular line of innovative assistive technology products for people with vision impairments, please call 888-520-4467 or visit http://www.hims-inc.com.
Since its founding 15 years ago, HIMS has been devoted to improving the outlook for the visually impaired through the development of technology products for the blind and low vision. HIMS Inc., an Austin, Texas-based company that specializes in assistive technology products is a wholly owned subsidiary of HIMS International Corporation.
Michele Paley, HIMS, http://www.hims-inc.com, +1 (888) 520-4467 Ext: 301, [email protected]
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