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UN holds cultural event for International Day of Persons with Disabilities

December 4, 2015
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife, Yoo Soon-taek, visit an exhibition by Korean artist Kim Geun-tae inside U.N. headquarters Thursday for International Day of Persons with Disabilities. (Yonhap)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife, Yoo Soon-taek, visit an exhibition by Korean artist Kim Geun-tae inside U.N. headquarters Thursday for International Day of Persons with Disabilities. (Yonhap)

The United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities Thursday was celebrated by a cultural event inside its New York City headquarters.

“The theme for this day says it all: inclusion matters,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. “Let the message from ths international community be clear. Together, with persons with disabilities, we can achieve an inclusive, accessible and sustainable future for all.”

The day was first designated by the U.N. in 1992.

The event included a performance by a performance group comprised of persons with disabilties from South Korea. Members included violinist Park Chan-yeon, clarinetists Kim Ha-neul, Kwak Seul-beom and Kim Beom-soon and classic guitarist Lee Sang-heon, all current or former music school students.

In the first-floor gallery of the United Nations, an exhibit displaying the works of Korean painter Kim Geun-tae, opened this week, attracted a visit from Ban and his wife, Yoo Soon-taek.

Kim, who is himself partially blind and who suffers from impaired hearing, has focused his work on shedding light on the disabled.