The Roosevelt Institute presented the first Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award to the Republic of Korea at a ceremony in San Francisco on September 15.

The Award, which was accepted on behalf of Korea by President Kim Young Sam, was established on the 50th anniversary of the United Nations by the Roosevelt Institute and the World Committee on Disability to encourage nations to fulfill the goal of the United Nations World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons.

"Under President Kim, Korea has made significant strides in improving the quality of education, rehabilitation and the general welfare of its citizens with disabilities," said Ford Roosevelt, a grandson of FDR. "Major legislation has been enacted to mandate equal rights and full participation of persons with disabilities. Of course, much remains to be done to fulfill the goals of the UN World Programme for Action-in Korea, the United States, everywhere in the world-but Korea, under your leadership, has made a courageous, inspiring start."

Mr. Roosevelt presented President Kim with a bronze bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt by the distinguished artist, Jo Davidson, and a check for $50,000 which will be distributed to a Korean non-governmental organization working in support of the UN World Programme. In accepting the award, President Kim stated that his government would intensify efforts to expand the participation of persons with disabilities in the Republic of Korea, and he has already taken steps to do so.

"We are enormously pleased that the government of Korea has decided to augment the Institute's monetary prize by establishing a special fund to which the Korean government has added $1.5 million," said William J. vanden Heuvel, President of FERI. The fund will be administered by the Federation of Korean Non- Governmental Organizations for the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. To further the UN Programme and to promote the spirit of FDR in Korea, ten outstanding Koreans with disabilities will be recognized each year with medals and cash awards from the fund.

The goal of the United Nations World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons is the full and equal participation of the world's persons with disabilities in the life of their societies. The selection of the Republic of Korea for the Award was made by FERI with the advice of the World Committee on Disability and individuals knowledgeable about programs for persons with disabilities.

"No experience touched Franklin Roosevelt more than his confrontation with infantile paralysis," noted FERI Director Frederick P. Furth, who presided at the ceremony. "Having conquered polio and its disability, there was nothing left to fear in life--the strength and discipline that he gained from that ordeal served the nation as it served him."

Alan A. Reich, chairman of the World Committee on Disability, the international arm of the National Organization on Disability, noted that, "A half billion men, women and children in the world are unable to participate fully in life because of physical or mental disability. And the numbers are increasing dramatically not only as a result of population growth and advances that preserve and prolong life, but from war, land mines, accidents, malnutrition, substance abuse and environmental damage. Anyone can join the disability family in an instant. The UN World Programme of Action is a beacon of hope."