Disabled woman to go on television

PARIS - A woman with Down's Syndrome will realize her dream by presenting a prime-time weather bulletin on French television next week, an advocacy group for the disabled said on Wednesday.

Melanie Segard, 21, a French citizen, will begin training for the broadcast on Tuesday at the studios of public television station France 2, UNAPEI said in the statement.

Segard has scored more than 200,000 "likes" on Facebook in less than two weeks since the association launched a public awareness campaign for Down's Syndrome titled "Melanie Can Do It".

"Hi everyone, my name is Melanie and my dream is to present the weather," she says in the post.

"Seeing the public rally spontaneously around Melanie gives hope to thousands of people with disabilities who are still too often invisible," according to the UNAPEI statement.

Down's Syndrome is a genetic condition with no known cure that typically affects a person's physical and intellectual growth. It affects approximately one in 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. Also known as Trisomy 21, the condition is caused by the presence of an extra or third copy of chromosome number 21.

"Melanie is our ambassador," according to UNAPEI president Luc Gateau.

"We have just proved that a person with a handicap can realize her dream," he said. "Society needs this."

Agence France-Presse

Melanie Segard will present the weather bulletin on French television. AFP