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Embedding vital life skills into education to increase access to life opportunities

DONNELLY, Pete (Wheelchair Skills College)
September 2023

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A short talk given in the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

 

Difficulties experienced by children who are wheelchair users, both in use of the wheelchair and also in wider society are briefly described. The set up, and some of the associated issues in the set up,  of an organisation to teach wheelchair skills and life skills to wheelchair users is outlined. 

 

An introduction is given by Dr Tigmanshu Bhatnagar entitled "Innovation: are ecosystems ready to scale for success?"

No tech about us, without us

SALELKAR, Amba (IDA)
BANDUDKA, Maryam (GDI hub)
OJOK, Banya (IDA)
September 2023

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Two short talks concerning the centering of assistive technology projects on persons with disabilities and organisation of persons with disabilities (OPD/DPO). The talks are presented by a representative from IDA in India and one from IDA in Uganda. The talks are introduced by Maryam Bandudka of GDI hub. Story telling, the CPRD, communities of practice and advocacy are mentionned

 

Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

Future tech: revolutionary solutions and AI – the new face of disability inclusion?

HOLLOWAY, Catherine
CHO, Youngjun
CAVE, Richard
MWENDA, Brian
September 2023

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Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

 

Three short talks on future technologies and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). All three emphasise the importance of co-creation with people with disabilities. 

 

Topics in the first talk include: contributions of the use of AI to SDGs; problems with regulation; improved holistic understanding of non-communicable diseases; street route optimisation for peope with visual impairment; speach to text apps; storytelling for people with dementia; self care biosensors; improvements in the information seeking journey (example motor neurone disease)

 

The second relates to experiences in Ghana with people with cerebral palsy/speach and language issues and a speach recognition technology project carried out with Google. Issues with measurement of success are raised.

 

The third introduces work being carried out on mobility solutions for people with visual difficulties in Kenya and Hope Tech.

 

Supporting young children with disabilities in humanitarian settings

BEILER, ROSALENGA BERMAN
ZUIDEMA, SUZANNE
BECKERLEGGE, FIONA
RODRIGUEZ GARCIA, DEBORAH MARIE
June 2022

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The rapid growth that occurs in the first years of life provides an opportunity to influence and improve developmental outcomes that may impact the entire course of an individual's life. Addressing the developmental needs of children with disabilities during this critical period is essential if they are to survive, flourish, learn, and be empowered (WHO, n.d.). 

Recognizing the importance of addressing all children's unique needs and acknowledging the influence of social stigma and misconceptions about disability that may lead to underdeveloped potential and social exclusion, we seek to advocate for and support the inclusion of young children with disabilities in Early Childhood Development in Emergencies programming. 

The webinar was moderated by Rosangela Berman Bieler, UNICEF’s Global Advisor on Disability, and included presentations on foundational concepts for disabilities-inclusive programming, and alternatives to address young children with disabilities needs in a resourceful, creative manner. 

Global Disability Summit 2022 - Oslo, Norway

GLOBAL DISABILITY SUMMIT
February 2022

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The International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Government of Norway, and the Government of Ghana hosted the second Global Disability Summit on 16 and 17 February 2022 (GDS22). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure inclusive participation at the Summit, the event was held on a digital platform.

The first Global Disability Summit (GDS18), held in 2018 in London, generated an unprecedented level of focus on and commitment to disability-inclusive development. 171 national governments, multilateral agencies, donors, foundations, private sector, and civil society organisations made 968 individual commitments. More than 300 governments and organisations signed the GDS18 Charter for Change, encouraging the focused implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The Global Disability Summit 2022 (GDS22) in was built on the results achieved at the first Summit, to further accelerate much-needed progress towards the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide.

The Summit led to concrete commitments that brought genuine change for persons with disabilities. GDS22 gathered a total of 1413 commitments on disability inclusion.

People with disabilities want equality through access and participation. To obtain lasting change at the country level, we seek collaboration with States, multilateral organisations, and civil society. We seek action and we seek the voices of persons with disabilities themselves.

Global Disability Youth Summit and a Civil Society Forum. was also held under the auspices of the GDS22.

 

The Chair's summary, recordings of GDS22, commitments made and the program are available.

Global Disability Youth Summit 2022

GLOBAL DISABILITY SUMMIT
February 2022

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IDA, UNICEF, and the Atlas Alliance, represented by Youth Mental Health Norway, co-hosted a Youth Summit on 14 February 2022 to ensure the inclusion of youth in the Global Disability Summit. 

All planning and decision making around the Summit were led by youth with disabilities, including through the design of a novel format to ensure the participation of youth from around the globe, from local to global.

 

The Summit showcased the innovations of organizations led by youth with disabilities. Youth with disabilities at the local, regional and global levels have created groups and activities, both online and offline, fostering a sense of community, even during the COVID-19 period. Through the Summit, the youth focused on topics that they have identified to be particularly important in this regard, such as participation of youth in OPDs and youth mainstream organizations, inclusive education, deinstitutionalization and community inclusion, access to employment, climate change, new technologies, humanitarian action, access to inclusive healthcare including sexual reproductive health and mental health, among others.

 

A working group consisting of co-hosts and selected partners was responsible for developing a Youth Charter for Change - summing up and challenging the commitments

 

Inclusion of persons with disabilities in social protection for COVID-19 recovery and beyond

COTE, Alex
BALASUBRAMANIAN, Meenakshi
WANGARE, Fatma
HUDA. Karishma
DOS SANTOS, Joaozito
O'BRIEN, Felicity
September 2020

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The COVID-19 crisis has magnified the barriers and inequalities faced by persons with disabilities. Consultation with organisations representing persons with disabilities across regions highlighted the limitation of social protection systems in LMICs to provide adequate support due to lack of social protection schemes, low coverage, and inadequacy of existing schemes. There is little in the way of publicly funded community support services and in some contexts an overreliance on residential institutions, whose users have been disproportionally represented among COVID-19 fatalities. 

In the midst of the crisis, countries have been struggling with inaccessible information (e.g sign language), the lack of universal schemes, and national disability registry for broad outreach and fast relief.

The webinar aimed at providing a global overview of the social protection response for persons with disabilities and their families as well as the different key social protection issues to consider for an inclusive COVID-19 recover

Does the criminal justice system treat disabled people fairly? Inclusive justice: a system designed for all

EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
April 2020

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The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry to understand the experiences of disabled defendants and accused people in the criminal justice system. They looked at:

  • whether their needs are properly identified
  • the types of adjustments being made to accomodate their needs, and
  • whether they can fully participate in court processes and understand the charges they face.

Based on their findings, recommendations are made to UK Governments.

 

The use of video hearings was rapidly expanded in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In April 2020, interim findings from this inquiry were released to help mitigate the risks that this technology poses to disabled people in the criminal justice system.

Video Storybooks from eKitabu

eKitabu
2020

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eKitabu’s Studio KSL and Studio RSL create Kenyan Sign Language and Rwandan Sign Language videos and video storybooks to support accessible, early grade reading

Deaf people in Pacific Island countries. A design for the Pacific deaf strenthening program

JENKIN, Elena
WATERS, Philip
SEN, Krishneer
ADAM, Robert
2019

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Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) is committed to advancing the rights of people with disabilities living in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Developing an evidence base to understand more about deaf children and adults’ experiences and priorities will better assist communities, DPOs, organisations and governments to plan inclusive communities, policy and programs.

 

The development of the design was deliberately planned to be highly collaborative and the team met with 161 people who shared their views. This provided opportunities for deaf people and DPOs to contribute to the design, along with representatives from government, non-government and regional organisations. This collaboration occurred in three countries in the Pacific, namely Solomon Islands, Samoa and Fiji. Within Fiji, the design team met with deaf and DPO representatives of other PIC’s along with regional multi-lateral organisations such as UNICEF and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS). Consultations also occurred remotely with supporting organisations and development workers that are focused on disability inclusion in the Pacific. The design undertook a desk review to learn what is known about deaf children and adults in the Pacific region. Participatory methods ensured the process was highly respectful of the views of deaf people. DPOs, other organisations and governments will be asked to identify to what extent deaf children, adults and their families are participating in services, programs and establishments, and to identify potential supports required to increase deaf people’s participation.  A capacity building element has been carefully built into the design. The report is divided into three parts. Part A rationalizes the design, with background information and a brief desk review to collect evidence from and about deaf children and adults in the Pacific. Part B describes the design development process and reports findings. Part C details the design for the situation analysis.  

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