UNESCO Beirut recently published ‘Promoting the Inclusion of Children and Young People with Disabilities in Education in the Arab Region’. The report analyses inclusive education in Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and makes recommendations for future actions. The report focuses on persons with disabilities but recognises that other groups of learners are marginalised within or excluded from educational provision. It highlights progress achieved and still required and urges governments to take action.

Download the report in English and Arabic.

This report was launched to coincide with the recent COP27, UN Climate Change conference in Egypt. The full report title is ‘Missing in Climate Action: Stories of persons with disabilities from the Global South’. It shares the experiences of people with disabilities affected by the climate crisis in Madagascar and Bangladesh, and highlights that people with disabilities can play a significant role in tackling the climate crisis.

The report looks primarily at the impact on livelihoods, health and wellbeing and only mentions education in passing. But we’re sharing it because it offers an important look at how climate change affects the most vulnerable.

Climate change is an urgent issue none of us can ignore and we call on our readers to write about and share experiences and ideas relating to climate change and inclusive education. You write it, we’ll share it!

Atlas Alliance recently released an update of their advocacy toolkit, first published in 2021. This revised edition is based on experiences from advocacy before, during and after the Global Disability Summit (GDS) that took place in February 2022.

The toolkit was developed with advocacy with the GDS and disability rights in mind but it can be used to guide human rights advocacy more broadly.

Download the Advocacy Toolkit for Civil Society (PDF).

EENET’s Arabic Language Community has started an exciting new small project. Over the next 6 months we will support a group of education professionals from various countries in the Arab region to become effective and published authors on the topic of inclusive education.

The project was kick-started with two short e-workshops on 13 and 14 November 2022. Participants discussed and learned more about inclusive education, action research, critical thinking, communication skills, and practical tips for writing accessible short articles. During the next few months, with one-to-one support from EENET’s ALC Facilitator and peer support, they will conduct action research and draft easy-to-read articles about inclusive education in their contexts.

Ultimately, they will contribute to a short Arabic-language publication like the Enabling Education Review. Long-term we hope this group of action researchers and writers will help other stakeholders in their localities to document and share their inclusive education experiences and ideas.

EENET is keen to expand our writer mentoring project within and beyond the Arab region, so please contact us if you would be interested in supporting this work.