Blog

[Webinar]:**Deadline expired** Sign up for the Global Disability Summit, 14-17 February 2022

Date: 14 – 17 February 2022.

The Global Disability Summit (GDS) is an important global event to promote disability rights and disability in development. It offers a concrete mechanism for collecting new, ambitious, and widespread commitments which are critical to achieving real change for persons with disabilities.

The first Global Disability held in 2018 (GDS18) was a historic event for disability inclusion, co-hosted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of Kenya, and the International Disability Alliance (IDA). The GDS18 inspired unprecedented engagement and generated commitments to action that will help deliver Agenda 2030’s vision to ‘Leave No One Behind’ (LNOB) as well as existing obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The GDS provides a great opportunity to make the disability inclusion work of DPOs and NGOs more known, and to intensify the advocacy, and thereby to achieve results that make a difference in the lives of persons with disabilities.

Sign up and invite others to participate.

**Deadline expired** Civil society speakers needed for the Global Disability Summit & Civil Society Forum 2022

Dates: 16 – 17 February 2021.

Read more on the Global Disability Summit website.

The International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Government of Norway, and the Government of Ghana will host the second Global Disability Summit on 16 and 17 February 2022 (GDS2022). The Summit will be mainly virtual.

The hosts of the Global Disability Summit, along with the Civil Society Reference Group, are making a call for speakers for the main Summit and the Civil Society Forum. Read the information and application form.

Deadline for applications: Friday 21 January 2022.

Home learning materials distributed in Puntland

78 educational staff and volunteers delivered home learning booklets and posters to 930 marginalized households in late December in Puntland, Somalia.

The home learning resources were developed by EENET and NAD and adapted for Somalia in collaboration with Save the Children, ADRA and with guidance from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education. The resources show parents and families what learning looks like at home and in the community and help families support their children’s ongoing learning at home, even after they return to school.

 

A mother and her children are sat on a mat on the floor and are being shown some of the home learning materials by a volunteer distributor
A mother and her children are sat on a mat on the floor and are being shown some of the home learning materials by a volunteer distributor

Printed copies of the home learning materials can also be found in the EENET shop.

[Paper]: Inclusive education and assistive technology

Paula Hunt (2021) ‘Inclusive education: The case for early identification and early intervention in assistive technology‘.

This paper, published in the journal Assistive Technology, argues that, if assistive technology is an enabler for learning, then the processes by which children with disabilities are identified as users of assistive technology must take place as early as possible in the lifecycle.

**Deadline expired** [Webinar] Global Disability Summit: Inclusive Education Thematic Workshop

Date and time: Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 9:00 am ET – 10:30 am ET.

Register in advance.

All are invited to join an inclusive education focused thematic workshop in the lead up to the
Global Disability Summit (GDS) to help build momentum and interest before the GDS in
February 2022.

The Inclusive Education Thematic Workshop will provide an opportunity for
world leaders, policymakers, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), funders,
international organizations, civil society organizations, advocates, and other important
stakeholders to convene and discuss lessons learned and best practices going forward. This
workshop will also provide a time to highlight stakeholders who have made GDS commitments to inclusive education and hold all stakeholders accountable to ensure that learners with disabilities are fully included in any and all international development efforts going forward.

For more information reach out to Stephanie Peña
(spena@gce-us.org) or Christa Giesecke (cgiesecke@gce-us.org).

Follow the events on Twitter with the hashtags #GDSIE #GDS2022
#InclusiveEducation #CommitToChange

[Webinar] Gender-Responsive Return to School “post” COVID-19: Perspectives from the Field

Date: 2 December 2021.

Time: 13:00 UTC.

Register online.

This webinar will highlight gendered barriers to returning to the school “post” COVID-19 and share ways in which programs have adapted to overcome those barriers. Speakers from Bangladesh, Kenya, Niger and Zimbabwe will showcase programmes on alternative learning opportunities for out-of-school-children and youth, engaging men and boys in combating gender-based violence, and addressing the psychological effects of COVID-19 on learners and educators.

[Webinar] The right to quality education for learners with disabilities: What makes a learning environment inclusive?

Date: 9 December 2021.

Time: 11:00 – 13:00 CET.

Full details and online registration.

This webinar is co-organized by UNESCO and Humanity & Inclusion (HI) on the occasion of the 2021 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December). It will provide a platform to share experiences and best practices, and to discuss policies and practices that support an inclusive learning environment, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar will bring together a range of key stakeholders who are drivers of change to foster inclusive learning environments.

Interpretation will be available in: English, French, Spanish and International sign language.