Transcript RC 7 Government Responses ISCI Conf July 2007

Seminario: AIFO, EducAid e DPI Italia
Universita di Bologna
12-13 Ottobre 2007
Educazione Inclusiva e Cooperazione allo Sviluppo
La Convenzione sui Diritti delle Persone con Disabilita
Tavolo Rotonda : Diritto all’Educazione – Vari Approci
- UNICEF David Parker, PhD
Deputy Director
UNICEF IRC
UN Context – Addressing Disability
 Secretariat bodies
UN-DESA
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
 Specialised Agencies
UNESCO, WHO, FAO, …
 Funds and Programmes
UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNIFEM, WFP, UNHCR, …
 Financial Institutions
World Bank, IMF
Regional development banks
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UNICEF Background
 UN agency with mandate for holistic support to child
survival, development, protection, participation (0-18 yrs)
 1946: emergency relief. 1953: development mandate
 Currently ca. 200 offices in 100+ programme countries
 Advocacy & fundraising in donor countries (UNICEF Italia)
 Innocenti Research Centre established in 1988 with Govt
of Italy support, in Florence
Research on cross-cutting and emerging issues
CEE/CIS regional study 2004
“Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities” – Oct 2007
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Disability in UNICEF cooperation
 Country programmes vary in the nature and extent of their cooperation
in the disability area
Government/counterpart interest
Programming opportunities
Record of previous cooperation
 Wide range of counterparts
National government – ministry or agency
Sub-national level
National DPO
Implementing partners – NGOs, others
Any/all counterparts within mainstreaming framework
 Global level
Longstanding engagement, focal point approach
Current locus: Child Protection
Internal programming guidelines, April 2007
Regional level support - advisory
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Cooperation Strategies
 Sectoral approaches – response, support, prevention
Education
Health and nutrition
Child Protection
 Policy support and legislative reform
Disability and human development
CRC mandate, child rights promotion
Disability & the MDGs
CRPD preparation
Social policy & welfare
 Advocacy and partnerships
Alliances with NGOs
Events – e.g. Special Olympics, Shanghai
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Programming elements (range)
 Disaggregated data by disability – enrolment, attendance, completion,
attainment
 Advocacy for child-friendly, rights-based schools framework
 Emphasis on inclusive ECD services and schools at high quality
Including attention to identification of developmental delays and early intervention
Promoting inclusive early learning in all environments
 Promoting inclusion within national education plans, EFA and other key policies
 Support to efforts for accessibility
Awareness raising of parents and communities
Capacity building of teachers & community workers
Flexible and appropriate curricula, teaching methods and learning materials
Improvements in the school environment
Involvement of CWD in developing and monitoring inclusive strategies
 Mobilising and strengthening communities and schools around inclusion
 Expanding life skills education for adolescents and young adults
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Child-Friendly Schools in Thailand
 Integration  Inclusive approach
 Part of education system reform, beginning in 1998
 Components:
Awareness raising on the right of children with disabilities to education
Training of parents, teachers and community leaders in needs assessment
and planning
Training of teachers in new learning strategies and flexible curricula
Life skills and vocational training
 Progress: 346 schools by 2002, >1000 schools nationwide in 2006
 Challenges:
Tracking and monitoring systems
General teacher training in teaching techniques and strategies
Further improving school accessibility
 Mainstreaming and “upstreaming” inclusive approaches
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Key Supporting components for I.I.
within national action
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Parental involvement – overcoming stigma & exclusion
Reducing institutional care
Supporting community approaches
Links to social protection and social security
Establishing priority among education decision makers
Focus on attitudes re children with severe/complex disabilities
Appropriate training for teachers, at all levels
Addressing the concerns/interests from special schools
Targeted funding for inclusive approaches
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Inclusive Education in Emergencies
 Opportunities
Critical for children’s social and psych stability
Involvement of families (parents often not working)
Special schools might not exist
Respite for parents
Schools as safe spaces; protection from abuse and risks
Importance of sport and play
 Challenges
Accessibility
Teacher availability and training
Financial sustainability
Monitoring
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Issues for reflection and research
 Disability and multiple disadvantage
 Age, agency and evolving capacities
 Making the conventions actionable, and stimuli for action
 Anti-labelling: the scope for “casual integration”
 Inclusion in middle income countries: which direction?
 Understanding “what works”, long-term outcomes and the
costs of achieving them
 Evaluation mainstreamed, inclusive environment
 Overcoming resource shortages to address disability
 Building on the momentum of the present moment
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Grazie – Thanks
www.unicef-irc.org
[email protected]