SPEAKER:
A warm welcome to all of you in the room, and on the live stream. For this session, we have prepared for you
a very nice agenda and disseminating affordable educational programs, and technology. My name is Sylvia Roozen, Secretary-General
of the National Federation for spina bifida, and hydrocephalus. This a real pleasure to be here today, and
also moderate this important session, whereby we will reflect on the important aspects of
affordable educational programs, and dissemination. It
is also about the actions that we can do
together, that make a real difference in the upcoming time ahead of us. For this session, we do follow a tight schedule,
which allows for discussions later on in the lunch breaks, and of course, throughout the
air. As a starting point for this session, let
me start by introducing today's topic, leaving no one behind. If we can have the slide up, please. The core principle of this year's conference,
and of course, the 2030 agenda, is a central promise, and
here on the screen, you see Christopher. A young man, who is 29 years old with spina
bifida. The picture reflects the general principle
of why we are here together, namely building inclusive societies, and of course, the core
principles must be at the heart, when we think about planning and dissemination programs,
but it goes beyond the benefits of safeguarding, and is of course, a very natural diversity
process. What does this mean in the context of today's
session with regards to disseminatio
n methods? For this session today, we have great leaders
in the field sitting left and on the right from me, and they will share with you later,
several best practices on local, regional, and even global levels. From developing accessible digital textbooks,
to reaching underserved communities. Technology itself does not allow for inclusion,
unless it is paired with inclusive mentality and behaviour. On the one hand, we can of course, in order
to align with their human rights on inclusive educati
on, it needs to be fostering inclusion,
and not following segregation disguises inclusion. What we often find that well intended programs
do not allow for full inclusion, because there is a difference, and that is why it is good
to keep in mind for this meeting, integration is not about simply placing persons with disabilities
in existing mainstream educational institutions, but what is really needed is an inclusive
form, which reflects systematic reform. By your presence here today, in person a
nd
online, you are already aware of these leading principles, and more importantly, you are
committed to what is making changes reality, and also state parties, which includes the
European Union, committing only recognise the rights of Persons with disabilities to
education, but also persons with disabilities have the right to be accommodated for, and
supported, in order to realise this right, despite limited competencies of the European
Union, and of course, what you will hear from the projects
later on, is also about despite
limited resources, what we can do together, and we will highlight in that respect it is
also about scaling up of the enrolment of children with disabilities, and using technology,
the question that must be kept in mind, how will these initiatives facilitate the implementation
of the UN? This brings me to emphasise on taking a different
approach or dissemination, and scaling up best practices. You concede on the slide, different key and
permitted stakeholders on d
ifferent levels, in a society. And from our ornate national work, we noticed
specific challenges on each of these levels. On the individual level, you can think about
stigma, assistive technologies can make invisible visibility different to different students. We can think about what was stated in the
recent UNESCO report, a lack of awareness and insufficient training for staff members. On the organisational level, colleagues from
UNICEF were pointed out, it is also about access to affordable te
chnology, and assistive
technology, especially if you think about children, because when growing up, you need
more adaptations. On a community level, what we see is inequalities
and discrimination still, because for example, devices and software is not created equally. The last level, on a societal level, yes,
a lack of understanding as to why we are still sitting here and advocating for this important
topic, but also it is about the persistent discrimination, and inappropriate or inadequate
fun
ding mechanisms. Of course, there are positive trends happening,
because not all technologies use these technologies. Let me conclude by stating that implementation
is complicated, the right to education is not. Regardless of the limitations that we face,
and also related to stigma, societal attitudes, inclusive education cannot be achieved without
access to technologies. Therefore, it is very good to see that there
are so many innovative and successful projects taking place around the world. Th
erefore, the road for improvement requires
discussions, as we are sitting here, and I warmly welcome all of the zero project awardees
to share with us today the best practices for me, for you, and therefore, I welcome
the first speaker, we very much look forward to hearing about your project to support your
people with communication impairments. SAURABH AGARWAL:
Thank you, I am a brown male with dark-haired, wearing a black shirt today. Today, I'm happy to share with you and initiative
that is v
ery close to our heart. We all know that the early years of childhood
are really important for brain development. It is when a child learns communication skills,
language skills, when a child gets to make a sense of this world. Not everyone is able to do so, some children
face communication difficulties, challenges, due to impairment and trauma. How can we make sure that every child has
an opportunity and a voice to learn in this world? It is with that mission that UNICEF has initiated
a voice f
or every child initially. Let us hear a story of young girl, and we
will come back to it. (Video plays) SAURABH AGARWAL:
Similar to Sarah, there are 4 million children around the world ages between two and six
who need support for communication. Early intervention is the key. Like Sylvia rightly mentioned, it is not just
about technology solutions, it is about building technology solutions with an inclusive mentality. It is with that approach, four key components
have been implemented as part of
this program. One is what we are talking about today, and
affordable AAC solution. As well as three other components that are
equally as important. One is capacity building of service professional
providers who can support the early inclusion of children. Next is the shift from the medical social
model of disability to make sure that children learn in their own environment so that they
are able to graduate into school education sooner. The last one is very important, to nurture
partnerships and
capacity of parents and key stakeholders, bringing them together so an
inclusive environment can be created for a child. Cboard, let me talk about application. It is affordable, what do we mean? It starts with intent. It is an open source solution which looks
at languages which the child speaks at home. We are creating more TTSs in the countries
where it is being implemented. In partnership with global symbols, we are
leveraging our database of 20,000 symbols and in each country where it is imp
lemented
as careful design selection of symbols is done so that the experience is customised
for each child, for their context. The device works also in an off-line setting
and in settings where there is low technology. The symbols can also be printed and used as
a paper-based resource. The program started in 2019 and so far it
has been implemented in five countries Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. We have received great response from parents
and service providers. In p
artnership with Noble Symbols, open package
has been created for training and building capacity of service providers and professionals. The links are provided as part of the presentation,
which you can look at after the session and open. The trainings are combined with face-to-face
online learning. More than 3000 children have directly benefited,
but this is just the beginning. The program is being scaled up in the existing
countries as well as to more countries. Like I said earlier, it is impor
tant to have
an inclusive approach and family centred approach. Parents are also key partners and not someone
who we expect to automatically know something, and that is where we bring together all of
the stakeholders. The program is showing great impact. We did a study with service providers and
parents and they say the children are seeing improvement in competency, self-esteem and
adaptability. It brings a lot of joy when parents see their
child be able to communicate the first time. You see te
ars, you see happiness and you see
smiles. We hope to reach every one of the 4 million
children who are in need. Thank you. DR SYLVIA ROOZEN:
Thank you so much, Saurabh Agarwal, and thank you for the important work you are doing to
give a voice to every child. We will move on to Daniela Gissara. You are assistant director of Perkins School
for the Blind and we are interested to know more about your work and methodology. The floor is yours. DANIELA GISSARA:
Thank you so much, Sylvia. I know we us
ually describe our physical appearance,
but today I will open my heart and share with you how I am feeling. After these three days at the conference I
am feeling inspired, energised and humbled by the work you are all doing. So thank you so much. And of course, I am feeling so happy and it
is my real pleasure to share with you more about the solution that we are providing for
inclusive education. This is our fast growing easy to replicate
approach to make education accessible. At Perkins, we bel
ieve every child can learn,
anywhere, but most children with disabilities lack access to quality and inclusive learning. In India, Julie was one of these children
and we can see her here at the centre of the screen and she's sharing with us her beautiful
smile. At age 7, Julie was completely out of school
because there was no program that could have accommodated her needs. So, how can we provide quality and inclusive
education for Julie and all children like her and how can we do it in a way at
the same
time that creates systemic transformation at scale? Well, at Perkins together with our partners
in 16 countries, we are showing the world how. Through our model program strategy we are
transforming education and creating systemic change at scale. We develop model programs and these are schools
that first adopt best practices and then expand them nationally and sometimes beyond in a
ripple effect reaching more and more children. To develop these modern programs we partnered
with governme
nts, of course, and we also paired with schools, families and communities. We support existing schools to improve the
quality and accessibility of learning and we also coach these schools so they can teach
these best practices to other schools, making education more accessible for more children. Our model program strategy can be explained
in three simple steps. Together with our partners, first we select
the schools and conduct a baseline assessment of the existing quality of learning. Second, w
e analyse the results and based on
the data would create an action plan towards improvement. Third, we provide training, coaching and mentoring
to schools, families and teachers. We also conduct follow-up evaluations every
year to monitor progress. For both follow-up evaluations and the baseline
assessment, we use our Perkins quality indicators. This is a benchmarking tool for best practices
in quality learning for children with disabilities. We implement this process year after year
until the s
chool reaches model program status. This usually takes between three and five
years. This has also developed the capacity to train
others becoming models in their regions. With our model program strategy we are both
strengthening local capacity and creating systemic change for the long term. Here is an example of a partner school in
Mexico that has undergone a transformative journey. Before, kids with disabilities were grouped
separately and taught with a rehabilitation approach. Today, they are
implementing inclusive best
practices, adapting materials to kid's individual needs and fostering inclusion within families
and communities. They are sharing knowledge with others, holding
peer learning symposiums, and even influencing policy. The impact of the school does not stop in
Mexico. This school was one who hosted our Perkins
India team who recently travelled to Mexico to learn about our strategy in action. By the way, let me tell you that in India
we have a very ambitious plan. We are
growing our impact from 20 sites currently
to 200 model programs by 2030. So, Perkins was founded as a school 200 years
ago. Today, we are a US based organisation with
global impact. In 2023 alone, we reached over 1.2 million
children in 16 countries and we are ready to do much more. We are expanding our work to double the number
of children we serve and set new standards of accessible, inclusive education. I am sure you will remember Julie, I presented
her to you in the first slide. Here, we c
an see her entering the classroom
for the very first time. I am so happy to share that our work made
a difference in Julie's life. It also made a difference for her family,
for her school, her classmates and for her community because we need to remember that
inclusion is not only an experience for children with disabilities, it is better for everyone
involved as we learn about diversity, equity and belonging first time. As we are creating quality and inclusive education
at scale, we are opening
more doors for more classrooms, for more students so that every
child can learn. Thank you. (Applause) DR SYLVIA ROOZEN:
Thank you so much, Daniela, and compliments for this impactful model program approach
because you showed how easy sharing a model can be between sites and countries. You mentioned Julie already, but in another
context, but now we move on to the name Julie also. Julie de Barbeyrac, senior adviser on accessible
digital textbook initiatives from UNICEF. We very much look forward
to hearing about
the upscaling of that program, Julie. JULIE DE BARBEYRAC:
Thank you, Sylvia and thank you everyone. It is a pleasure to be here this morning with
you. My name is Julie de Barbeyrac and I am the
senior adviser the accessible digital initiative at UNICEF.I am wearing a black shirt and a
black jacket. This initiative started in 2016, with the
intention of working on the problem that we all face at the moment, and I think everybody
at this point has seen the data, but we have to hun
dred and 40 million children with disabilities
in the world, which is extremely high, and most of them have limited access to remote
learning, accessible content, and quality learning. Half of them are more likely to have never
attended school, half of them are more likely to be out of primary school, and 42% are likely
to have no access to foundational reading skills. In 2016, UNICEF decided to respond to the
growing need of accessible tools for teachers and students with disabilities in the co
ntext
of transition from special schools to inclusive education. We did many ideation and research through
persons with disabilities, where we defined whether the needs of children to learn through
digital tools, we came to the conclusion that we are going to create one book for all, where
the children will have the possibility to choose between all accessibility features
to access the content, and to also participate in the content. We developed some clear guidelines, started
to pilot in three
countries. What is an accessible digital textbook? It is a digital tool that gives all learners
access to the information in an alternative, accessible from a period we follow design
for learning principal. This means it allows the children to access
the content, to get motivated and engage, but also to respond, and not only in a passive
relationship, but in their expensive learning. The child can follow the same content as its
peers, because they have the same content in the digital format, so
children who are
blind, children who are deaf, children who have intellectual disabilities, actually looking
at the same content as children next them, you may be don't have any disabilities. We take a classic printed textbook, transform
it and digitise it, and we add accessibility features that oral combined and synchronised
together. In this example, you concede an example on
the left of a classic textbook, and then the transformation in a digital way on the right
side, where you have the diff
erent accessibility features like a menu, the sailing which videos,
the highlights, you can see an audio description of images, and so on. How do we work with countries? First of all, we work with the Ministry of
education at the Ministry of ICT, where we establish clear grounds, and we select some
organisations of persons with disabilities who will be involved as well. We have technology partners, teachers in the
country that will be part of the technical team. We start digitising, and working
on the content. The content adaptation is the most important
part, because we really transformed the content into content there is universal design for
learning. It is not only adding accessibility features,
but making sure that all children can access the content. We make sure that we do an analysis of the
country landscape and ecosystem that is in place, to really tailor the project to the
context, and the resources. We partner with local stakeholders, like publishers
and technology providers,
we do some training, and we develop one prototype. We test and validate with users, and users
with disabilities, and we work on the strategy in the country, with the Ministry of education,
and how we are going to scale. The global impact, as of now we have nine
countries, we have two more countries starting this year, we created more than 80 accessible
digital text books that are usually available on the learning management system of the platform. We have more than 6000 students unhappy reach,
and more than 3000 teachers trained. We have website guidelines, case studies,
I will go fast, because we have a video that I really want to present to you. Most importantly, we have evidence. We are working with the office of innovation,
and foresight. To understand how this impact on inclusion
and learning. The next step is for us to scale using AI
content generation. If we can put the video, we are going to see
the story of a little boy in Jamaica that has been using the textbook, thank you.
SPEAKER:
Rebecca, education specialist, Jamaica. SPEAKER:
There is a polisher between UNICEF, (inaudible), aims to harness the power of technology, innovations
in technology, that can increase the inclusivity, the ways in which learners with, and without
disabilities, able to engage meaningfully with content, at-home, at school, and in their
careers. With Sinai which, you have devices, but you
also have the ability to make the text bigger and smaller, and you have activities that
are embedded. I
t is taking the digitisation of content to
weigh higher, more inclusive level. SPEAKER:
Ari, six years old, student. SPEAKER:
I am happy that I can share this book with my friend Michaela. She is able to hear. SPEAKER:
Ari's mother. SPEAKER:
Another try to incorporate the books more to ensure that everybody is learning at the
same pace, or the same level. SPEAKER:
The children with secondary disabilities, I can see that they can interact with the
book, in that there are options for them. SPEAKER
:
Children who are deaf or hearing challenge, to be able to click on that icon and see the
interpretation validates their language, which will many of them, it is their first language,
and English is their second line with. If you see that, I think one of the biggest
takeaways is that it is a form of validation of their language. SPEAKER:
A classic teacher at Dani Williams School for the deaf. SPEAKER:
All the concepts are in the book, and everything that he needs to know, as in the story, is
ac
tually done in his language. It is definitely a plus. SPEAKER:
Are. This is my first time reading a book that
has so language. SPEAKER:
Ari's mother. SPEAKER:
They are left to decide, and we just live our lives not thinking about. I did not death person before Ari. It made me realise that I should try my best
to include more people in the things that I am doing. Being left behind is total sadness, you don't
want to be left behind, even if all of he are hearing, and you are being left behind,
you
are going to feel sad. Everybody wants happiness, everybody wants
to move forward and be happy together. SPEAKER:
On that note, thank you very much, and if you need more information, everything is on
the PowerPoint that is shared. Thank you very much. SPEAKER:
Thank you Julie, this was another great best practice example, the session is really about
the dissemination, and also scaling up, and we move now to another very nice example from
Houllier. SPEAKER:
Is a professor, community teacher, nex
t to you
is also Janina, in giving the word and the floor to you to guide us a little bit in what
it takes to think low-cost, and to create useful resources, and also to reach remote
areas, please. SPEAKER:
My English is bad, sorry. (inaudible). There is a project in the forest jungle, in
rural areas for children, mortality in children and malnutrition is very important, it is
one opportunity of access different orthopaedic and intervention. It is very difficult, as travellers long distance,
and
has intercultural problems, it is Portuguese, English, but the system from Braille helps
with communication. For exam, one work of the communiqué is a
stressor for the children, strangers, and contacting familiarisation is (inaudible)
that is very important for the children. Sorry for my English. SPEAKER:
(Speaks foreign language). SPEAKER:
The children and father's teaching what you are saying, you have sign language that supports… It is very integral in indication, (inaudible)
in this capacit
y. I know there is teaching, it is very difficult
(inaudible). Sorry, my English, this is very important. Special orientation on disability as well,
very important. The children of disability and indigenous
people die. Now, it is very important. The question of why is work in indigenous
communities on disability. And thank you. Thank you for another organisation, it is
very important now here. For me it is very difficult to be here, I
am autistic, it is my problem with interpersonal relation, I
never talked, it is very difficult
to be here. Here, it is very important for parents or
two disabled persons to help your sons. It is different when you are an adult as you
represent the future of your sons. SPEAKER: (LANGUAGE UNKNOWN TO CAPTIONER)
PROF JULIO SÁNCHEZ: (Speaks Spanish) my children are global citizens. Thank you. SYLVIA ROOZEN: Thank you, Coolio and Janina. You expressed that English is a challenge,
but not us. In your presentation you should great examples
and sometimes pictures
show more than words. You showed us that really situations can be
extremely challenging but for us it is inspiring to see what you are doing with a very supportive
team despite limited resources. Thank you. (Applause)
SYLVIA ROOZEN: And we are going to move on now to our last analyst. The last analyst is Yogendra Giri we go from
Argentina to the other side of the world. And please we would like to learn on your
upskilling example in getting students to accessible schools. YOGENDRA GIRI: Thank y
ou, everyone. My name is Yogendra and I have come here with
my colleague. Let me start the production of my organisation. Karuna Foundation is a Nepali NGO which aims
to prevent childhood disabilities and helping persons with disabilities in their community. Establishing disability inclusive society
in the pull so that everyone can live a dignified life and participate in all the fairness of
society. We support governments to set priorities and
mobilise disability laws and also supporting to mob
ilise internal and external supports. Disability prevention and rehabilitation program
is a joint program of the Province government, municipalities and Karuna Foundation in the
power. All of these organisations and government
institutions are implementing disability these programs. The goal of the organisation is to prevent
birth defects and developmental disabilities in children under 10 years old and development
disabilities in inclusive societies. I am not going to tell you all these objecti
ves
because I have limited time and I have some videos for you as well. The program has defined a core principle to
increment these activities and programs. The responsibility of implementation goes
to the municipalities. And they have continued it even after the
exit of the Karuna Foundation Nepal. A very important thing. You can see here in the table, the preparation
cost is through Karuna Foundation. And in year one and two, the total cost of
the project is shared across three partners equall
y, the province's government, municipalities
and the Karuna Foundation. In year three, the municipality and the government
continues this with their own funding and the foundation provides technical support. On the fourth year onwards, the program is
continued and the Karuna Foundation exits from there. The most important principle in this program
is involvement of each stakeholder in each state of the program. I would like to show you a video that describes
strategies and interventions of disab
ility prevention and replication program. (Video plays)
(Music plays) YOGENDRA GIRI: The reach of the program was
as you can see, but now it has reached 250,000 people as we have expanded this program in
these municipalities. Developing and inclusive education systems
is one of the key components of disability prevention and rehabilitation. I will be talking about inclusive education
and in Nepal there are different approaches to bringing children with disability into
mainstream education. If th
ey need any kind of intervention and
support before going into mainstream education, they are enrolled in resource classes or supported
with home-based education. The aim of this support is to prepare these
children to go into mainstream education. These are the major interventions to begin
changing schools and developing the schools as inclusive. And to support children with disability is
in accessing quality education. The research so far is encouraging and the
researchers trained 2870 school
teachers and staff and management on inclusive education. 1267 children with disabilities are enrolled
in school and 475 students are supported with home-based education, and 35 government schools
as those are the skills we are working with, they are supported to develop them as an inclusive
school. Let me show you another video that describes
the importance of parents and the family and assistive devices to bring change in the lives
of children with disabilities. (Video plays)
SYLVIA ROOZEN: Co
mpliments to how you bring change to your communities. If I look at the time, we must be very strict
but I do have a challenge to our panellists don't have a brief answer and give the key
takeaway for this session because we really learned a lot about the different examples
along the world on dissemination, scaling up and lots of potential to learn from other
countries. I'm going to ask my first question to Daniela,
and please keep in mind a short response. Tell us how we can measure impact and
satisfaction. DANIELA GISSARA: Thank you, Silvia, I'm going
to be supershort because I addressed these in my presentation full stop to track progress
and impact we are using our Perkins quality indicators and this is the benchmarking. They cover seven domains, seven areas of domains
including assessment, curriculum, program planning, working with families, and includes
more than 50 indicators. We are using our comprehensive system and
process to create evidence that we then use to inform our pra
ctices, and sometimes use
it to influence public policy. SYLVIA ROOZEN: Thank you, Daniela. I am going to pass on the question to Julio
and Janina. What you want to give away as a key takeaway? PROF JULIO SÁNCHEZ: Access to vaccines, medical
care, children entering the system, reducing infant mortality in communities. Thank you. Now, nothing comes here. Only you. SYLVIA ROOZEN: Thank you very much. Yogendra? YOGENDRA GIRI: Before we start implementation
in any municipality, we do a baseline surv
ey. That includes the quality of life assessment. The tool is recognised and developed by the
WHO, we do that and we do evaluation using the same protocol. We also have a final evaluation. I would like to share here that we have appointed
the Royal tropical Institute of the Netherlands all of these interventions. Thank you. SYLVIA ROOZEN: Going to address the colleagues
from UNICEF. You have a great mantra at UNICEF and we have
heard great examples of scaling up. What would you say to all of the
program developers
and implement is out there? SPEAKER: In terms of digital solutions of
education. One of the main and important things is that
we work with the government, the local government and the programmer and the initiative needs
to be embedded into the system. So we work strongly with that and also we
partner with civil society and private companies, in each of the countries to really advance
of the research side but also to implement it in the long term, which brings me to a
second v
ery important point that we usually a bit of struggle with is to have a long-term
investment, from donors. So, when we want to make changes, in the educational
system, we really need to think in the long term. Because we are trying to move a dinosaur. We are trying to move things that are very... And reach out to other students if we want
to have a successful project. edded in the country and it is difficult to
reach out to teachers. We work with open source which is very important
if we want to
maintain the progress in the long term. Thank you. SPEAKER: If I may add, one thing that was
common amongst the solutions and is common any intervention has to be part of systemic
change. Sometimes, isolated, initiatives, it is difficult
to continue along term. We have to involve all of the stakeholders. And it also has to be intersect oral. Sometimes we limit ourselves to a particular
sector and the key takeaway is that, the similarity and inclusion has to be part of every program
and not an a
dd-on. Thank you. DR SYLVIA ROOZEN: I really regret that we
have come to an end for this session. It is overall of course a very inspiring conference. For this meeting it is a pleasure to have
such esteemed colleagues and projects presented here, today. We hope also that you and the audience will
reach out to them, afterwards and seek collaborations, seek advice so that we can continue making
the impact, together. See you afterwards. (Applause)
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