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UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

07/26/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/26/2021 13:41

Cities leaving no one behind: COVID-19 responses for persons with disabilities, from policy to practice

The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in asymmetric impacts to persons with disabilities, whose vulnerabilities are compounded due to gaps in basic health services and social protection systems. Their access to information and health care is further challenged because public health systems oftentimes do not have the adequate resources to provide to all sectors of the population. Government responses to the crisis, both at the national and local levels, should therefore take into consideration the pre-existing marginalization and discrimination faced by persons with disabilities. Local authorities, who are at the forefront of these challenges, have a major role to play in providing inclusive social policy responses and service delivery.

Within the framework of the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), UNESCO is contributing to the UN joint programme to support countries design and implement disability-inclusive response and recovery planning for COVID-19.

UNESCO is developing two tools on disability inclusion targeting national and local authorities: the first tool is a policy-based guideline that will foster inclusive governance; and the second tool is a practical guide in the implementation of programmes and the enhancement of service delivery related to the protection and inclusion of persons with disabilities. These tools aim to build the capacity of city authorities to develop disability-inclusive responses to COVID-19 and beyond, raise the profile of disability inclusion as a priority policy response in the context of COVID-19, and advocate for disability rights at the local level.

This online discussion aims to foster disability rights at all governance levels, and in collaboration with a wide array of stakeholders, including advocates from the sport and creative sectors. It will address the importance of ensuring inclusive approaches in providing services to persons with disabilities in the multidimensional context of the COVID-19 crisis and will highlight good practices across regions. By presenting the summary of the UNESCO tools on disability inclusion targeting national and local authorities, this discussion will also reflect on the importance of using an intersectional framework of analysis that would examine other types of vulnerabilities linked to gender, age, and ethnicity, among others.

Panel 1 - 2pm:

Opening speech: Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for the Human and Social Sciences Sector of UNESCO.

Speakers:

  • Ambassador Daintowon Domah Pay-Bayee, Chairperson, National Commission on Disabilities, Liberia;
  • Mayor I Gusti Ngurah Jaya Negara, City of Denpasar, Indonesia;
  • Jacques Galvani, Deputy Mayor in charge of universal access and persons with disabilities, City of Paris, France;
  • Petra Björne, Research and Development Coordinator, Department of Disability Support, City of Malmö, Sweden;
  • Varsha Gathoo, Head, Department of Education, Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, India;
  • Gema Hassen-Bey, Paralympic fencer medalist and social communicator;
  • Magali Saby, Professional dancer, founder of the inclusive dance academy 'Be Inclusive'.
  • Discussant: Juan Pablo Ramirez-Miranda, UNESCO New Delhi
  • Moderator: Linda Tinio-Le Douarin, UNESCO Paris

- JOIN THE WEBINAR AT 14:00 -
Password: 549829

Panel 2 - 4pm:

Opening remarks : Lidia Brito, UNESCO Montevideo

Overview of the report 'Disability Inclusive COVID-19 Response in Latin America and the Caribbean': Tatiana Vasconcelos y Álvaro González, UNESCO consultants

Speakers:

  • Alma Cristina Rodriguez, Director of the National System for Integral Family Development in Leon, Mexico;
  • Erin Brown, Disability and Compliance Officer at the University of the Bahamas;
  • Dieva Larrosa, Human Rights Activist for Persons with Disabilities in Montevideo, Uruguay;
  • Camilo Acero, Undersecretary for Governance and Guarantee of Rights, Bogotá, Colombia
  • Moderator: Dorian Rommens, UNESCO México

-JOIN THE WEBINAR AT 16:00-
Password: 922986


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