Perception, fear, myth and prejudice continue to limit the understanding and acceptance of disability in workplaces everywhere. Most of society still looks at persons with disabilities as unable to work and thinks that accommodating them in the workplace is expensive.
On 13 November 2019, IDDC took part in the European Economic and Social Committee’s public hearing on “Employment of persons with disabilities: how can we change society’s view”, with the aim to present members-led programmes and projects that prove that these perceptions are incorrect. We were asked to answer the following 3 questions:
- What can be done to change the view of society on persons with disabilities in the field of employment?
- What are the key elements of success?
- What could be changed in the existing framework to make it more effective?
To answer them, we refered to 6 projects implemented or being implemented by IDDC members:
- Inclusion Works!, an ongoing project led by our member Sightsavers that also includes 3 further members ADD International, Humanity & Inclusion, and Inclusion International.
- The Programme of Independence and Economic Empowerment of persons with disabilities (PIEE), a programme conveyed by Disability Partnership Finland and its local Ethiopian partner, the Disability Development Initiative (DDI)
- Access to Livelihoods (A2L), a programme implemented by Leonard Cheshire
- Programme ÁGORA, a programme currently implemented by FOAL
- MAKE 12.4% WORK, a project supported by Light for the World and implemented by young persons with disabilities in Uganda
- Bombolulu workshop, a project from the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) and supported by CBM International
Download IDDC presentation and accompanying text.