Prof. Michael Stein - Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability, USA Yoav Kraiem - Director Community Development and Social Change Unit, Beit Shapiro Issie, Israel Sampada Shevde - Director Perkins, India Dominique Dix-Peek – Research and Impact Executive, Afrika Tikkun Foundation, South Africa Sabine Weinberger – Communication & Project Development, ICP Foundation of Munich, Germany Doris Schüssl – Head of Corporate Development, ICP Foundation of Munich, Germany 2022 Innovations in Inclusive Early Childhood Education - COSP CRPD 2022 side event Article 24 of the CRPD defines the right of persons with disabilities to education and the obligation of States Parties to ensure an inclusive education system at all levels. Under Article 26, States Parties commit to providing comprehensive habilitation and rehabilitation services and programs, at the earliest possible stage. This panel, hosted by Beit Issie Shapiro and the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, at the COSP CRPD 2022, discusses innovative approaches and models to early childhood education that provide an appropriate response to both of these fundamental rights.
Emanuele Zaimi - Down Syndrome Albania Foundation, Albania Noa Nitzan, Beit Issie Shapiro, Israel Aditi Agrawal, Gudgudee, India Ricardo Rosas Díaz, Catholic University of Chile, Chile Kevin Spencer, Hocus Focus, United States David Banes, davidbanesaccess, United Kingdom 2022 Inclusive play and playful learning for children Inclusive Design for children’s playgrounds, and exciting methods for learning through play and magic — the #ZeroCon22 session on Inclusive Play highlighted innovations and strategies that work for all children. This session highlights inclusive design for children playgrounds, as well as exciting methods for learning through play and magic!
May Agius - Aġenzija Sapport, Malta Noa Nitzan - Beit Issie Shapiro, Israel Klaus Miesenberger - Johannes Kepler Universität Linz , Austria Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf - GAATO - The Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations, Switzerland 2022 Technology in social care and support services Recently, the attention of public authorities and providers of care and support services has been increasingly drawn to the development and implementation of innovative technology to improve service delivery. We wish to reflect on these initiatives and discuss how our sectors can encourage concrete outcomes in order to capitalize on the current momentum of the digital transition.
ATHENA FUND 2021 Special Needs in Special Times On June 18, 2021, Athena Fund hosted a virtual side event at the UN COSP14 Conference of the Convention for the Rights of Peoples with Disabilities (CRPD). A discussion about lessons learned from teaching special needs children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of providing digital tools and technological training to educators worldwide. During the event data from a Bar-Ilan University study conducted in the midst of the pandemic among Israeli teachers who had received a “digital toolbox” from Athena Fund was presented. In addition, was heard firsthand testimonies pointing to the potential hidden in technological tools to empower both persons with disabilities and the pedagogical teams accompanying them.
Prof. Michael Stein - Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability, USA Yoav Kraiem - Co-Director, Community Development and Social Change Unit, Beit Issie Shapiro, Israel Wilfried Kainz - Head of Research Zero Project, Austria Deborah Gleason - Director, Asia and Pacific Region, Perkins International, Perkins School for the Blind, USA Melissa Mendoza - Special Education Services Project Member, WORLD Policy Analysis Center, UCLA, USA 2021 Developing an Eco-System for Inclusion in Education Under CRPD Article 24, every child should be given the opportunity to enjoy an inclusive general education system. Many educational systems are binary – either full inclusion in a typical classroom or a completely separate special education classroom, which in turn further alienates the child. Furthermore, many of these systems focus more on academic and less on social inclusion, which is a critical component for inclusion to be successful and for the child's wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised further challenges and highlighted existing gaps, due the extent to which technologies or supports provided are accessible to a variety of students. The panel focused on the ecosystem needed for optimal inclusion in education, highlighting various partnerships and professional infrastructures needed for optimal accessibility, as well as the tension between inclusion and developing a unique identity, which sees disability as a legitimate part of human diversity.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2019 Beit Issie Shapiro's model of social entrepreneurship and innovation In June 2019, Beit Issie Shapiro organized a side event at the CRPD conference at the UN in NY, together with the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and the Israeli and Austrian Permanent Missions to the UN. The side event, attended by some 100 people, focused on Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, was chaired by Prof. Michael Stein of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and included presentations by Venus Ilagan, former Executive Director of Rehabilitation International; Loic van Cutsem of Ashoka Austria; Gidon Judes of XTEND, South Africa; Sara Minkara of Empowerment Through Integration, USA; and Jean Judes, Executive Director of Beit Issie Shapiro, who presented the organization's model of social entrepreneurship and innovation.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2018 Women and girls with disabilities Beit Issie Shapiro’s Executive Director, Jean Judes, was invited by the Harvard Project on Disabilities and Rehabilitation International, to present at a side event at the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities the at United Nations Headquarters in New York, on 13 June 2018.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2018 Political participation and equal recognition before the law Beit Issie Shapiro’s Executive Director, Jean Judes, presented at the Plenary Round Table on the issue of Political Participation at the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities the at United Nations Headquarters in New York, on 14 June 2018.
Yoav Kraim - Co-Director, Unit for Social Change, Beit Issie Shapiro 2017 Claiming the Right to Make Decisions The lecture describes the process of self-advocacy groups of people with intellectual disabilities, the way they went through and their participation in the Knesset committee, in which they expressed their will to decision-makers in Israel.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2016 Promoting Technological Entrepreneurship in the Field of Disabilities Today’s technological entrepreneurs have an array of support systems – ecosystems – which provide them with the comprehensive network needed to turn a good idea into a marketable product. Such an ecosystem has yet to be developed focusing on developing accessible technologies for people with disabilities. This side event will focus on the importance of and challenges in developing a disabilities-focused network of support that will provide entrepreneurs with access to knowledge, guidance, resources and community – through a multi-facetted discussion featuring experts from different sectors.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2015 Women with Disabilities Lecture of Jean Judes, Beit Issie Shapiro’s Executive Director, presented at the session on “Education – the Force that Empowers Women” held by the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women on March 2015, describing the dual vulnerability of women with disabilities and stressing the need for women with and without disabilities to fight together for their rights and place in society.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2014 Changing Attitudes and Fighting Stereotypes for an Inclusive Society Ms. Jean Judes, presented Beit Issie Shapiro’s programs for changing attitudes as leverage for social inclusion.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2014 "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together" - Forging Partnerships at Civil Society The lecture was presented at the UN as part of the Civil Society Forum, on promoting partnerships on a local, national and international level, in order to promote social change.
Jean Judes - Executive Director, Beit Issie Shapiro 2013 From Vision to Implementation: the Beit Issie Shapiro CBR Model Lecture of Jean Judes, Beit Issie Shapiro’s Executive Director, at the conference on the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, about Community Based Rehabilitation – CBR as implemented throughout Beit Issie Shapiro’s various activities.