Representatives of WWB took part in a practical seminar "Theory, approaches and practical implementation of inclusive approach in the framework of education and vocational training system" in Belarus. The seminar was held within the framework of EU project "Employment, vocational education and training" in Belarus.
EU representative in the project Lea Orro shared her vision of inclusion:
"Inclusion is a process that allows everyone's potential to be realized through a friendly atmosphere of acceptance."
Tom Zulyevich-Salamon, an expert on social inclusion, vocational education and integration, emphasized that in order to form an inclusive society, it is necessary to change the thinking and perception system of people with other possibilities.
Inclusion is about recognizing diversity. In an inclusive society, the concept of "norms" fades into the background. Integration is already yesterday, it separates people with disabilities, divides society.
Inclusion is living together: talking, working, relaxing, playing sports, doing everything together. This is coexistence with each other. In order to come to this, you need to stop focusing on the limitations of people with disabilities and focus on what they can do and what they are good at.
Principles of Inclusion:
- Nothing for us without us
- Every person wants to be necessary and useful
- Single labor market, human dignity is inviolable
- Unified education system
- A society where people care about each other
At the seminar the participants didn’t only share knowledge, but also worked in groups, discussing inclusion in vocational education and training in Belarus. These discussions led to many observations and conclusions. The participants raised many acute questions about the readiness of people with disabilities themselves to learn, train and if the education system is able to accept people with special needs, if employers are able to create jobs for this category of people. It was pointed out that legislation in Belarus is to be changed and be friendly to people with disabilities. For example, consider the issue of abolishing the list of accessible professions for people with disabilities and simplifying the procedure for creating jobs.
For this to happen, one needs more than one such inclusive seminar, one needs constantly interact and learn from each other.