Roundtable Discussion with Richard Riser
Where: School for Public Affairs, University of California Los Angeles,
faculty lounge, Rm #5391
When: Tuesday February 17th, 2009 from 3:00-5:00pm
The right to education for all children is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and more recently in the Millennium Development Goals. However, in developing countries the proportion of disabled children attending school is estimated at between less than one per cent and five per cent. Now the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which came into force in May 2008, requires the development of an inclusive education system for all. Inclusion in education is a process of enabling all children to learn and participate effectively within mainstream school systems, without segregation. It is about shifting the focus from altering disabled people to fit into society to transforming society, and the world, by changing attitudes, removing barriers and providing the right support. The message is clear: it can be done. The task is now to implement inclusive education worldwide.
