IDP Norway - Activities and Programmes in Pakistan

pakistan

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20th February 2007

National Workshop on and a Right's Based Aporach to Education

The Federal Directorate of Education [FDE] in co-operation with IDP Norway oragnised the workshop. Among the the key speakers were:

Honourable Ms. Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Minister of State of Education
Honourable Mr. Janis Bjørn Kanavin, Ambassador of Norway to Pakistan
Brig. [R] Maqsud-ul-Hassan, Director General - Federal Directorate of Education
Mr. Jorge Sequeira, Director of UNESCO Islamabad
Prof. Mel Ainscow, University of Manchester
Prof. M. Rafique Tahir, Director of Training - Federal Directorate of Education
Mr. Khalid Naeem, Director of Notyhern Areas - Federal Directorate of Education
Dr. Abdul Hameed, Head of Department for Special Education - University of the Punjab
Ms. Vibeke Jensen, Chief of Education, UNICEF Islamabad
Mr. Terje Magnussønn Watterdal, Senior Partner - IDP Norway

For further information and pictures please click here.

IDP Partners in Pakistan:

Pakistan Disabled Foundation [PDF]

Pakistan Association of the Blind [PAB]

31st August until 2nd September 2006

National Conference on Inclusion and Special Needs Education with EENET Open Meeting

The Pakistan Disabled Foundation [PDF] with support from the private sector as well as IDP Norway and EENET Asia organised a three day conference to raise awareness among members of different disabled persons organisation about inclusion and the need for reform within the special education system to reach the goal of quality Education for All by 2015.

HE Mr. Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minster of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan addressed the conference in a facsimile message: “Pakistan … should adopt a shift from exclusive system of education to that of inclusive education for the children with disabilities and ensure the provision of quality services to all segments of age groups for persons with disabilities, through expansion and strengthening of service delivery infrastructure.”

In his opening speech HE Mr. Sardar Ateeq Khan, Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir [AJK] opened the Conference and promised to support the implementation of inclusion in schools throughout the Pakistan administered part of Jammu and Kashmir under guidance of UNESCO, UNICEF and IDP Norway.

The Symposium Issue of EENET Asia Newsletter with the Recommendations from the International Symposium on Inclusion and the Removal of Barriers to Learning, Participation and Development and the Compendium on a right based approach to education [from Indonesia] were distributed to the 150 participants that joined the conference.

UNICEF presented Embracing Diversity – Toolkit for Creating Inclusive, Learning-Friendly Environments during the EENET Open Meeting. Questionnaires based on the EENET “Food for Thought” on labelling and stigmatisation were translated to Urdu and distributed among the participants – A collection of these will be published in the next EENET Asia newsletter.

Towards the end of the Conference the participants formulated a set of recommendations for the Government of Pakistan to strengthen the efforts Towards Education for All in an Inclusive Setting.

Terje Magnussønn Watterdal
Islamabad 02/09/2006

Click here for further information and the conference programme.

16th until 21st July 2006

Delegates from Pakistan to the 12th ICEVI World Conference in Kuala Lumpur

The participation of two delegates from the Disabled Foundation [PDF] and Pakistan Association of the Blind [PAB] to the ICEVI World Conference was co-sponsored by idpnorway and UNESCO.

With more than 40 years experience in the self help and independent living movement Mr. Shahid Ahmed Memon presented his thought on inclusive education to more than 400 participants in the Regional Meeting of ICEVI East Asia together with Dr. Alisher Umarov from UNESCO Jakarta, Mr. Terje Magnussønn Watterdal from idpnorway and Ms. Karin van Dijk from CBM International.

During the past three years Indonesia, Pakistan and Norway have been partners in the development of regional inclusive education programmes and policies.

31st January 2006

Inclusion Seminar in Karachi during the Day of Sacrifice at Pakistan Disabled Foundation [PDF]

Mr. Shahid Memon and the Pakistan Disabled Foundation [PDF] had with support from IDP International Development Partners organised a one day seminar to raise awareness among its members about the vision of inclusion.

PDF and IDP distributed ink and Braille versions of the Islamabad Declaration on Inclusive Education as well as the Recommendations from the International Symposium on Inclusion and the Removal of Barriers to Learning, Participation and Development to the 80 participants that had joined the programme.

Dr. Muhammad Ishaq, Chairmen of the Department of Arabic Studies, University of Karachi was one of the speakers at the seminar. After the a discussion among four main speakers and the participants he committed to co-host a workshop with PDF and IDP at the University of Karachi on inclusion in May or June 2006.

The message of inclusion and a right based approach to education is spreading and gaining support among key government and non-government stakeholders throughout Pakistan.

Terje Magnussønn Watterdal
Karachi 31/01/2006

9th until 10th December 2005

International Conference on Inclusive Education at Hong Kong Institute of Education by Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed

The Department of Special Education [Univeristy of the Punjab, Pakistan] participated with four persons; Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed, Assistant Prof. Humara Bano, Mrs. Ruhsana Bashir and Miss. Hina Fazil in the 2nd International Conference on Inclusive Education organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Centre for Special Needs and Studies in Inclusive Education. More than 25 papers were presented at the Conference. These papers covered discussion on current issues, such as conceptualisations of inclusive education, effective teaching strategies, policy making, organisational structures and learning methodologies. Some of them were based on critical analysis of current arrangements and the experiments in regard to improvement in assessment, teacher support and preparation programs for inclusion.

Following papers were presented by the faculty of the Department:

Inclusion in Teacher Education Program [Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed]
Teacher Training for Inclusive Education: Initiatives taken by the Department [Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed and Mrs. Rukhsana Bashir]
Children with Autism: A Challenges for Inclusive Classroom [Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed and Miss. Hina Fazil]
Inclusion in the Job Market [Mrs. Humara Bano]
Students with Hearing Impairment in Inclusive Classroom [Mrs. Rukhsana Bashir]

The Conference, although small in size, provided rich opportunity to participants to engage in a stimulating partnership to accept, support and to take away a refined but comprehensive outlook for the future.

26-29th September 2005

A delegation from Pakistan consisting of senior representatives from Directorate General for Special Education [DGSE], Allama Iqbal Open University, University of the Punjab, Sight Savers and IDP particiapted in and presented during the International Symposium Inclusion and the Removal of Barriers to Learning, Participation and Development in Indonesia.

Members of the Delegation: