Second World Summit for Social Development: Inclusive Employment: Advancing Access to Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities

Solutions Session at the Second World Summit for Social Development

• Session title: Inclusive Employment: Advancing Access to Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities
• Sponsored by: UK Mission
• Summit details: Second World Summit for Social Development, Doha, Qatar from 4-6 November
• Session details: Wednesday 5th November, 15:00-16:15, Room 7
  
  UN webcast link.

Co-hosts

International Disability Alliance (IDA), Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology (ATscale) , the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Fatma Al Jassim, and United Disabled Persons of Kenya

About

This solution-focused side event will explore how to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in decent work. It will present global evidence on inequalities in employment in low- and- middle- income- countries (LMICs) and learnings from programmes that seek to strengthen the livelihoods of persons with disabilities, highlighting the experiences of people with disabilities from the Global South. 

The session will include a spotlight on assistive technology (AT). Research from ATscale shows that investment in the provision of four assistive products - hearing aids, prostheses, eyeglasses, and wheelchairs - will result in a return on investment of 9:1 and increase the engagement of people with disabilities in work. We know that AT and accompanying support services can act as an economic enabler, facilitating access to the labour market and national growth.

People with disabilities are often among the world's most marginalised and are disproportionately affected by poverty. This session will explore how access to AT, education and training, and fostering inclusive labour markets, can break the cycles of poverty and create pathways to economic independence for persons with disabilities.

It will also showcase how disability-inclusive livelihood interventions and AT can lead to decent work opportunities, drawing on learnings from initiatives like the FCDO-funded Disability Inclusive Development – Inclusive Futures project (DID-IF) and the Programme for Evidence to iNform Disability Action (PENDA) which aim to strengthen livelihoods for persons with disabilities.

Creating the conditions that support inclusive work, including accessible spaces, fighting stigma and discrimination and increasing access to AT, can lead not only to stronger livelihoods for persons with disabilities, but also enable them to live healthier, more productive, and independent lives, and to participate fully in community and civil life. This session will draw on over six years of learning from FCDO’s DID-IF, PENDA and AT2030 projects and the ATscale programme. 

Speaker bios

H.E. Maitha AlShamsi, CEO of Community Empowerment at the Community Development Authority of Dubai.

Maitha Al Shamsi is currently heading the Community Empowerment sector at the Community Development Authority in Dubai and she works to provide social services and empowerment programs to low income families, the elderly, people of determination and other vulnerable groups. She joined CDA 11 years ago and has held the position of CEO in key sectors at CDA such as the Human Rights Sector and the Financial Benefits and Empowerment sector.

Prior to joining CDA, Maitha held a number of vital positions in the government and private sector, including Director General of Dubai Women Establishment, Legal Advisor at the Executive Office of the Government of Dubai, Legal Advisor at Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Executive Officer at Citibank and was a Partner at Hamdan Al Shamsi Law Firm in the UAE. Maitha holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Law with honours from University College Dublin, Ireland and a Diploma in Islamic Law and a Master in Company and Corporate Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

She also has held numerous memberships in different committees and task forces at the Government level such as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Emirates Food Bank, as well as the Committee of the Universal Periodic Reports for Human Rights for the UAE at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was a member of the Sectoral Committee - Security and Justice of The Executive Council of Dubai and a member of the Women Sports Committee at the Dubai Sports Council.

Dr Victoria Austin is co-founder and Director of the Global Disability Innovation Hub, and Associate Professor of Social Justice and Innovation at UCL Engineering. Victoria is also Pro Vice Provost (Inequalities), UCL Grand Challenges and Director of WHO Global Collaborating Centre on Assistive Technology, UCL Engineering. 

The GDI Hub accelerates ideas into impact for a more just world - for disabled people, and all people. Currently working in more than 40+ countries GDI Hub delivers a portfolio of more than 100 projects, across about £120m investment. Victoria's own research focuses on the intersection between (disability) justice, technology and (urban) development.

Jose Viera, Executive Director, International Disability Alliance. As Executive Director, Jose is responsible for leading IDA through an important transitional period, including significant administrative and strategic reforms, deepening relationships with key partners and stakeholders, and ensuring financial sustainability and proper running of IDA's operations. Jose has spent the last 20 years working at all levels of the disability movement. He has a background in management and international development and has previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the World Blind Union. Jose is currently based in Toronto, Canada.

Ceridwen Johnson, Head of Advocacy and Communications, ATscale. Ceridwen brings 20 years’ experience in strategic advocacy, communications, and capacity building for a range of partnerships and networks, predominantly but not exclusively, focused on issues of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and most recently in assistive technology. She has been with ATscale since 2022.  She has worked collaboratively with stakeholders from community to national, regional to global levels and has worked with governments, inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder organizations, civil society organizations, and the private sector. Before joining ATscale, Ceridwen was Focal Point for Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization, where she was responsible for coordinating communications for strategic and political initiatives for the department.

Esther Mkamori, head of programmes, United Disabled Persons of Kenya. Esther Mkamori is head of programmes at the national umbrella organisation of people with disabilities in Kenya. She advocates for the rights of women and girls with disabilities and is committed to ensuring they are not left behind in the organisation’s work. Her work promotes the meaningful participation of OPDs in development programmes. Esther has supported decision-making and led advocacy work in Inclusive Futures’ inclusive education and inclusive livelihood projects in Kenya. 

Fatma Al Jassim is an Emirati pioneer and medalist, internationally certified in accessibility and disability rights. She has served as a UN youth delegate and is widely recognized for her leadership and policy advocacy. Honoured as the most influential leader with a disability in the region, Fatma continues to drive change as a Disability Inclusion and Accessibility Consultant, working with governments, private institutions, and individuals worldwide

Dr Morgon Banks is an Associate Professor in Disability Research at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Her primary research focus is in disability, poverty and social protection. She also acts as the trial lead for ICED’s flagship disability inclusive research programme, PENDA (Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action), leading the quantitative survey design and implementation with global partners. PENDA aims to build evidence on the impact of programmes in achieving long term improvements in the wellbeing and inclusion of people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries. Dr Banks has recently been awarded a prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to build on this work and study the effects of climate change on people with disabilities and strategies to improve their resilience. She has worked with UNICEF, IDA, World Bank on others, including as co-editor of the recently launched Global Disability Inclusion Report.