Global Action Week promotes equal access to education for children with disabilities

Inclusive education will be the focus of the 2014 Global Action Week entitled ‘Equal Right, Equal Opportunity: Education and Disability’. The event, scheduled for 4-10 May is organised by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), a broad civil society coalition advocating for free and compulsory, quality public basic education for all children.

The Equal Right, Equal Opportunity: Education and Disability campaign focuses on the problems children with disabilities face regarding access to education. GCE explains that children with disabilities experience difficulties in attending and finishing school on a global scale. Furthermore, in low and middle income countries the statistics are even grimmer. In Malawi and Tanzania, for example, children with disabilities are twice more likely to have never attended school, compared to those without disabilities, according to GCE. Another study cited by the organization states that only up to 3% of Ethiopian children with disabilities have access to education, while over three quarters of children who do not go to school in Nepal have a disability.
If you are interested in supporting GCE in their quest to bring equal opportunities for all and participate in the Global Action Week events, you can register using the following link. A campaign pack with relevant information about how to pitch in and set – up your on local campaign is also available online. It contains data regarding global statistics on disability and access to education, practical knowledge on raising awareness for the cause and a clearly mapped out list of steps which need to be taken in the future.

In support of the Global Action Week, End Exclusion, a European initiative aiming to change attitudes towards persons with disabilities, has created its own inspirational promo video named “It’s in Your Hands – Inclusion Now”. Watch and share it!