Germiston school speaks out at global disability forum
Mendy Welcome, deputy principal of Ithembelihle LSEN School and SADTU-RSA representative, attended the Global Disability Summit 2025 in Berlin.
He highlighted challenges in South Africa, including limited disability inclusion in workplaces and universities lacking capacity for students with disabilities.
Insufficient infrastructure and transportation access and budget cuts affecting schools, particularly special schools, were additional challenges he highlighted.
ALSO READ: Ithembelihle LSEN School showered with donations
Welcome's presentation emphasised the need for greater inclusivity and accessibility in South Africa's education system and workplaces.
'Infrastructure and transportation that is ready to enable access for the impaired is still a challenge.
'There is still a lack of suitable infrastructure to accommodate, for example, wheelchair users in workspaces and learning institutions,' said Welcome.
'Budget cuts to all schools are a national catastrophe, making it extremely difficult for schools to operate without adequate resources, particularly for special schools,' said Welcome.
The summit brought together a wide variety of stakeholders, engaging and discussing progress in disability inclusion: governments, multilateral agencies, the private sector, academia, trade unions and civil society organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities, and foundations.
The opening of the event was entrusted to Nawaf Kabbara, president of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and to the representatives of the two co-organising governments of the event, Germany and Jordan, respectively by Chancellor Olaf Schulz and King Abdullah Al Hussein.
ALSO READ: Ithembelihle LSEN School marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The two-day event saw a succession of in-depth studies and round tables discussions, for the analysis of situations in different countries and social contexts. An important space was reserved for the theme of inclusion in school and work.
One of the main panels was creating inclusive labour markets and decent work for people with disabilities around the world, which was attended by Luc Triangle, Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation.
Triangle underlined the three main priorities for action to achieve significant progress at the international level with respect to the right to inclusion: the creation of specific legislation, the defense of the welfare state attacked daily by right-wing governments and the implementation of the green and digital economy.
ALSO READ: 20 wheelchairs donated to iThembelihle LSEN School
In addition to the numerous in-depth tables related to the education sector, the summit was an opportunity for Education International, the international federation of trade unions in the knowledge sectors, to co-ordinate the presence of some of the affiliated organisations: VBE from Germany, JTU from Japan, FLC CGIL from Italy, FENPROF from Portugal, NASUWT from the United Kingdom and SADTU from South Africa.
The final day saw the launch of the Amman-Berlin Declaration, which proposes two specific objectives:
• To ensure that all international development programmes are accessible to persons with disabilities.
• Strive to ensure that at least 15% of international development programmes implemented at national level pursue disability inclusion.
With the goal of '15% for 15%,' the Amman-Berlin Declaration seeks to establish, for the first time, a quantifiable target for the inclusion of the largest minority group: 15-16 % of the world's population.
The goal is to achieve this milestone by the fourth GDS in 2028.
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