Shuchona Foundation’s participation in “Digital World 2020”
Our Chairperson Ms. Saima Wazed moderated a session titled “A Roadmap for Ensuring the Employment of Persons with Neurodevelopmental Disorders” on 10 December 2020. The session was organized by Shuchona Foundation in collaboration with Digital World 2020 hosted by the ICT Division in association with Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC). The panelists at the session were Dr. Liliana Mayo, Centro Ann Sullivan Del Peru, Ms. Supaanong Panyasirimongkol, Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, Thailand, Ms. Mahbuba Akter, Proyash School Dhaka, Bangladesh, and our colleague, Ms. Nazish Arman. As a self-advocate, Ms. Supaanong focused on her personal journey starting from school to university to now being successfully employed. She shared her challenging experiences while looking for a job and how she overcame them. She spoke about her current employment position and responsibilities. Ms. Mayo focused her discourse on Centro Ann Sullivan Del Peru’s (CASP) experience of switching to a digital platform during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the way it affected teachers’ interaction with the students and the way in which her organization trained the teachers. She also spoke briefly about how CASP teaches their students the skills to be employable and independent and shared how the pandemic affected the current employment situation of the students and a few success stories of the employed students. Ms. Akter, a teacher working in a special school, talked about how she had to adjust to the academic curriculum during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the advantages, and disadvantages of using a digital platform to teach students, and continue training of the teachers. She shared stories about students who were specifically benefitted from using the digital learning platform and of students who are now successfully employed. Ms. Arman presented on the “Employment of Persons with Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Bangladesh” where she spoke about Shuchona’s major initiatives in line with the National Strategic Plan and the approaches the Foundation has taken to address employment of persons with NDDs. She also briefly talked about SF’s “Empowerment of Families” program, how they are working closely with CASP since 2018 to bring their successful model to Bangladesh to pilot the program, supported by the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh. In this session, as the moderator, Ms. Wazed discussed how people with NDDs can get the opportunity of being employed, to support themselves, and are able to live in the society equally with the rest of the people.
