Training Course on Disability Mainstreaming in Projects and Organizations

Course Overview

The Disability Mainstreaming course offers a concise and impactful exploration of the principles and practices necessary for promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities. This course equips participants with the knowledge and skills to integrate disability considerations into various aspects of society, creating a more inclusive and accessible environment for all.

Through interactive discussions and practical examples, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of disability rights, the social model of disability, and the barriers faced by individuals with disabilities. They will explore strategies for mainstreaming disability into policies, programs, and services, ensuring equal access and participation for all individuals.

Course Objectives:

• Understand the concepts of disability and the different models of disability (e.g., medical model, social model).
• Learn about the human rights of people with disabilities and the relevant international and national legal frameworks.
• Identify the barriers that people with disabilities face in different areas of life (e.g., education, employment, transportation, leisure).
• Gain knowledge about universal design and its principles for creating accessible environments for everyone.
• Understand the importance of advocacy and inclusion for people with disabilities.
• Develop skills for identifying and addressing disability issues in policies, programs, and services.
• Build capacity for self-advocacy and empower people with disabilities to participate in decision-making processes.
• Promote inclusion and diversity in all aspects of society.

Course Duration: 5 days

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Disability Mainstreaming
1.1 Understanding Disability

- Types of disabilities and their implications
- Models of disability: Medical, social, and rights-based
- Addressing myths and misconceptions

1.2 Legal and Policy Frameworks
- Overview of international conventions: UNCRPD and SDGs
- National and organizational policies on disability inclusion
- Rights-based approach to disability inclusion

1.3 Interactive Activity: Case study analysis on disability-inclusive policies

Day 2: Disability-Inclusive Organizational Practices
2.1 Assessing Organizational Readiness
- Organizational culture and attitudes towards disability
- Conducting inclusion audits
- Building internal capacity for disability inclusion

2.2 Developing Inclusive Policies
- Practical steps for creating a disability inclusion strategy
- Examples of best practices in policy design

2.3 Creating an Accessible Workplace
- Universal design principles
- Reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities
- Leveraging assistive technology and tools

2.4 Group discussion: Auditing accessibility in your organization

Module 3: Mainstreaming Disability in Projects
3.1 Disability-Sensitive Project Design
- Engaging persons with disabilities (PwDs) in project planning
- Inclusive needs assessments and stakeholder engagement

3.2 Addressing Barriers to Inclusion
- Physical, communication, and attitudinal barriers
- Strategies to overcome these barriers

3.3 Inclusive Project Implementation
- Tailoring interventions for diverse needs
- Ensuring accessibility in communication and participation

3.4 Role-playing inclusive stakeholder meetings

Module 4: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)
4.1 Disability-Inclusive MEL Frameworks
- Identifying disability-sensitive indicators
- Collecting disaggregated data by disability

4.2 Evaluating Impact
- Measuring outcomes for PwDs
- Incorporating feedback from PwDs in project reviews

4.3 Case studies of disability mainstreaming in various sectors
4.4 Group work: Developing an inclusive MEL framework

Module 5: Practical Application and Action Planning
5.1 Tools and Resources for Disability Mainstreaming
- Accessibility audits
- Checklists for project design and evaluation
- Guide to adaptive technologies

5.2 Drafting Disability-Inclusive Strategies
- Participants outline strategies for their organizations/projects

5.3 Presentations and Peer Review
- Participants present their strategies
- Group feedback and suggestions

5.4 Course Wrap-Up and Next Steps
- Summary of key learnings
- Certificates of completion
- Networking and resource-sharing

Note: This course outline provides a general structure for the disability mainstreaming course. The specific content, activities, and duration of each session may be adjusted based on the target audience, learning objectives, and available time.