International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2021

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2021

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Use the following timestamps to navigate different sections of the video.

00:00 Welcome and introductory remarks
03:15 Including persons with disabilities for an inclusive recovery
07:36 Panel introductions: designing accessibility for an inclusive recovery
09:08 Addressing overlapping crises like climate change and COVID-19
16:32 Insights on disability-inclusive transport from Lagos
24:53 Empowering vulnerable populations: Identification for Inclusion
30:36 Inclusive community development
35:46 The role of the private sector and the strength of public-private partnerships
47:50 Resilience during COVID-19 for musicians and artists
52:49 Wawa’s music video: LOUD!
56:07 Closing remarks: inclusion, equity, access

"Designing accessible infrastructure, education programs, and health systems could change the entire trajectory in the life of a person with a disability."

— Mari Pangestu, World Bank

"I look forward to continuing our work together to promote inclusion and expand equitable opportunities for persons with disabilities and ensure the future is indeed accessible."

— Junaid Kamal Ahmad, World Bank

"COVID-19 has shown that emergency response systems in many countries are not designed to be inclusive of persons with disabilities. This is the best time for governments to consult with persons with disabilities."

— Elham Youssefian, International Disability Alliance (IDA)

"Development should be investing in innovation, in best practice. It means including people with disabilities before there’s a crisis."

— Rebecca Cokley, Ford Foundation

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Read the transcript


  • 00:15 [Junaid Ahmad]: Good morning, everyone. And welcome  
  • 00:17 to our annual celebration of the International Day  of Persons with Disabilities. But before I begin,  
  • 00:24 I'd like to remind everyone that the  international sign language interpretation  
  • 00:29 and closed caption services are available at the  bottom of your screen. I hope you can see that.
  • 00:35 [Junaid Ahmad]: My name is Junaid Ahmad,  
  • 00:37 and I am the World Bank Country Director  for India. I'll be moderating today's event.  
  • 00:43 I'm a Bangladeshi of South Asian descent, light  brown skin. I used to have a beautiful crop of  
  • 00:50 hair at one point, but working at the World Bank,  I now am bald as bald can be. I wear glasses. And  
  • 00:56 I'm wearing an ethnic suit. It's called the  Nehru jacket in India. It's called the Mujib  
  • 01:03 coat in Bangladesh. I hope you can visualize  those jackets. They mean a lot for our region.
  • 01:09 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 01:10 Ladies and gentlemen, as climate change, COVID-19  and conflict continue to escalate globally,  
  • 01:18 building cohesive and resilient communities  is more important than before. Therefore,  
  • 01:24 it is vital for us to reimagine what inclusive  and sustainable recovery would look like for  
  • 01:31 populations across the world. Inclusive services  for all is the objective. But regrettably,  
  • 01:38 persons with disabilities are often left out  of conversations around these critical issues,  
  • 01:44 even though they're among the most of the affected  groups that we face in development. Without  
  • 01:51 a disability-inclusive approach to recovery,  persons with disabilities are at increased risk  
  • 01:58 of being further left behind and falling  into poverty due to overlapping crises.
  • 02:04 [Junaid Ahmad]: Over the next hour, we're bringing together  
  • 02:07 policy makers, practitioners, and disability  champions to honor the resilience of persons  
  • 02:14 with disabilities and raise awareness of the  challenges they face. We will also, and this  
  • 02:21 is very important, we will also be treated to  a musical performance by an exciting artist,  
  • 02:27 known as Wawa, Warren Snipe. So, please stay  till the end and you'll hear wonderful music.
  • 02:34 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 02:35 I also welcome you to follow the conversation  online by using the hashtag IDPD2021  
  • 02:44 and Road2Inclusion, that's  road, the number two, inclusion.
  • 02:49 [Junaid Ahmad]: It is now my pleasure to welcome to the  
  • 02:52 conversation, Mari Pangestu, our managing director  of development policy and partnerships at the  
  • 02:59 World Bank. Again, before I turn it over to Mari,  I'd like to remind you all that close captioning  
  • 03:06 and international sign language are available  at the bottom of your screen. Mari, over to you.
  • 03:12 [Mari Pangestu]: 
  • 03:15 Good morning, everyone. I'm Mari Pangestu,  managing director for development policy  
  • 03:20 and partnerships at the World Bank. I am  from Indonesia. I have dark brown hair and  
  • 03:26 dark brown eyes. And today, I'm wearing a  dark blue suit with a matching necklace.
  • 03:32 [Mari Pangestu]: This week,  
  • 03:34 we join millions of people around the globe  to celebrate the International Day of Persons  
  • 03:39 with Disabilities. It's a day to reflect on global  diversity, to learn from the lived experiences  
  • 03:45 of persons with disabilities and to chart future  actions to promote inclusive accessible societies.  
  • 03:52 The global theme this year is Leadership and  Participation of Persons with Disabilities,  
  • 03:57 towards an inclusive, accessible, and sustainable  post COVID-19 world. This gives us an opportunity  
  • 04:04 to renew our focus on the people who have  been hit hardest by the ongoing pandemic.
  • 04:09 [Mari Pangestu]: Including persons with  
  • 04:11 disabilities and expanding equitable opportunities  are at the core of the World Bank's goals to end  
  • 04:18 extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.  Persons with disabilities still struggle to  
  • 04:25 access adequate health, education, transportation,  and other basic services. As we continue to work  
  • 04:32 towards an inclusive recovery from COVID 19, we  need to design solutions that consider everybody.  
  • 04:38 It's part of our approach to green, resilient  and inclusive development as we move forward.
  • 04:44 [Mari Pangestu]: When something is built or designed  
  • 04:46 with accessibility in mind, it has powerful  impacts on communities, not only for persons with  
  • 04:52 disabilities, but many other groups, including  persons with temporary impairments, the elderly,  
  • 04:59 pregnant women and children. Designing accessible  infrastructure, education programs and health  
  • 05:05 systems could change the entire trajectory  in the life of a person with a disability.
  • 05:11 [Mari Pangestu]: Addressing systemic inequalities  
  • 05:14 and improving accessibility for all are not easy  things to do, but we are committed to staying the  
  • 05:23 course. We have been active in supporting persons  with disabilities for close to two decades,  
  • 05:29 significantly ramping up our  efforts in the last five years.
  • 05:32 [Mari Pangestu]: The World Bank's fund for the  
  • 05:35 poorest countries also known as IDA recognizes  disability inclusion as a theme that crosses a  
  • 05:41 number of sectors. IDA has enabled us to improve  our disability inclusion work through stronger  
  • 05:47 engagement with persons with disabilities for  our projects. Their voice and participation in  
  • 05:52 the design and delivery of development projects  is crucial. Let me highlight a few examples.
  • 05:58 [Mari Pangestu]: In Rwanda, we supported  
  • 06:00 the government with the design of disability  inclusive infrastructure in schools. This resulted  
  • 06:06 in the expansion of over 20,000 classrooms and  nearly 31,000 toilets, including new ramps that  
  • 06:13 provide easier access to classrooms, spacious  restrooms that accommodate wheelchairs and  
  • 06:19 accessible blackboards for students and teachers  with disabilities. The project will also provide  
  • 06:25 teacher training to support children with  disabilities and accessible learning materials.
  • 06:30 [Mari Pangestu]: In Nigeria, the Digital  
  • 06:32 Identification for Development Project ensured  that persons with disabilities were involved  
  • 06:38 in the extensive consultation process, including  two meetings that explored the challenges of  
  • 06:45 persons with disabilities, what they face in  applying for and receiving unique identification.  
  • 06:55 The feedback from these consultations provides  significant insight into the project design.
  • 07:00 [Mari Pangestu]: Let me close by reiterating that  
  • 07:04 as this year's theme suggests, working towards an  accessible future is everyone's responsibility. At  
  • 07:10 the time we must center the voices of persons with  disabilities in our response and recovery efforts.  
  • 07:16 I'm delighted that we have an excellent panel  today to share perspectives from the government,  
  • 07:22 private sector, civil society, including  organizations of persons with disabilities  
  • 07:27 foundations and other partner organizations. I  look forward to hearing from all of them today.
  • 07:33 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 07:36 Thank you Mari for clearly emphasizing the  commitment of the World Bank in addressing the  
  • 07:41 challenge of disability as part of our development  agenda. So once again, thank you very much.
  • 07:46 [Junaid Ahmad]: Next, we turn to our panel  
  • 07:49 of four distinguished guests, who are joining us  from across the globe to talk about approaches,  
  • 07:55 to designing accessibility for an inclusive  recovery. We have with us, Elham Youssefian,  
  • 08:02 who is the inclusive humanitarian action  and disaster risk reduction advisor at  
  • 08:09 the International Disability Alliance, also  known as IDA. We also have Abimbola Akinajo,  
  • 08:17 who's the managing director at Lagos Metropolitan  Area Transport Authority. We have Ibiyemi  
  • 08:24 Ayeni, who's the initiative manager at Special  Olympics in Nigeria. And finally, Rebecca Cokley,  
  • 08:30 who is the program officer working on the US  Disability Rights Program at Ford Foundation.
  • 08:36 [Junaid Ahmad]: Colleagues, you have beautiful names,  
  • 08:38 and I hope that in my Southern Asian accent, I  have not done any disservice to those wonderful  
  • 08:44 names. It's a pleasure to have all of you  join us today. So, welcome to all of you.
  • 08:50 [Junaid Ahmad]: Elham, if I may begin with you.  
  • 08:53 This year's commemoration comes on the heels of  COP 26. And we're still in the middle of COVID 19.  
  • 09:01 Climate change is real and a real threat to  humanity. And COVID has had its real impact.  
  • 09:08 In your view, what measures must global leaders  take to ensure that response to overlapping crisis  
  • 09:15 like climate change and COVID is inclusive  of persons with disabilities. Elham?
  • 09:21 [Elham Youssefian]: Thank you very much, Junaid. Hello,  
  • 09:24 everyone, wherever you are listening to me  and seeing me. I just want to first say that  
  • 09:33 I am a mid-30s woman. I'm also blind. And  I have medium color skin with dark brown  
  • 09:44 eyebrows and eyes and dark brown  hair. I'm wearing a red shirt today.
  • 09:48 [Elham Youssefian]: So global leaders,  
  • 09:51 of course, the list is very long, but if I have  to just say one sentence to them, that would be,  
  • 09:59 no inclusion, no efficiency. So, if they want  to be efficient, they need to be inclusive,  
  • 10:05 disability inclusive, and they need  to be disability inclusive now.
  • 10:09 [Elham Youssefian]: Let me use the example of  
  • 10:12 climate change, which is fresh in everyone's mind  because of the Glasgow COP 26, which just ended.  
  • 10:20 We see that many of the climate adaptation  and climate mitigation policies and programs  
  • 10:28 are being designed without considering  impact on persons with disabilities,  
  • 10:33 and the role that persons  with disabilities can play.
  • 10:36 [Elham Youssefian]: For example, unfortunately, due to climate change,  
  • 10:40 heat waves are going to be a reality of many  people's lives all over the world in the near  
  • 10:47 future. But we see that the adaptation policies  that are being designed to address that are not  
  • 10:53 always disability inclusive. For example, they do  not design the cooling centers in accessible way.  
  • 11:02 They do not design the information sharing and  the messaging programs in a way that all people  
  • 11:10 with disabilities with different communication  means that they use can access that information.
  • 11:15 [Elham Youssefian]: Also, look at the climate mitigation. So,  
  • 11:19 we see that one of the policies that is being  considered to mitigate the climate change  
  • 11:26 is to reduce carbon emission. But in many of  these policies, they do not consider the impact on  
  • 11:33 persons with disabilities. For example, they raise  the gas prices to encourage people to use public  
  • 11:40 transportation, but they do not pay attention to  the fact that some people with disabilities cannot  
  • 11:47 use public transportation, simply because  public transportation is not accessible.
  • 11:52 [Elham Youssefian]: Interestingly, we, people with  
  • 11:56 disabilities have been advocating for climate  friendly transportation policies way before  
  • 12:02 everyone else, because it's decades that we are  advocating for accessible public transportation.  
  • 12:09 So, we have been climate advocates for  many years without even noticing that.
  • 12:14 [Elham Youssefian]: So,  
  • 12:17 transforming public transportation would  be a great way to address climate change  
  • 12:25 and accessibility, disability inclusion at  the same time. But without considering that,  
  • 12:33 increasing gas prices to reduce carbon emission  would be discriminatory and excluding persons  
  • 12:40 with disabilities from community even more.  So, that's what we mean when we ask global  
  • 12:46 leaders to consider impact of their policies  and programs on persons with disabilities.
  • 12:52 [Elham Youssefian]: Look at the COVID situation,  
  • 12:55 and now that we are recovering. COVID-19 proved  that emergency setups, emergency response  
  • 13:06 systems and rules in many countries are designed  in a very non-inclusive way for persons with  
  • 13:14 disabilities. So, now that all governments are  more or less introducing recovery packages,  
  • 13:20 this is the best time to sit with persons with  disabilities and their representative organization  
  • 13:26 and ask them, what should we do, so that for the  next emergency, which unfortunately is inevitable,  
  • 13:35 sooner or later, we don't face this exclusion  and discrimination that we did face in COVID-19?
  • 13:43 [Elham Youssefian]: For example, look at the education.  
  • 13:48 Due to COVID-19, we had to transform  students to remote education. That means  
  • 13:54 that many persons with disabilities could not  access education and had to drop out because  
  • 14:01 the remote systems were not accessible  for them. At the same time, it was an  
  • 14:06 opportunity for some groups of persons  with disabilities who could not attend  
  • 14:12 education at school, that okay,  they could use remote education.
  • 14:19 [Elham Youssefian]: So, now that we are  
  • 14:20 considering education recovery policies and  programs, it's a perfect timing to make sure that  
  • 14:26 those who were excluded from education because  of COVID-19 restrictions can go back to school.  
  • 14:33 And those who could access to education due  to introduction of remote learning systems  
  • 14:40 remain in the education cycle.  These are just examples.
  • 14:44 [Elham Youssefian]: And the main key that I think  
  • 14:49 all global leaders at country level, local level  and regional and global can use is consultation.  
  • 15:00 Yes, it is important to listen to persons with  disabilities. And listening to one person with  
  • 15:05 disability is not enough. You should talk to  different groups of persons with disabilities,  
  • 15:10 because what I can share as a blind person is  different from what a deaf colleague can share.  
  • 15:16 And what I can share from global perspective is  different from what someone at local level can  
  • 15:21 share. Yes, it would take extra time because  you need to take time to consult with persons  
  • 15:27 with disabilities and their representative  organizations, but it worth it because  
  • 15:32 we are 15% of the population. And yes, you  need to provide the information required  
  • 15:39 to understand the policy in accessible formats,  in sign language, in braille or audio, in plain  
  • 15:45 language for those with intellectual disabilities.  But that's the obligation that all governments  
  • 15:52 have under the United Nations Convention  on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
  • 15:56 [Elham Youssefian]: So, the bottom line is that come to us,  
  • 16:00 talk to us and ask us, and we will be sharing  
  • 16:05 good ways for real and efficient  inclusion. Thank you. Thank you.
  • 16:09 [Junaid Ahmad]: Elham, thank you very much for those important  
  • 16:13 messages. There's no doubt that if we are to be  successful in our fight against climate change and  
  • 16:20 COVID-19, we have to hear the voices of persons  with disabilities. Your message is well heard.
  • 16:26 [Junaid Ahmad]: Abimbola, if I may turn  
  • 16:29 to you. Elham, already mentioned transport.  So, here in Nigeria, in Sub-Saharan Africa,  
  • 16:36 the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit  System is a great example  
  • 16:40 of accessible design. It would be really good  to get your perspective and hear how you have  
  • 16:47 taken the BRT through a process, which has made  it accessible for persons with disabilities.  
  • 16:53 And importantly, what are some of the lessons  that other countries can learn from the Legos BRT?
  • 16:58 [Abimbola Akinajo]: So, thank you very much  
  • 17:02 for that question. So, hello, everybody.  I am Abimbola. I'm a black woman. And I  
  • 17:10 have black hair. And my hair is in tiny little  twists. I have pods of little plats on my head.  
  • 17:19 I have metal framed glasses on. And  I'm wearing a brown and a black top.
  • 17:27 [Abimbola Akinajo]: So, let's talk about the Lagos BRT.  
  • 17:35 So, the Lagos BRT system is a first. It's a  way that Lagos state government has created  
  • 17:43 a regulated bus system for Lagos state. And in  preparing that, we have always acknowledged,  
  • 17:51 or we have identified the fact that we need to  have an inclusive system. We need to ensure that  
  • 17:59 persons with disabilities can  access this public transportation.
  • 18:03 [Abimbola Akinajo]: Now, it's interesting what Elham said that  
  • 18:08 we talk to and engage persons with disability.  And then that's exactly what LAMATA did  
  • 18:14 as part of the planning and designing for  the BRT system, not just the infrastructure,  
  • 18:21 but also the rolling stock when they come. So,  this is a bus system. And it was challenging,  
  • 18:26 bearing in mind that we're trying to  implement in a developed city already. So,  
  • 18:32 there were things. First of all, like  Elham said, we needed to engage the  
  • 18:39 persons with disability communities that  already had groups within Lagos. And  
  • 18:46 we took their concerns and we made that in the  design, we implemented a number of those issues.
  • 18:54 [Abimbola Akinajo]: So, for instance, we have  
  • 18:59 ramps on our buses for wheeling on and  wheeling off of passengers. We have level  
  • 19:05 boarding on our BRT stations. And recently  what we've also done because we realized that  
  • 19:12 whilst we have level boarding on our BRT systems  or bus stations, when the buses are not parking  
  • 19:21 at or stopping at BRT stations, it was difficult  for the physically challenged to board them. So,  
  • 19:29 the new buses we have now are actually leaning  buses. And which means that when we stop at any  
  • 19:34 other station, the bus can tilt and allow  level boarding, regardless of where we are.
  • 19:39 [Abimbola Akinajo]: We have ramps with all  
  • 19:42 of the new bus terminals we're building now. And  Lagos is in the process of implementing a number  
  • 19:47 of the bus terminals in accordance  with our strategic master plan.  
  • 19:52 So, all the bus terminals we're building  now, we have ramps at them for easy access.
  • 19:57 [Abimbola Akinajo]: We have  
  • 20:00 specially designed toilets for the physical  physically challenged within our bus terminals,  
  • 20:05 because that's also some of the things you  sort of sometimes overlook. We have on our  
  • 20:12 rolling stock as well, we have designated seats  for the physically challenged, so that when you  
  • 20:20 are sitting on the bus, it's written there,  you know that you need to give up a seat for a  
  • 20:27 priority passenger, or there's a place to actually  wheel your wheelchairs to park it on the bus.
  • 20:35 [Abimbola Akinajo]: Now, one very major thing we've  
  • 20:39 identified apart from talking and  engaging with physically challenged or  
  • 20:47 disabled people is we need to train our people.  No matter what you do, you need to really ensure  
  • 20:55 that those who work at those bus stops, those who  work, those on the buses understand the reason why  
  • 21:03 you are telling them to do certain things. So,  there's a big role for the state and for the  
  • 21:09 agency to ensure that we carry out regular  trainings, that will ensure that those who  
  • 21:16 work in those facilities know what to do when  they encounter the physically challenged.  
  • 21:23 Know that what we are asking you to do  when you see them, how to respond to them,  
  • 21:27 how to work with them. And we see this regularly  in the system, where we recognize that when  
  • 21:35 people were not trained, they just didn't  know how to react or how to deal with them.
  • 21:41 [Abimbola Akinajo]: So, a physically challenged person comes  
  • 21:44 to a bus that does not have a kneeling position,  will need the bus driver to come out and pull out  
  • 21:50 a ramp. Now, if he's not trained to understand  that that is what he must do to allow the  
  • 21:56 physically challenged to access his bus, he won't  know to get down or to go and provide that access.
  • 22:03 [Abimbola Akinajo]: So, the one thing LAMATA has learned  
  • 22:05 is continuous training of the people who work  on the system. It's fantastic to provide all  
  • 22:12 of these things that are build off. We have  pedestrian bridges that access our bus terminals,  
  • 22:17 but we also need to ensure that all those who  work around it are well trained to understand what  
  • 22:24 needs to be done and why they need to do it. And  that is part of the things that we have learned,  
  • 22:31 because when we first had all of these systems  and we realized that people were probably not  
  • 22:36 responding as well as we wanted them to, we've  now started to do a lot of training advocacy  
  • 22:42 and letting people know, and also putting it out  there that LAMATA is in the business of actively  
  • 22:50 engaging and ensuring that we're inclusive  in the business of public transportation.
  • 22:55 [Abimbola Akinajo]: So, from LAMATA's perspective, it is a deliberate  
  • 23:02 action that we must make. It is we have to be  deliberate about this inclusion. We can't just  
  • 23:08 ensure that we do certain things and think  it'll just work. There's the engagement.  
  • 23:13 And Elham mentioned that at the start,  we need to continuously engage those  
  • 23:19 organizations and ensure that their needs are met  and their needs are being constantly fed into the  
  • 23:25 system. But we also need to ensure that our people  are well trained to know the reasons why they're  
  • 23:32 doing what they're doing and how to do what they  need to do to ensure that everybody is included.
  • 23:38 [Abimbola Akinajo]: And we also have complaint lines.  
  • 23:42 And I get that regularly from those who  have encountered poor service at any of  
  • 23:48 our bus services. And we know to follow up that  complaint and to find out where it happened,  
  • 23:55 and we know what we now need to do. So, we reach  out to the complainer and we understand what the  
  • 24:01 challenge was. And then we go back to identify  how to deal with it, whether it is to go back  
  • 24:06 to that bus terminal and ensure that we up our  training and speak to them. So, it's a constant  
  • 24:13 and continuous process of engagement. And I think  that is the key thing, engagement. Provide all the  
  • 24:19 physical infrastructure to support inclusion,  but continue to talk. Thank you very much.
  • 24:25 [Junaid Ahmad]: Thank you very much. What a fascinating story. You  
  • 24:31 talk about the use of technology, infrastructure  in a different way. You talk about training.  
  • 24:37 But most importantly, you talk about the need  for constant voice, listening to those who face  
  • 24:43 disabilities to make transport accessible for  all. What an extraordinary story from Lagos.
  • 24:49 [Junaid Ahmad]: Let's continue our  
  • 24:51 focus in Nigeria. And I would like to invite  Ibiyemi to share her thoughts. The identity for  
  • 25:00 inclusion or ID4I solution has been a game  changer for athletes with disabilities.  
  • 25:07 Can you tell us more about this and why  it was so vital to have this provision?
  • 25:13 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: Sure. Good day, everybody. My name is  
  • 25:17 Ibiyemi Ayeni, and I am a chocolate brown, black  woman with dark brown eyes. I have brown hair,  
  • 25:27 and it's an afro, and I have it pulled back. I'm  also wearing a brown dress with stripes. Okay.
  • 25:34 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: Let's talk about ID4I. ID4I means  
  • 25:40 identification for inclusion, and it's a solution  being championed by Special Olympics Nigeria,  
  • 25:47 to facilitate the registration of people with  intellectual disabilities, living in Nigeria,  
  • 25:52 through the issuance of a national identification  number. This is important to us because to attain  
  • 25:59 a sustainable development goal, we need  to promote more inclusive communities.  
  • 26:04 To have more inclusive communities, we need to  promote equitable access to every individual  
  • 26:10 in the community to opportunities and services.  This will not be possible, if an individual is not  
  • 26:18 registered and recognized, one as a citizen, and  two, to be able to access a world of opportunity.
  • 26:24 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: Special Olympics mostly  
  • 26:30 focus on people with intellectual disabilities.  We empower them through the power of sports.  
  • 26:36 So, our athletes go for training opportunities  and competition opportunities. During competition  
  • 26:42 and international competition, they have to  travel. To travel, you need a passport. And  
  • 26:47 now in Nigeria to get an international passport,  you need to have a National Identification Number.  
  • 26:54 And a National Identification Number is  not just to get an international passport,  
  • 27:00 in order for them to access healthcare when  they want to make sure that they're good  
  • 27:03 and they perform optimally during their  sporting activities. To access the healthcare,  
  • 27:09 they need a National Identification Number.  Same thing with accessing financial services,  
  • 27:13 to get access to communication  services, to get access to education  
  • 27:17 and empowerment opportunities. And a National  Identification Number is essential. And that  
  • 27:24 is why we believe that everybody should  have a National Identification Number.
  • 27:29 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: Now, the reason why we reached out to various  
  • 27:34 communities and families of people  with intellectual disabilities,  
  • 27:38 and we inquired about the reasons why there's  no records of people with disabilities,  
  • 27:44 especially those with intellectual disabilities  registered in the database is because a lot of  
  • 27:50 family members don't know the importance of  registering their ward or child with a disability,  
  • 27:56 especially those with intellectual disabilities in  the system. And then two, most of them are worried  
  • 28:03 about the distance. They don't have the time to go  out, to take out, to go to these various centers.  
  • 28:09 And another reason is that a lot of them  are worried about the treatment that their  
  • 28:13 child or ward might receive when  they go outside to these centers.
  • 28:19 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: So, to tackle these barriers,  
  • 28:22 the ID4I solution has come up  with three steps. Number one,  
  • 28:28 we are educating people with intellectual  disabilities, people with disabilities and  
  • 28:33 their family members. We're also partnering with  the National Identification Management Commission.  
  • 28:38 Without them, we cannot register anybody.  So, through their partnership, we are able to  
  • 28:45 train their staff on how to treat and tolerate  people with differing abilities, and to provide  
  • 28:53 their utmost service to these vulnerable groups.  And then once that's done, three, Special Olympics  
  • 29:01 Nigeria team, and the National Identification  Management go into the various communities across  
  • 29:09 the various local government areas in Nigeria.  And we try to facilitate registration locally  
  • 29:17 in centers, close to these vulnerable groups  to ensure and promote their registration.
  • 29:24 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: We believe we've  
  • 29:26 started off in Lagos. And we have already  entered into 25 local government areas.  
  • 29:33 And we are hoping that through work  we're doing that will gain more partners  
  • 29:41 and sponsor support to go into other  states, to facilitate registration  
  • 29:46 for others with disabilities, especially those  with intellectual disabilities across Nigeria.
  • 29:51 [Ibiyemi Ayeni]: Nigeria is heading towards  
  • 29:54 a nation that is being more strategic.  And we know, and we believe that we're  
  • 29:58 heading to a place where the nation would start  thinking about strategic social protection for  
  • 30:05 vulnerable groups. And in order for them  to be able to do this, they need to know  
  • 30:11 who these vulnerable groups are. And  that's why it's very important for every  
  • 30:16 individual to have a National Identification  Number, especially those with disabilities.
  • 30:22 [Junaid Ahmad]: Thank you, Ibiyemi, for your insightful comments.  
  • 30:28 The Identity for Inclusion or ID4I continues to do  some pathbreaking work. So, thank you very much.
  • 30:34 [Junaid Ahmad]: Finally, we'll wrap up this  
  • 30:36 panel discussion with Rebecca. Rebecca, this is a  very important time in our history in the world.  
  • 30:44 We are trying to recover from COVID-19. And  recovery has to be one that includes everyone.  
  • 30:50 Perhaps you could share from your experience  what inclusive community development looks like  
  • 30:57 and what lessons do development practitioners  can really see on how to ensure that disability  
  • 31:03 does not stop us from ensuring inclusion  and development, especially in this context  
  • 31:09 when we are really coming out in a recovery  process, post-COVID-19. Rebecca, over to you.
  • 31:15 [Rebecca Cokley]: Thank you so much for  
  • 31:17 having me. Hi, my name is Rebecca Cokley.  I am a redheaded little person. I have  
  • 31:23 achondroplastic dwarfism. I am wearing  a red jacket, black shirt. And I have a  
  • 31:31 lovely three generations worth abundance  of freckles that I am very proud of.
  • 31:36 [Rebecca Cokley]: This is such an important question now  
  • 31:39 more than ever, because of COVID-19. We know that  the epidemic had has not just pretty much changed  
  • 31:46 everyone's way of life, but it has also resulted  in the creation of over 85 million newly disabled  
  • 31:53 people around the world. This is the largest  disability population boom, probably almost ever.
  • 32:00 [Rebecca Cokley]: Inclusive community development  
  • 32:03 means the ability to adapt to this changing  population, while at the same time centering  
  • 32:10 the needs of the most impacted. As my colleagues  were saying, any response to climate change  
  • 32:17 or transportation, or poverty will be ineffective  if disability is not centered. The opportunity  
  • 32:25 here is really to move from how we've responded  to previous crises, responding with fear,  
  • 32:31 responding with isolation, with  pity, to responding with empowerment.
  • 32:36 [Rebecca Cokley]: And so, when I think about  
  • 32:37 what this looks like, it means that development  should be investing in innovation. It should be  
  • 32:43 investing in best practice. It means including  people with disabilities and their communities  
  • 32:49 before there's a crisis, before there's a  problem in terms of both physical access,  
  • 32:54 programmatic access and linguistic accessibility.  
  • 32:58 From a grant making perspective, what it means is  engaging in participatory grant making, bringing  
  • 33:04 those that are directly impacted to the table from  day one, to decide how funding is being spent.
  • 33:10 [Rebecca Cokley]: At the Ford Foundation,  
  • 33:12 as we built out our US Disability Rights Program  Strategy this last year, this was a central part  
  • 33:17 of our thinking. So, we pulled together a  series of disability community consultancies  
  • 33:23 on our strategy, where we talk to experts, talk  to family members, and most importantly, talk to  
  • 33:30 people with disabilities, both those that work  within the disability rights and justice space  
  • 33:36 and those who work in other organizations,  to tell us what works and what doesn't work,  
  • 33:40 where should we be focusing on? In this time of  COVID, how do we balance, responding to crises  
  • 33:48 with the day to day issues and realities that  impact the lives of people with disabilities?  
  • 33:54 This translated into our workplaces, as  we're talking about the development space.
  • 33:59 [Rebecca Cokley]: What does it really mean now to go back to work?  
  • 34:02 Accommodations and flexibility that disabled  people have asked for, have begged for,  
  • 34:09 for years and were told we're not reasonable,  became provided to everyone almost overnight.  
  • 34:16 That said, when we return to work, it  cannot be a time for employers to shift  
  • 34:22 back to inaccessibility. It also cannot  be a time that employers say, "Okay, fine.  
  • 34:28 If you were working from home all of this time,  we don't have to make our workplace accessible.  
  • 34:34 You can just stay at home." The new reality  cannot be an excuse for segregation.  
  • 34:39 And development has a role in making  sure that that's not the case.
  • 34:42 [Rebecca Cokley]: Development can be investing  
  • 34:45 in healthcare systems, that center versus  isolating disabled people and the disability  
  • 34:51 communities. Practitioners in these spaces must  be more thoughtful in terms of the recovery.  
  • 34:58 So many times in the development world,  we believe that our job is sweeping in  
  • 35:04 and telling communities what they need. And  instead, we must listen. We must center those  
  • 35:09 impacted. It does no good to rush in with  exoskeletons when the people on the ground  
  • 35:15 tell us that what they need is clean drinking  water and passable roads. Thank you very much.
  • 35:21 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 35:23 Thank you, Rebecca. Very powerful message,  that the new reality cannot be used as an  
  • 35:28 excuse for segregation. That's a very important  message for all of us. Elham, Abimbola, Ibiyemi,  
  • 35:36 Rebecca, it's leaders like you, who will ensure  
  • 35:40 that development is indeed inclusive. Thank you  very much for joining us in this discussion.
  • 35:45 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 35:46 I now want to hand over the mic to my colleague,  Louise Cord, who is the global director of social  
  • 35:52 sustainability and inclusion at the World Bank  for a fireside chat with Jenny Lay-Flurrie,  
  • 35:58 who's the chief accessibility officer  at Microsoft. Louise, over to you.
  • 36:04 [Louise Cord]: 
  • 36:07 Well, thank you very much, Junaid. And good  morning and welcome, everybody, to this segment of  
  • 36:12 today's program, which will be a fireside chat on  digital accessibility for an inclusive recovery.
  • 36:18 [Louise Cord]: Before we go any further,  
  • 36:19 let me just briefly introduce myself. My name  is Louise Cord. I am the global director for  
  • 36:24 social sustainability and inclusion at the World  Bank. I identify as a woman with short brown hair.  
  • 36:32 I am today wearing dangling earrings, and  I have a pink scarf and a gray sweater.
  • 36:37 [Louise Cord]: So, I've been so impressed so far by the  
  • 36:41 honesty and the meaningful discussions that we've  been having on how the World Bank Group and other  
  • 36:46 development actors can make a world more inclusive  for persons with disabilities. I now have the  
  • 36:53 pleasure of welcoming, Jenny Lay-Flurrie to this  discussion. Jenny is the chief accessibility  
  • 37:00 officer at Microsoft. Welcome, Jenny. And  let's just dive right into the discussion.
  • 37:05 [Louise Cord]: The first question I'd like to ask is about  
  • 37:08 inclusion and how the World Bank sees challenges  of inclusion as critical in this recovery period,  
  • 37:15 where COVID has done so much to exacerbate  inequalities. The role of digital technology is  
  • 37:22 absolutely key for an inclusive recovery amongst  our client countries in the developing world.  
  • 37:27 And I'd like to hear how Microsoft, the efforts  that they've made to develop accessible product  
  • 37:33 design and make technology available,  and ensure an inclusive digital access.
  • 37:39 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: 
  • 37:43 Thank you. Great question. And first, thank  you for having me. Jenny Lay-Flurrie. I  
  • 37:48 am a white female, sitting in a Microsoft  office. So, I have a whiteboard behind me,  
  • 37:54 brown hair, glasses, and thick red  lipstick. It's early in the morning here.
  • 37:59 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: And it's a great question. I will say that  
  • 38:03 like many, we have been learning from this  period and learning really as the demographics  
  • 38:10 of disability continue to go up, but the social  inequity continues, unfortunately to go with it.  
  • 38:17 And we are seeing that really the effects of the  pandemic disproportionately impact the disabled  
  • 38:23 community. So, it's something that's incredibly  top of mind for us here at Microsoft. We did just  
  • 38:29 recently redo our strategy to really just be very  thoughtful, to tackle and attack this bluntly,  
  • 38:38 and with a tagline that  actually came from World Bank,  
  • 38:42 which was a study you did in 2016 that  coined the phrase, disability divide,  
  • 38:48 and very aptly described some of the facets  and reasons why that has come to the fore.
  • 38:54 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: So, for us, yes, we are a nerdy technical company,  
  • 38:59 that is the core and the grounding that we stand  on. And I think the bottom line basics is making  
  • 39:06 sure that we embed the disabled community  into the core and fabric of what we do,  
  • 39:12 everything that we do. We very stand just  vehemently on the nothing about us without us.  
  • 39:20 And so, that does mean that the insights  of people with disabilities, whether it's  
  • 39:25 feedback channel, social listening, engaging  with specific nonprofits and countries,  
  • 39:31 and economic differences. We collect that and  GARNER that. We test our products with disabled  
  • 39:41 communities. We design them with... And that's  being able to net us bluntly better products.
  • 39:47 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: I mean, this isn't just a charity,  
  • 39:53 or an optional thing. There so much business  benefit to doing this, but it also does mean that  
  • 40:00 the bar of inclusion and accessibility within our  products has systematically gone up over time.  
  • 40:06 So, it's very, very top of mind for  us, and not just in our products,  
  • 40:11 but in our processes, how we hire talent,  how we empower talent, how we unblock  
  • 40:18 issues that could be preventing talent from  going from early education into higher education,  
  • 40:25 from higher education into the workforce. So  yes, it's got to be thoughtful and systematic.
  • 40:31 [Louise Cord]: 
  • 40:33 Could I ask you maybe just to describe in just a  few words, one of your most favorite dimensions of  
  • 40:40 Microsoft's accessible product design, a specific  one, if there's something you'd like to highlight?
  • 40:46 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: Oh, crikey. There are so many. I mean,  
  • 40:52 I feel very lucky to work with as many teams  as we do. But I would also one of my favorites,  
  • 40:59 and they're all my favorites to be clear.  But one of my favorites right now is the  
  • 41:05 acceleration we're seeing in accessibility  in gaming. And gaming and play, I think is  
  • 41:15 as important as workplace and education, respite,  and having the ability to chill out with family,  
  • 41:24 with friends, whether it's on a phone, it's on  a PC, or it's on any device, or it's on an Xbox  
  • 41:32 and methodically opening doors  to disabled talent to game.
  • 41:37 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: And some of the beautiful  
  • 41:40 projects that I've seen come through this,  even with Forza, which is a driving game,  
  • 41:46 embedding British sign language,  American sign language, captioning,  
  • 41:51 and a whole bunch and suit features into  that to open doors to disabled gamers.  
  • 41:57 There's a lot more to do, a lot more. But I think  play is just a crucially important component to  
  • 42:05 life in all parts of the world. And I don't think  we put enough emphasis into opening doors there.
  • 42:12 [Louise Cord]: Interesting. Interesting dimension there,  
  • 42:15 I wouldn't have thought of. And I can see why  you raise it. It is quite important. Thank you.
  • 42:20 [Louise Cord]: Let me turn now to just a question  
  • 42:22 more on the how. So, I understand that to do a  lot of these digital accessible product lines,  
  • 42:29 you have a public private partnership.  And maybe explain the how process. And you  
  • 42:35 mentioned your engagement with communities and  with different groups. How has this been done?
  • 42:43 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: Well, I think the first thing to recognize when  
  • 42:46 you're building anything and you are aiming to  achieve a higher bar of inclusion is that you're  
  • 42:50 not the experts. And while we are very proud to  hire, empower and publicly share our mission to  
  • 42:59 get more disabled talent into Microsoft, which  we've been very aggressively pushing forward on.  
  • 43:06 We just published our new numbers at 7.1% of our  US population being employees with disabilities.  
  • 43:15 We clearly don't represent the mass. And you can't  have one company representative of the globe and  
  • 43:23 the true diversity of disability that exists and  how that changes by country, by area, by location.
  • 43:31 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: So, I think it really is important for us to have  
  • 43:35 the right connections, the right relationships  and the right processes to garner that feedback  
  • 43:42 and to work together, to make sure that we  ultimately make it easier to be accessible  
  • 43:47 and to understand the  business benefits disability.
  • 43:50 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: So, I absolutely love working with Charlotte  
  • 43:56 at World Bank. I think her expertise  in the industry is legendary.  
  • 44:01 And she's an amazing thought leader. But  partnering with her on how we can make it easier  
  • 44:06 is a very important part of what we do. Working  with other public, private and nonprofits  
  • 44:12 to, again, methodically get that feedback  in. So, one of those is Shepherd Center,  
  • 44:19 which has 1500 people with disabilities.  And we test our products with them. And one,  
  • 44:27 we get invaluable feedback. Two, it's  the right economic set of processes.  
  • 44:33 Individuals are paid around $50 an hour for  their time. So, it is also creating a workplace,  
  • 44:42 which is also important, a sustainable workplace.
  • 44:44 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: And I think the other aspects  
  • 44:47 that I look at is how can we also partner to  you get out technology into people's hands?  
  • 44:54 One of the issues with accessibility is actually  there's a wealth of goodness, just sitting in the  
  • 45:01 device in front of me, that people often  don't even know about or have access to.
  • 45:07 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: So, how can we get more technology  
  • 45:10 into people's hands with the right connectivity  to be able to access? And we are trialing some  
  • 45:19 initiatives in the States, but I do hope that  they go further assure because that's really  
  • 45:25 the benefit that we're going  to see from this, to get  
  • 45:29 devices affordable, sustainably affordable  into people's hands in New York and LA,  
  • 45:35 and particularly into disabled communities  that may not have had access to those.  
  • 45:39 And that's a partnership between the public  institutions in those cities, between connectivity  
  • 45:47 providers and Microsoft as providers of the  hardware and software, and digital accessibility.  
  • 45:53 And so, I think there's a lot more that  we can and should be doing. But yes,  
  • 46:00 we got to do this stuff together, if we're  going to really tackle that disability divide.
  • 46:05 [Louise Cord]: Wow, it sounds really exciting.  
  • 46:07 I would love to hear how this partnership  goes with New York, and I think you said LA,  
  • 46:13 and the technology providers and Microsoft,  because to get accessible devices into the hands  
  • 46:20 of persons with disabilities. Because I think  there'd be a lot of valuable lessons learned  
  • 46:25 for our work in developing country context. So,  we look forward to continuing the partnership  
  • 46:31 and staying in touch. And thank you so much for  sharing your valuable knowledge and insight with  
  • 46:36 us and helping in the collaboration to build a  more inclusive post pandemic world. Thank you.
  • 46:42 [Jenny Lay-Flurrie]: 
  • 46:45 Well, thank you for your time today. And happy  International Persons with Disability Day.
  • 46:50 [Louise Cord]: Thanks again, Jenny. It was  
  • 46:52 great to have you here with us. And now I'll hand  it back to Junaid for the rest of the program.
  • 46:57 [Junaid Ahmad]: Thank you, Jenny, for sharing your insights  
  • 47:02 and experiences on the advances that Microsoft  has made in accessible technology. There's a lot  
  • 47:08 that we at the World Bank can learn from your  experience. And I hope we'll get to continue  
  • 47:12 the conversations in the future. And Louise,  thank you for moderating a wonderful session.
  • 47:17 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 47:18 Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are now going  to turn to a very special event. We'll be  
  • 47:22 treated to a discussion with and performance  by Warren Wawa Snipe, a rapper and performer,  
  • 47:29 who recently performed the National  Anthem at the 2021 Super Bowl.  
  • 47:35 I'd like to hand over the state to Charlotte,  our global disability advisor at the World Bank  
  • 47:42 for a conversation with Wawa in our office, at the  World Bank in Washington. Charlotte, over to you.
  • 47:47 [Charlotte McClain Nhlapo]: Hi, my name is Charlotte McLean  
  • 47:52 Chapo. I'm the global disability advisor at the  World Bank Group. I'm a brown woman. I have long  
  • 47:57 brown hair. I have green eyes. Today, I'm wearing  all black. I have large silver hoops and a silver  
  • 48:04 necklace around my neck. And today, I'm joined by  Wawa. Wawa, please will you introduce yourself?
  • 48:11 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: All right. I am Warren  
  • 48:14 Snipe. Everyone calls me Wawa. This is my sign  name. I'm a tall black man, black and gray hair.  
  • 48:26 I have unique locks, pulled back. I have a  blazer, a blue blazer and a black shirt with  
  • 48:34 an I love you sign on it. I have two unique  earrings and a nice beard that shows my age.
  • 48:41 [Charlotte McClain Nhlapo]: Great. Well, really glad to have you here,  
  • 48:45 Wawa. And we're so happy that you're here  to celebrate with us the International Day  
  • 48:50 of Persons with Disabilities. And I was  wondering if you could talk to us a bit about  
  • 48:55 as a deaf person, what does resilience mean  to you, particularly given the fact that we've  
  • 49:01 all come through a pandemic, and really just  share with us, what that has meant for you?
  • 49:07 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: What resilience means to me  
  • 49:11 as a deaf black man is to never give up.  Of course, we have limitations being in  
  • 49:18 this world as a disabled person. But what COVID  did was complicate those things and exacerbate  
  • 49:25 what already existed. What we had to  do in this pandemic is learn how adapt,  
  • 49:31 learn how to change and improve our  lives for the better moving forward.
  • 49:35 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: 
  • 49:37 For example, Zoom is new to many of us,  but now it's a common thing for all of us.  
  • 49:43 We have to figure out ways to  add closed captioning to videos,  
  • 49:48 subtitles to videos, things that we just  really took for granted or were too slow  
  • 49:54 to acclimate ourselves too. Be much more  inclusive, visually, technologically, knowing  
  • 50:01 that we all have disabilities, whether they're  visible or invisible. Change was a big thing.
  • 50:08 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: You can say that the pandemic had blessed us.  
  • 50:16 It was truly a blessing in disguise. We all had to  augment what we believe reality and normalcy was.  
  • 50:23 We just could not give up in the  process. And that is what resilience is.  
  • 50:27 We had to work together, so that we could live  together, be together through these hard times  
  • 50:32 and persevere to see the other side, because we  would never know what we had never thought of  
  • 50:39 had we not worked together. That we can see the  light at the end of this tunnel called to COVID.  
  • 50:46 That way we had to be  resilience, and never give up.
  • 50:49 [Charlotte McClain Nhlapo]: Beautiful words, Wawa. Thank  
  • 50:51 you so much for sharing that. So, you  had this amazing song called, LOUD.  
  • 50:58 And it has a very powerful message. Talk to us  a bit about what that message is, what it means  
  • 51:06 and how you came about conceptualizing it.
  • 51:08 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: Well, the message in and of itself,  
  • 51:16 it's honestly taking just  from a crazy set of mess. I  
  • 51:21 turned negativity into positivity, a  message that we all needed to learn.  
  • 51:28 What I wanted to do was be bold with it, take the  next step forward and invigorate something new.  
  • 51:36 The word loud in and of itself, many people view  deaf people as being loud. We clap. We sign loud.  
  • 51:43 We're loud in our voices. But honestly, with my  cochlear implant, I find that the world is loud.  
  • 51:49 The cars are honking. The things you take for  granted are loud to me. What is the difference?
  • 51:54 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: I decided to use loud  
  • 51:57 in an altruistic sense, to be bold, to be brave,  to go into uncertainty with the certainty that we  
  • 52:07 are to come out with something creative. That's  what the pandemic did. It provided something that  
  • 52:15 on the onset seemed negative. We, as a  people came together and found something  
  • 52:20 positive. I came up with something catchy.  I never wrote something like this before.  
  • 52:27 But people were just inspired and ran with it.  And that's what I think gave worth to the song.
  • 52:32 [Charlotte McClain Nhlapo]: Thank you for sharing that  
  • 52:35 with us. And thank you for developing that  beautiful song. So, what we're going to do  
  • 52:42 now is ask everybody to stay tuned because  we're going to listen to the song right now.
  • 54:09 [Warren Wawa Snipe]: (Singing with text on screen)
  • 54:13 [Junaid Ahmad]: That was amazing. And  
  • 56:09 for someone who comes from a musical family, my  wife is a musician, I am absolutely thrilled to  
  • 56:15 have listened to Wawa sing today. And I'm sure  this song will be stuck in all of our heads  
  • 56:21 all day long. Thank you once again for sharing  your talent Wawa and experience with us.  
  • 56:26 You truly brought to life the celebration that  is today. Thank you Wawa for inspiring us.
  • 56:33 [Junaid Ahmad]: 
  • 56:37 We're coming to the end of this celebration,  but I'm sure the conversation started here  
  • 56:41 will continue. Let me close by thanking  our guests for sharing the remarkable work,  
  • 56:47 insights and life stories. You have shown  what can be achieved when we deliberately  
  • 56:53 include persons with disabilities in  the design of our recovery response.
  • 56:57 [Junaid Ahmad]: As Mari mentioned earlier,  
  • 57:00 today is a day to recognize and value the  tremendous contributions and journeys of persons  
  • 57:07 with disabilities and to reflect on future action,  promote inclusive and accessible societies.
  • 57:14 [Junaid Ahmad]: We at the World Bank will  
  • 57:16 continue to step up our efforts to ensure that  the persons with disabilities around the world  
  • 57:21 have access to opportunities and support to  follow their dreams and contribute fully to  
  • 57:27 their communities and their economies.  We also acknowledge the long road ahead  
  • 57:33 to address the gaps in access,  participation and opportunities  
  • 57:37 that persons with disabilities continue to  systematically encounter, unfortunately. I  
  • 57:44 look forward to continuing our work together  to promote inclusion and expand equitable  
  • 57:50 opportunities for persons with disabilities and  ensure that the future is indeed accessible.
  • 57:56 [Junaid Ahmad]: Ladies and gentlemen,  
  • 57:58 thank you once again for joining us today. I hope  that we keep these important conversations going.  
  • 58:06 Thank you very much.
Read the chat
World Bank Live

Hello everyone! Please submit your questions and comments now, using the chat feature. We look forward to interacting with you LIVE on December 3rd!
Fri, 12/03/2021 - 07:59
Lisha

Hello and welcome to this year’s commemoration event for International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The event will begin shortly at 8:30 AM EST.
Fri, 12/03/2021 - 08:00
Kevin

Good day sir/ma,please what are the world bank bank policies about person with disabilities, how can they access and get those helps from world bank
Fri, 12/03/2021 - 08:06
Lisha

Our event will begin shortly. Today’s event will have English captioning and International Sign. My name is Lisha Almeida and I work with the disability inclusion here at the World Bank. I am here with my colleague, Raha Janka, to answer any questions you may have. To learn more about the World Bank’s work in disability, click here. 
Fri, 12/03/2021 - 08:25
Lisha

We have an extremely interesting and exciting program planned today, including panelists from various sectors as well as a musical guest. While we wait for the event to start, check out the poll below where we ask what you think an inclusive recovery should focus on. So far ~41% think inclusive education should be the primary focus. Let us know your thoughts!
Fri, 12/03/2021 - 08:28
 

Speakers

Moderator