June 17, Minsk /BELTA/. A unique study of the lives of people with disabilities, based on real stories, is being conducted in Belarus. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by UNDP Projects Coordinator Vyacheslav Shelegeiko.
June 17, Minsk /BELTA/. A unique study of the lives of people with disabilities, based on real stories, is being conducted in Belarus. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by UNDP Projects Coordinator Vyacheslav Shelegeiko.
According to him, a special online platform has been created and is already operational. Any citizen of Belarus can share their story or a story they have witnessed on the website. In this way, caring individuals can contribute to the planning and implementation of programmes aimed at creating equal living conditions in society for people with disabilities.
This study is being conducted as part of the new UNDP initiative "Inclusive Development Agenda Post-2015: Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Belarus". It was launched in May of this year and is designed to enhance the effectiveness of actions to include people with disabilities in societal life.
In May of this year, 531.3 thousand people with disabilities were registered with the labour, employment and social protection authorities, including 80.8 thousand people of the first group, 272.2 thousand of the second group, 153.5 thousand of the third group, and 24.9 thousand children with disabilities under 18 years of age.
"By collecting stories, we aim to gather additional information on various aspects of the lives of people with disabilities, both from themselves and from those around them. This information will help to systematically support efforts to involve them in societal life and solve specific problems," noted Vyacheslav Shelegeiko. "Once a sufficient number of stories have been collected, they will be processed using special software. The results obtained will form the basis for new programmes and projects in the field of social inclusion of people with disabilities within the framework of the emerging global development agenda for the post-2015 period."
The initiative plans to collect and analyse several thousand stories (all of which are anonymous, by the way). Subsequently, the obtained results will be published in a generalised form (without the stories themselves) and provided to government organisations, civil society entities, and international organisations. The research findings will be used to seek ideas and concepts for projects that promote the involvement of people with disabilities in societal life and support an inclusive development agenda.
"There are no specific requirements for describing a life case or story. It can be of any length: short or long; of any authorship: your own or one you have heard or read. The story can be positive or negative, sad or optimistic; it can be any episode from life. You can also express your complaints, suggestions, or gratitude," the project organisers explained. "Not only the story itself is important, but also the evaluation of what it was about. The website only saves stories whose authors have answered all the proposed questions." -0-
News of Belarus (BELTA)