National Training Held on Disabilities Act Implementation

Professionals from various sectors participated in a one-day training yesterday to become better acquainted with the 2024 Disabilities Act. The training was hosted by the Ministry of Human Development, Family Support, and Gender Affairs and facilitated by the University of the West Indies Open Campus. Representatives from sectors such as health, education, law enforcement, and social services attended the training, which is a part of a broader national effort that includes establishing the Disabilities Commission and developing a Disabilities Registry. Dr. Sharmaine Saunders, Head of UWI’s Global Campus, says that plans are in place to take on additional cohorts for the training. 

Shermaine Saunders, Disabilities Commission Registry: “The objective of the course was really to look at the historical and social context of disability rights. We looked at understanding the existing rights and responsibilities for persons with disabilities.  We also looked at the identification and understanding of key legislation related to the disability law because the law doesn’t sit in isolation as there’s inter-connectivity with other laws and how that will work. And for that reason we had to identify stakeholders  in this first inaugural session, right? And then finally we were looking at the recognition and analysis of contemporized issues and challenges in disability law as well as how  we reflected on moral and ethical dimensions of disability law and policy. So all of that combined, we had a very strong cohort. It is anticipated that this is not the only running of this course workshop. We already identified in the session that we will have to start to  sensitize teachers, parents, and public officers and the likes, right?”

The training was held at UWI’s campus in West Landivar Belize City.