London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The event is hosted by the Disability Evidence Portal and International Centre for Evidence in Disability at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and SOURCE at Humanity & Inclusion. With contributions from the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and Action on Disability and Development International (ADD) amongst others. 

The two-day event will cover the two themes of ‘Participation and Inclusion’ and ‘Employment Outcomes’ in the area of inclusive livelihoods and employment with speakers from the world of research, NGOs and Business. 

Programme Day 1: Participation and Inclusion

10:05 - 10.10: Introduction - Humanity & Inclusion

Chair

George Graham, Humanity & Inclusion UK

George is responsible for Humanity & Inclusion in the UK, leading a dynamic team to deliver an ambitious UK strategy aligned with our vision and values. 

Before joining HI, George spent thirteen years at Save the Children and five years at the International Rescue Committee, working on humanitarian response, programme quality, policy, advocacy and campaigns. He has worked in the Middle East, East Africa, India and the Balkans, and for many years led Save the Children’s humanitarian influencing work, including its global Stop the War on Children campaign. 

George is also a trustee of Conciliation Resources, an international organisation that works to stop violent conflict and create more peaceful societies. He holds a Masters’ degree in Violence, Conflict and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. 

10.10 - 11.10: Session 1 - IDA

Speaker

José María Viera, IDA 

Mr Viera has more than 18 years of experience working nationally and internationally in the field of human rights and inclusive development. As a person with a disability, Mr Viera has a personal commitment to improving the lives of persons with disabilities and advocating for their human rights. 

Currently, Mr Viera is the Chief Executive Officer for the World Blind Union. The World Blind Union, a global organization, has broad international membership with 300 organizations at the sub-national and regional levels and in over 196 countries. In addition, Mr Viera is the Permanent Representative of the UN Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities as well as the former President of the Federation of the Blind of Argentina.

Since January 2021 Mr Viera is the IDA Global Disability Summit Senior Manager leading the work around the implementation of the GDS 2018 commitments and the preparations for the next GDS 2022.

Mr Viera has previously served as Human Rights Policy Advisor for the World Blind Union as well as an international consultant for several UN agencies and global entities in the field of inclusive development and disability rights.

Dorodi Sharma, IDA

Dorodi supports IDA’s thematic work on inclusive employment, inclusive education and CRPD based inclusive programming.  She has over 10 years of experience working with civil society organisations, INGOs, the UN and other stakeholders on the inclusion of disability issues in laws and policies, both at the national and international level. Prior to joining IDA, Dorodi was the Disability Rights Specialist at the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Delhi where she supported the creation of the first-ever disability portfolio for the UN Country Team. She holds a master degree in public policy from the University of Maryland College Park.

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11.15 - 11.35: Session 2 - LSHTM

Speaker

Maria Zuurmond, LSHTM 

Maria is a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability, where her work is focussed on infants, children and adolescents with disabilities, and their families. She has 30 years of experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, training and programme development. A key interest is child rights and participation, the use of participatory methods in her research, and the development of training materials. For example, she led a recent project in Nepal, working with young people with disabilities to co-facilitate research on wellbeing. She is currently working on a project related to livelihoods for caregivers, and early childhood development for children with disabilities.

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11.35 - 11.55: Session 3 - ADD International

Speakers

Thomas Kyokuhaire, ADD International Uganda 

Thomas Kyokuhaire has 21 years’ development experience related to food security, income and disability rights, having worked as an Agricultural Officer in the Masaka District, Danish Assistance to Refugees/ Restoration of Agricultural Livelihoods, Senior Project Coordinator at War Child and Head of Programmes at ADD International. In his current role as Country Director at ADD International, Thomas participated in the design of UKAid Connect funded Inclusion Works project in Uganda and led the consortium in Uganda as Country Coordinating Partner, working across the consortium partners, OPDs, employer federations and businesses to increase access for women and men with disabilities to formal employment.

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Yeasmin Ara Juthi, Bandhob OPD, Khulna 

Yeasmin Ara Juthi became a member of Bandhob OPD in Khulna, Bangladesh in 2005 and was later elected as treasurer of BANDHOB OPD’s executive body. Since then, she has been working to enhance the awareness and sensitization around the rights and entitlements of OPD members and underprivileged people of her community and bring them into the mainstream of development.  

Yeasmin has become an emblem of success through determination and hard work to establish the rights of persons with disabilities as well as disadvantaged women, winning the Joyeeta Award in 2020 from the government’s Woman and Children Affairs Department in Phultala sub-district, Khulna.

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Richard Musisi, Masaka Association of Persons with Disabilities Living with HIV&AIDS (MADIPHA) 

Richard Musisi has spent 12 years promoting and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities with high support needs (such as children with deafblindness, persons with disabilities living with HIV/AIDS or TB and youth with disabilities) in the greater Masaka sub-region, Uganda. Richard has been focusing on equal opportunities for access to employment, health, livelihoods, independent living and participation in community development among persons with disabilities.

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11.55 - 12.15: Session 4 - Inclusion International

Speaker

Harry Roche, Inclusion International 

Harry is a Communications Assistant/Ambassador at Mencap and is seconded from Mencap at Inclusion International is as Inclusion Support Officer. His work at Inclusion International is supporting the team and its members to become more accessible and inclusive of self-advocates. At Mencap, he focuses on accessibility, and campaigns for the equality of people with intellectual disabilities. Between 2017 and 2020 Harry sat on the board of Inclusion Europe, a regional member of Inclusion International.

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Programme Day 2: Employment Outcomes

10.05 - 10.10: Introduction - LSHTM

Chair

Professor Tom Shakespeare, LSHTM 

Tom is a Professor of Disability Research and co-Director of the International Centre for Evidence in Disability and Tom also is the lead on the Disability Evidence portal. 

10.10 - 11.10: Session 1 - International Disability Alliance

Speaker

Dorodi Sharma, IDA

Dorodi supports IDA’s thematic work on inclusive employment, inclusive education and CRPD based inclusive programming.  She has over 10 years of experience working with civil society organisations, INGOs, the UN and other stakeholders on the inclusion of disability issues in laws and policies, both at the national and international level. Prior to joining IDA, Dorodi was the Disability Rights Specialist at the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Delhi where she supported the creation of the first-ever disability portfolio for the UN Country Team. She holds a master degree in public policy from the University of Maryland College Park.

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Ishiyaku Adamu, IDA 

Ishiyaku Adamu has a Master's degree in Political Economy from the University of Manchester, UK. He is a dedicated disability rights activist and academic. From 2005 to date, Ishiyaku has held numerous positions on disability rights and advocacy in and outside Nigeria. At the University of Manchester, UK, he was the Disabled Students Representative (2013/2014). He was also a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow of the University of Indiana USA. Through this fellowship, Ishiyaku gained a deep understanding of the responsibilities of the disability community for making the society chart a course that integrates all persons with disabilities into the mainstream of community life. As National President of the umbrella body of blind persons in Nigeria since 2015, Ishiyaku has worked with other stakeholders to successfully lobby for the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by Nigeria in 2017.

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Ashura Michael, IDA 

Ms Ashura Michael is a young Deaf human rights and Gender advocate in Kenya.  The Speaker of East African Legislative Assembly, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Gender and Development from the University of Nairobi and currently studying Law in the same University. Certified from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with Civil Leadership, Holds a Political, Leadership and Governance certificate by Fredrich Ebert Stiftung.  She is the former co-chair for the Youth Council of UNICEF’S Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities. She is on the Board of Directors at the National council of persons with disabilities, a Board member for the National government Affirmative fund Nairobi and was recently appointed to serve as a Youth Advisory board at the Ministry of Youth and ICT. She is the Founder and Director of Free a Girl’s World Network (FGW-N), an organization that aims to empower the girl child. 

She has won several humanitarian and leadership awards. She was recently named the most influential young Kenyan 2019 under leadership and governance category and one of the top 15 Kenyan women blazing trail in the corporate suite 2020 (Law and Policy) by the Daily Nation newspaper, Youth Hero 2020, Top 30 influential women with disabilities 2021 and many others. Ms Ashura is also a young entrepreneur. Currently, she is a fellow with the International Disability Alliance and the World Federation of the Deaf working on issues of inclusive employment for deaf people in Kenya.

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11.15 - 11.35: Session 2 - LSHTM

Speaker

Lambert Felix, LSHTM 

Lambert Felix is a Research Fellow and works with Professor Tom Shakespeare to contribute to the evidence briefs for the Disability Evidence portal.

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11.35 - 11.55: Session 3 - Sustainable Hospitality Alliance

Speaker

Anjana Raza, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance 

Anjana is Head of Youth Programmes for the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. Anjana has over 20 years of experience in the development sector, across Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, leveraging partnerships with not-for-profits, governments and the private sector to establish and grow high impact programmes. She has held many senior roles, including Executive Director at Developments In Literacy (DIL) in Pakistan, and Head of Pakistan Programme at HRH The Prince of Wales’ British Asian Trust.

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11.55 - 12.15: Session 4 - Deaf Child Worldwide and Deaf Empowerment Kenya

Speakers

Corinna Philpott, National Deaf Children's Society 

Corinna Philpott is the International Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Advisor at Deaf Child Worldwide (DCW), the international arm of the National Deaf Children's Society. Corinna has been working closely with the Deaf Empowerment Kenya (DEK) team remotely since the beginning of the pandemic and supported them to conduct a joint DCW-DEK Internal Mid Term Review. She is currently supporting them to conduct an end of project evaluation using an innovative method of Participatory Video. She has worked in the international development sector for the last 8 years working on issues of education and health. She holds a Masters in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies.  

Jackline Kiambi, Deaf Empowerment Kenya 

Jackline Kiambi is the Program Officer at Deaf Empowerment Kenya and manages the Deaf Youth Livelihoods project, supported by Deaf Child Worldwide, which has been implemented in Nairobi since 2018. Jackline has been overseeing the project that trains deaf youth in the skills necessary for them to secure employment or start their own business, delivering deaf awareness training and follow up support to employers and vocational institutions, and also creating links with other organisations such as Sexual Health Clinics and government grant schemes in order to provide a holistic range of support to the 130 deaf young people in the project. Jackline has spent the last 6 years working with young people, in particular young women, to ensure they have access to their rights, skills and opportunities to allow them to thrive.   

Josephine Mwau, Deaf Child Worldwide Kenya 

Josephine Mwau is the Program Officer at Deaf Child Worldwide Kenya. Josephine works closely with the Deaf Empowerment Kenya team to deliver the Deaf Youth Livelihoods project, providing technical support and advice in project management, monitoring and evaluation, and linkage support. Josephine has 7 years of experience working directly with and managing projects that have focused on developing the academic achievement and employment opportunities of deaf children and young people in Kenya. Josephine is inspired by the innovations which enhance equality and equity in our society.

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Recording links

Symposium Day 1 - 21 July 2021

• Introduction 
• Session 1
• Session 2
• Session 3
• Session 4
• Q&A session 

Symposium Day 2 - 22 July 2021

• Introduction 
• Session 1
• Session 2
• Session 3
• Session 4
• Q&A session