Category | News

Arab-American Dialogue discusses disability in the workforce

Published on November 3, 2009 by Melissa Butz

KSU hosted “Arab-American Dialogue: Access to the Workplace” last week in hopes of helping the disabled become more accepted and welcomed into the workforce.

Part of the WellStar College of Health and Human Services and its Global Center for Social Change, the Arab-American Dialogue welcomed many from around the world. The dialogue took place at the KSU Center and ran from Monday, Oct. 26 to Thursday, Oct. 29 with a full itinerary starting around 9 a.m. and ending between 8 and 10 p.m.

“This year’s dialogue…provides a forum to identify and address common interests and challenges facing persons with disabilities in the pursuit of employment in Arab World countries and in the United States,” said KSU President Daniel Papp. “This conference will help us broaden our efforts and share successful models.”

The itinerary included the topics of supportive community, organizational capacity building, collaboration across institutions, education, health and wellness and employment.

“Although the purpose [of the Arab-American Dialogue] is employment issues across cultures, specifically across Arab and U.S. cultures, in four days of discussion we clearly came to understand that employment can’t happen in isolation from other issues: education, family support, public awareness and public understanding and acceptance,” said Duncan Wyeth, executive director of the Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns.

The idea for the dialogue came about after Dr. Ben Johnson and Dr. Harry Stern received grants from Middle Eastern countries.  They saw the need for a conversation based around disabilities, since the Middle East is looking for a higher quality of support to help people with disabilities. As a result, they created a dialogue to learn and help people with disabilities worldwide.

The process of accommodating the needs of the disabled in the workforce is slow. Conferences like this, however, promote education and acceptance of the disabled and are an encouraging change for the better.

Wyeth, who has cerebral palsy, said he has noticed significant changes in public acceptance and policy over the course of his life.  Wyeth has also seen significant developments in technology for persons with disabilities and a considerable increase in opportunities for people with disabilities.

The university’s Global Center for Social Change has worked with many Arab countries and NGOS to create opportunities for people with disabilities.

Recently, KSU teamed up with Alexandria University, Helwan University and Ain Shams University in Egypt to create programs for educating the disabled and those who teach, coach, live and work with them.

The university also joined the Egyptian University Sports Federation in 2008 to create better opportunities for persons with disabilities in sports. The Libyan Paralympic Committee awarded Kennesaw’s Global Center for Social Change a gold medal in January 2009 for the work it does to improve the lives of the disabled worldwide.

“The Global Center for Social Change has taken the lead in working collaboratively with universities and NGOs in Arab World countries to explore ways to integrate people with disabilities into broader society,” said President Papp.