SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Susan McIsaac

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 28, 2023
Context: Committee Evidence - SDIR-40 (SDIR) - Nov/28/23
Ms. Susan McIsaac (President and Chief Executive Officer, Right To Play International)
  • 11:21:01 a.m.
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Good morning and thank you, Chair. I thank you for this invitation to be a part of this and for your attention to this important issue of inclusive education for all children. For over 20 years, Right To Play has used play, one of the most transformative forces in a child's life, to protect, educate and empower children to rise above adversity. Through working with children, teachers, parents and communities, we have learned a great deal about the power of play in improving inclusive and quality education for children. At Right To Play, we firmly believe that taking an inclusive approach means addressing the multiple and sometimes overlapping barriers to education faced by girls, refugees, children in need of psychosocial supports and, especially, children with disabilities. Addressing the learning needs of the most marginalized children improves the education quality and learning for all. Inclusive education is when all learners are present, participating and achieving. With regard to disability-inclusive education, we believe in providing real opportunities for children with disabilities to learn and play side by side in the same school, for the benefit of all. According to the WHO, one billion people, or 15% of the world's population, experience some form of disability, yet children living with disabilities often remain invisible. In lower- and middle-income countries, as many as 33 million children with disabilities are out of school, largely due to stigma and fear. Right To Play has been addressing these challenges head-on by building community awareness to tackle stigma, providing inclusive education training for teachers and implementing strategies to support children with disabilities to enrol in and complete school. We are also working to rehabilitate classrooms, build ramps and provide assistive devices like wheelchairs, auxiliary crutches and orthopaedic shoes to support children's access to education. Over the last few years, we have also strengthened our internal capabilities by adapting and testing our unique play-based approaches to specifically include children with disabilities, providing an entry point for learning where traditional approaches have historically excluded them. Play can also promote inclusion and dismantle stigma. An example of a popular game we lead is called “co-operation station”. Two groups of children are asked to assemble a simple puzzle. One group is blindfolded and the other must keep their hands behind their backs. At first they struggle, but then the group merges and co-operates to assemble the puzzle. The activity builds understanding, as children can appreciate the special skills each person brings to the table. It encourages empathy by changing attitudes that can exclude people with disabilities. These types of play-based interventions are most effective, however, when coupled with teacher training and engagement with community leaders and coaches. In Mali, our projects are working to improve the skills and confidence of teachers in delivering play-based disability-inclusive education. In Burundi and Tanzania, we are improving access to education by raising community awareness around disability. At the start of the school year, community coaches and junior leaders lead door-to-door campaigns to encourage enrolment of children with disabilities, including referrals to specialized services for those children with the highest need. While we still have a long way to go to realize the right of all children to receive a quality, inclusive education, examples such as these and the others we have heard today make me hopeful that it is, in fact, possible. Before I conclude, I want to leave the subcommittee with four recommendations for your consideration. One, Canada can continue to build on its demonstrated leadership in global education by raising the bar on quality, inclusive education for all. This means ensuring that its policies and programs seek to address multiple and overlapping barriers to access, including gender, refugee status, psychosocial well-being and disability. Two, Canadian investments in global education must also support teacher professional development to give teachers the confidence and skills they need to deliver gender-transformative, disability-inclusive education. This includes proven methodologies like play-based approaches. Three, the international community, including donors, ministries of education and NGOs, must set specific targets to ensure that all learners with disabilities are reached in all educational programs. Finally, four, Canada can and should increase budgetary allocations to international development assistance more broadly, with specific increases to inclusive global education in next year's federal budget. I look forward to the results of this study, and I am hopeful that this subcommittee will offer its strong support for inclusive education globally.
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Context: Committee Evidence - SDIR-40 (SDIR) - Nov/28/23
Ms. Susan McIsaac
  • 12:25:01 p.m.
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Yes, Mike, we are supportive.
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