KABUL, Afghanistan — Representatives from various aid organizations, including the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee, at a two-day symposium in Kabul pledged support for vocational and technical education programs to empower people with disabilities in Afghanistan.
The two-day event, titled as part of the first “South-South-North” Symposium on Inclusion and Diversity in Education and streamed to locations in Norway and Indonesia, aimed to end isolation, stigma, and discrimination of persons with disabilities.
The symposium, held on November 12 and 13, was organized by the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC) and Afghanistan’s Technical, Vocational, Education and Training Authority (TVET-A).
With parallel sessions at the Indonesian University of Education in Bandung, at Netlinks in Kabul, and at the University of Oslo, the event attracted more than 150 key stakeholders in person across these locations and drew a large virtual audience worldwide.
Key sponsors and participants included a range of Afghan, British, Indonesian, and Norwegian organizations, universities, and research institutions.
The symposium’s goal was for experts, planners, donors, and organizations of persons with disabilities to create inclusive educational, community, and workplace settings, underscoring that the exclusion of people with disabilities “knows no boundaries.” “Our collective aim is to end isolation, stigma, and discrimination of persons with disabilities in the Global South and to ensure that future humanitarian and development programs are inclusive of women, men, children, and youth with disabilities,” the NAC said.
Tariah Magnuson Waterdal, head of the NAC, emphasized that the event facilitated direct collaboration among officials from Norway, Indonesia, and the Taliban to advance educational and professional opportunities for disabled Afghans. Some participants attended virtually, according to Taliban officials. Waterdal stressed that expanding education and employment for Afghanistan’s disabled population would help address the social isolation and discrimination they face.
Participants also urged Afghan authorities to include people with disabilities in development projects overseen by the Taliban-led Ministry of Economy, advocating for their involvement in every project stage, from planning to execution.
Afghanistan’s four decades of war have left hundreds of thousands of people disabled, with many having lost limbs in conflicts involving the Taliban, foreign forces, and the former Afghan government.
