Delegates Challenge West African Countries on Inclusive Education

WEEK 2, FEBRUARY 2023

Delegates at the #InclusiveEducation workshop at Cotonou, Benin hosted by La Chrysalide with support from NFU have committed to aggressively engage their governments to make inclusive education for persons with intellectual disabilities a reality.

Participants at the workshop were also trained on advocacy and communication as they developed advocacy messages for inclusive education for various audiences in their countries.

The meeting started with a robust dance and song from self-advocates from Benin and an impassioned speech by Chantelle, the Self-Advocate Representative at Inclusion International Council who challenged West African counties to live to their national and global commitments on inclusive education so that they include persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in the education sector. “Education is our only fighting chance as persons with intellectual disabilities from the chains of poverty. You can’t deny us this right. No excuses are enough to deny us learning opportunities,” said Chantelle.

Senior Ministry of Education officials from Benin shared the country’s experience in implementing inclusive education and called on organisations of and for persons with disabilities to partner with the ministry to enrich the implementation process.

The following is a declaration on Inclusive Education delivered at the end of the workshop. Click To Download