E Kazakhstan, UNICEF, Special Olympics promote inclusive communities for children with disabilities through sport, health and education

The round-table meeting focused on the progress of the programme and new tasks for 2014. The round-table meeting was chaired by Akim of East Kazakshtan Region Berdibek Saparbayev and was attended by member of Kazakh Parliament Zagipa Baliyeva, UNICEF Representative in Kazakhstan Jun Kukita, Vice President of Special Olympics Global Development and Government Relations David Evangelista, Olympic Champion Olga Rypakova, akims of towns and districts, NGOs, social workers and the media, UNICEF Kazakhstan said. »We are very glad that this programme is being conducted in our region and are ready for our further mutual cooperation with UNICEF and Special Olympics for the best interest of children, " said Berdibek Saparbayev. In 2012 the Akimat of East Kazakhstan Oblast (EKO) jointly with UNICEF and the international organization Special Olympics launched the project «Promoting inclusive communities for children with intellectual disabilities". »We are happy that there are such programmes of UNICEF and Special Olympics. All good and positive things that exist in the outer world, we have to bring into Kazakhstan and transform them into legislation and laws, " said MP Zagipa Baliyeva. Special Olympics and UNICEF joined hands in the project to support the implementation and testing of a model of inclusive strategies for children with special needs by changing the attitudes of decision makers, practitioners and families to children with disabilities, strengthening the capacity of local authorities, health and education services in better understanding of needs of children. In addition, as part of an inclusive community-based structure, the partnership helped in implementing sports programmes that promote youth participation and raising public awareness about the abilities of children with special needs in East Kazakhstan Oblast. This falls within the joint UNICEF-EKO partnership programme for 2012-2015 in establishing the inclusive systems, services, attitudes for children with disabilities for their health, development, protection and participation. Olympic Champion Olga Rypakova, as a supporter of UNICEF programmes in Kazakhstan, welcomed the joint programme of the EKO Akimat, SO and UNICEF. «We all know what effect sport can have on man's life, especially on the lives of children. Sport opens up a human being, develops the personality in the child. One must always believe in their strength, and parents, caregivers and coaches have to maintain the child's belief, " said Olga Rypakova. »We would like to help Kazakhstan to become a more inclusive society, and as many of you know East Kazakhstan Oblast has been the key partner for this support. We have been taking a systems approach to achieve that, where we help the government and the civil society create awareness and build capacities to develop a sustainable and ever improving environment for social inclusion, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized children, " UNICEF Representative Jun Kukita told the meeting. In joint action with UNICEF, the project aims directly at including children with intellectual disabilities and their families into communities. The main objectives of the project are to provide these children with the opportunity to participate actively in social life through sport, health and education initiatives in order to make the society aware of people with intellectual disabilities and their needs. In 2013 a series of programmes have been put into place to serve the target segment population of children with intellectual disabilities. The programming provided opportunities for children with intellectual disabilities and their families to actively participate and also to interact with each other in an effort to demonstrate the partnership's ability to forge true social inclusion. They also enhanced the opportunity to get informed about inclusive models that Special Olympics approaches provide in support of their children. A series of press conferences, public awareness initiatives, and media round tables informed the public about the partnership and its programs, and to raise awareness about children's needs, their challenges in society, and the need for increased support from all sectors. Details also her