Please note: The Association is a relatively new national organization. As
such, the Association has had to devote a significant amount of time to
organize its membership base and to develop an effective infrastructure to
support its membership. However, the Association has identified four
comprehensive activities as priorities that are currently underway and that
will form the base of its work for the next year. As a national organization,
all of the Associations activities are intended to benefit persons with
disabilities and the general public across Canada.
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Workshop Course Outline
Theme: Diversity
Awareness Training from the Disabled and Multicultural Lenses
Delivered by: The African Canadian Disability Community
Association Inc.
Location: Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver
Date/ Venue :
Toronto: June 21, 2006 to June 25, 2006
Venue: University of Toronto (Victoria University Campus)
Winnipeg: September, 27 2006 to September 30, 2006
Venue: Room 1341 CUSB -200
de la cathédrale Avenue
Vancouver: November 1, 2006 to November 4, 2006
Venue: Disability Resource
Centre, 160-5726
Minoru Blvd
Who we are?
The African Canadian Disability Community
Association, Inc. (ACDCA) is a community-based organization whose purpose is:
§ to
identify solutions and opportunities that enable persons with disabilities to
participate fully in Canadian life;
§ to
provide education on the role of cultural diversity in developing
opportunities for persons with disabilities, particularly persons with
disabilities from ethno-racial backgrounds; and
§ to
enhance the skills of persons with disabilities through training programs
such as health education, computer literacy and job networking.
ACDCA is a national
organization, which has been in existence for 12 years. It was first
incorporated in Ontario in 1999, and then later
in Manitoba in 2002 where it’s headquarters are
currently based. Above all, through networks with other organizations such as
Association multi-ethnique pour l’intégration des personnes handicapées
du Quebec and others, ACDCA has developed a capacity to
conduct activities, which are both national and international in scope. In
addition, ACDCA has developed excellent collaborative working relationships
with academic institutions such as the University of Toronto, University of Manitoba and so on.
ACDCA has developed excellent skills in research
and dissemination in both community and academic settings, a sound knowledge
base in disability studies, special education, and advanced understanding of
assistive technology and its application in special education and disability
studies. More importantly, through the lived experiences of its members,
clients and staff, ACDCA has developed a unique perspective on the
intersectionality of disability and multiculturalism, particularly, the
adverse impact of the individual’s disability and ethnicity on the
individual’s aspirations to become a full and productive citizen of Canada.
The Workshop Management team:
Dr.
Matanga currently teaches at the University of Manitoba. He is one of the few people with disabilities who have a doctorate.
He has a wealth of experience and first-hand knowledge about the debilitating
effects of disability on professionals. His post-graduate studies in Canada and abroad are extensive. As a Special Education
research leader, he has developed educational strategies that are most
effective for adults with disabilities, non-speaking students and those with
seizure disorders, students with emotional-behaviour disorders, and those with visual disabilities and
other physical and perceptual disabilities.
He is the current Executive Director of ACDCA and has been very
effective, working with engineers and physicians in the development of
assistive devices for persons with disabilities.
Dr.
Rick Freeze is a professor and scholar with extensive experience with
international and indigenous partners. His international experience includes
special education resource teacher training and the establishment of national
resource centers for teachers working with students with disabilities. He has also worked to improve transition
planning and programming for students with disabilities, as they move to competitive
employment. He is an acknowledged author and expert in Precision Reading
— an inexpensive and practical program of reading strategies for
students with serious reading deficits.
Dr.
Charles Mayenga: His graduate studies were undertaken at the University of Toronto, and the University of
Manitoba and Bachelor of Education from University of Nairobi. He has been a teacher trainer in Kenya and Canada with a vast amount of experience is educational
research and program evaluation. Dr. Mayenga has worked at the Assessment and
Evaluation Branch, Ministry of Education – Manitoba province and at the Education Quality and
Accountability Office, for the province of Ontario. Dr. Mayenga serves as a
board member of the African Canadian Social Development Council where he
represents issues related to disability.
Dr.
Martin Nyachoti is a professor and researcher in the Faculty of Agricultural
and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba where he manages a well-funded research program in animal science. As
a trained agrologist, Dr. Nyachoti has
extensive experience in extending research results to the target industry
both in Canada and Kenya. His experience in project management and
reporting will be useful in the implementation of proposed project.
Furthermore, Dr. Nyachoti has a keen interest in disability issue as
demonstrated by his commitment to the goals and objectives of ACDCA; an
organization he has served as treasurer for the last three years.
Workshop sponsors:
§
Canadian
Heritage,
§
Industry Canada and;
§
The African
Canadian Disability Community Association (Inc).
Workshop Objectives:
§
To gain an
understanding of strategies and structures for assisting service users from
diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to achieve individual goals and
become full members in a typical Community Access program (CAP site).
§
To learn how
to adapt goals, methods and materials for service users with diverse cultural
and linguistic characteristics.
§
To become
aware of issues in the service provision and inclusion of service users with
diverse linguistic and cultural characteristics.
Workshop Delivery Methodology
This
workshop will be implemented over a period of two days. The workshop delivery
will constitute lectures, presentations, case profiles and group discussions.
In addition, handouts will be provided. Participants will be awarded a
certificate of attendance upon completion of this workshop. The following
areas will be covered:
1.
The State of the Canadian Disabled Ethnocultural
Communities: Next Frontiers for Equality Seekers.
This presentation
will attempt to address the following key questions:
- What are the different ways in which
disability culture is defined, described, delimited, debated, and
defended? Who gets to decide what the boundaries of disability culture
are?
- In what ways is racial segregation apparent
in the Disability Rights Movement, and why is disability the
often-ignored discourse within racial politics? In what ways do
territorial and jurisdictional concerns over who represents disability
and race play into the silence and separation?
- In theoretical contexts, what concepts are
deployed by scholars in both disability studies and race studies that
are distancing? For example, how do scholars in both areas critically
engage normative notions of autonomy, rationality, and coherent
subjectivities?
- What are the material consequences of
experiencing multiple oppressions? How does the very idea of
"access" become even more complex in an oppressively racialized and ablest society?
- Will placing race and disability in
conversation with each other yield unique opportunities for
deconstructing oppression in both academic and activist contexts?
- In what ways do issues of class, ethnicity,
gender, and sexuality further complicate the possibilities of forging
alliances across and within different groups who struggle against
social, cultural, and economic marginalization?
Highlights
of this presentation include the fact that at present, the entire leadership of the mainstream disability
organizations excludes members of the ethno-cultural disability
organizations; and almost none of their employees are ethno-cultural people
with disabilities. In fact no mechanism has been put in place by such
organizations to involve people with disabilities of other racial, religious,
cultural, linguistic and ethnic background.
Also, to date there are very few
disability organizations if any which have undertaken any initiatives or
developed strategies intended to address issues of inclusiveness, diversity
as it relates to disability.
Ethnocultural people with disabilities
experience similar challenges in their own communities. This is because very
few of these community organizations have undertaken any initiatives or
developed strategies to address issues of inclusiveness, diversity as it
relates to disability and multiculturalism. They lack the resources to
develop the required capacity for projects that will sustain community
involvement, even within the able-bodied people. As a consequence
ethnocultural people with disabilities are the most marginalized segment of
the Canadian society.
2. Development
of national strategies to overcome marginalization from the disabled
ethnocultural perspectives using results of ACDCA’s Research Project:
“Toward a Comprehensive Approach to Social Cohesion: Exploring the
Needs of People with Disabilities in Manitoban Ethnocultural
Communities”
This research project was set up to explore the
practical, personal, social, economic, cultural, attitudinal, and technical
challenges experienced by people with disabilities in ethnocultural
communities in Manitoba. Such challenges and experiences include
accessibility to employment, education, housing, the health system,
disability programs, and involvement with cultural communities, disability
organizations, relevant government departments, and other social-program
providers. Using the results of this research as a backdrop potential remedy
to such challenges will be discussed and proposed.
3. “I
have something to say as a member of the disabled community” - lived
experiences as they are told by members of the disabled ethnocultural
communities.
In this topic we will bring participants face to
face with the disabled ethnocultural communities. There will be presentations
based on real life experiences. Examples of the case profiles are as follows:
A) Neguse
Originally from Sudan, Neguse moved to Egypt because of the war in Sudan. Disability: mental challenges. For financial
support, she has been “collecting income assistance for the past three
years. I am treated well by them.” Employment history: “Back home
I was a nurse for nine years.” She has no Grade 12 certificate and
therefore cannot take a Health Care Aide course. “No one is helping me
to look for a job.” However, she said she works on Saturdays and
Sundays. “I want a full-time job … to quit welfare.” She
speaks Arabic and is now studying English. Neguse is a single mother of two
boys: one aged 11 months and another aged three years. Neguse is not a member
of any organization. According to Neguse, “My second headache is
finding a family doctor. I don’t have a family doctor right now.”
Neguse thought ACDCA would help her “to find employment and to sponsor
my brother to come to Canada.” Neguse has no housing problems.
Tsege, originally from Sierra Leone, has refugee status: “I am not a landed
immigrant yet.” Tsege arrived in Canada in September 2002. Disability: mental challenges.
Financial support: Refugee Asylum is helping her financially until September
2006. Reaching Equality Employment Services has been assisting her in
securing a job. Tsege was a midwife in Sierra Leone. She fell and hurt her leg: “I can’t
do much now.” She wants a job as
a daycare worker. She has been looking since
January 2003. Church pastor is also assisting her in finding a job. Her
family and children are in Sierra Leone. Health issues: “No family doctor.”
Has a restricted health card. She would like some assistance from ACDCA:
“to get a job and get my children from Sierra Leone.” On housing: “things are OK.”
4. Speech from the Throne
and United Nations Human Rights Convention as it relates to Disabilities and
diversity.
Under this topic an examination of
government policies on issues of disability and diversity and their
implications on disabled ethnocultural communities will be conducted. Canada has recognized disability rights through Charter
protection in Section 15 of the Constitution. More importantly, in the February 2,
2004 speech from the
Throne, the government of Canada stated that, “Many Canadians with disability
are ready to contribute but confront different obstacles in the workplace and
in their communities. Too often families are left on their own to care for a
severely disabled relative. Here too, the government of Canada has a role. We want a Canada in which citizens with disabilities have the
opportunity to contribute to and benefit from Canada’s prosperity –as learners, workers,
volunteers, and family members. Canada can not afford to squander the talents of people
with disabilities or turn its back on those who seek to provide care and a
life of dignity for family members with severe disabilities.” Building
upon this initiative, Canada is currently leading the United Nations Assembly
in promoting a United Nations convention on Rights of persons with
disabilities.
More importantly, the Canadian government through the October 5, 2004 speech from the throne articulated that:
“diversity is recognized as a source of strength and innovation.”
Further, the speech from the throne emphasized Canada’s commitment to
defend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and advocates for inclusion, as
well as “Equality of Opportunity” so that all Canadians can share
prosperity. The disabled ethnocultural communities could intersect these
policies and use them as a springboard in advancing their causes.
5.
Development of disability sensitive settlement
and immigration service programs.
Under this topic a
comparative analysis of different provincial immigration settlement programs
will be conducted. Particularly emphasis will be placed on their abilities to
accommodate the needs of disabled ethnocultural communities.
6.
The building of a diverse disability community
This topic focuses on
the complexities involved in modifying and adapting disability services to
accommodate the cultural and linguistic needs of the disabled ethnocultural
community. The emerging issues in the previous section will be intersected
with those emerging from this topic.
7.
Key issues and questions in the development of
culturally attuned CAP sites.
This presentation will begin by defining key terms
which are critical to the needs assessment of people with disabilities from
ethnocultural communities. These terms will include: impairment, disability,
handicap and ethnicity. Then participants will be introduced to the following
questions which are useful in creating a profile for CAP sites service users.
The questions should be used as primary guiding probes in this assessment.
- Describe
the nature and cause of your disabling conditions?
- Describe
challenges you experienced in an effort to adjust to your impairments
handicapping or disabling conditions?
- Describe
activities you have undertaken to improve your capacity to cope with the
limitations you experienced as a result of your handicapping
–disabling conditions or impairments?
- How
do you describe your ethnicity?
- Are
you a member of the visible minority?
- Describe
your race?
- What
is your gender?
- What
is your religion?
- What
is the nature and scope of your educational experiences?
- What
is the nature and scope of your employment and career development
opportunities currently available to you?
- What
are the communications means currently available to you?
- Have
you experienced any form of racism?
- If
you did was it related to employment or education?
- What
coping strategies did you undertake to overcome racism?
- Are
you able to distinguish discrimination which emanates from being a
member of the disabled community from that which emanates from you being
a member of the ethnocultural community?
These questions can be adapted and
modified to meet the specific needs of each CAP site.
8.
Litigating for Equality: The Challenge to Design
an Inclusive Disability Rights Analysis
In this topic we will
examine how other equality seeking groups have used courts as platforms to
advance their causes. In addition, the implications of lessons derived from
such initiatives will be examined and how the disabled ethnocultural communities
may use them.
9.
The Application of Charter of rights and
multiculturalism act in safeguarding the rights of the disabled ethnocultural
communities
Here the focus of the
discussion will be centred on the above two pieces of legislations. These are
critical in understanding how the existing laws can be intersected to protect
the rights of the disabled ethnocultural communities.
10.
"The Ideology of Community Sustainability
for Non-Profit Organizations in the 21st Century"
The policies of
inclusion will be critical for the growth and existence of not for profit
organizations. The reason being that immigration is the key source of
Canadian population growth. We will conduct a demographic analysis.
11.
Lack of employment within the disabled
ethnocultural communities
In this topic we will
focus on the barriers which prevent members of the disabled ethnocultural
communities in accessing employment. CAP sites may play an important role in
providing members of the disabled ethnocultural communities with access to
free internet so that they search for jobs.
12.
Technology: a prescription for the future; and
why it matters in overcoming marginalization in the disabled ethnocultural
communities
Without any doubt,
technology is key in enabling the disabled ethnocultural communities in
access information. Accessing information has the potential to help service
users comprehend the Canadian culture quickly, thereby promoting their faster
integration. Technology may also address linguistic and cultural challenges
through programs such as Web-4-all
13.
Disability and Immigration
Through this topic we
will discuss the Canadian policy on disabling or enabling people with
disabilities to immigrate to Canada. There is a very interesting
court case which is before the Supreme Court on disability and immigration.
The decision is likely to come in November.
14.
Elimination of architectural and attitudinal
barriers in the establishment of cultural community centres and services.
Through this topic we
will discuss the concept of universal design. The concept of universal design
acknowledges that people with disabilities have the right to access
institutions within their communities. Therefore, when cultural centres are
being built they should be designed to accommodate the needs of
the disabled people from diverse communities.
15.
The potential impact of the national health
practices on the creation of disabled populations in ethnocultural
communities
Refugees, immigrants and
people from ethnocultural communities are generally poor owing to different
circumstances. As result of this, they are likely to develop disabling
conditions with huge implications to the disability service programs.
16.
Discussion Sessions
A)
Disability and Multiculturalism
B)
The application of Charter of Rights and policies such as affirmative
actions to the disability ethnocultural communities
C)
Leadership and
the role of ethnocultural organizations
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