Within the framework of its Social Development Capacity Building Programme (SD-CaB), SESRIC, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Services for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly under the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye, organised a Training Workshop on “Health and Social Care Policies towards Supporting Independent Living for People with Disabilities” on 08-10 February 2022 through an online video conferencing platform.

The training workshop was provided by competent experts from the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye as well as the Social Security Institution (SGK) of the Republic of Türkiye for the benefit of 118 participants from the Ministries and relevant national institutions in charge of services for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and social assistance in 18 OIC Member Countries.

The training workshop aimed at providing insights on the community-based care services in addition to the social assistance practices for PWDs applied by the relevant national institutions in Türkiye. The training workshop also included the country experience sharing session where representatives from the relevant national institutions of Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Morocco and Uganda highlighted the best practices and initiatives of their respective countries in this domain. In addition, representatives from the Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities (AOPD) and the ASEAN Disability Forum (ADF) shared valuable regional efforts and raised awareness on the common challenges faced by the OIC Member Countries in this field.

In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, highlighted the crucial role played by the relevant national institutions in addressing the challenges that face PWDs through setting pertinent policies and awareness-raising mechanisms at the national level. Mr. DABUR also briefed the participants on the Centre’s efforts in its mandated areas of Statistics, Research, and Training, including, but not limited to, its regular preparations of various technical background reports and research studies that analyse the current situation of PWDs and special needs at the OIC Member Countries’ level and suggest appropriate policy actions that need to be taken to face the challenges and strengthen the intra-OIC cooperation in this domain.

In her welcoming remarks, H.E. Ms. Derya YANIK, Minister of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye, informed the participants about the initiatives and efforts of the Republic of Türkiye towards facilitating PWDs’ access in all life aspects and increasing their social inclusion and employability. Furthermore, H.E. Ms. YANIK emphasised on the great value of sharing experience and best practices in the OIC region and wished the participants a beneficial training experience within the framework of this activity.

H.E. Ms. YANIK concluded her remarks by thanking H.E. Mr. DABUR and SESRIC for the exerted efforts in organising this important training workshop and indicated the readiness of the Republic of Türkiye towards enhancing the already existing strong ties with the OIC Member Countries in this domain and ensuring their continuity.

The Social Development Capacity Building Programme (SD-CaB) was developed and initiated by SESRIC in 2021. The Programme aims at supporting and contributing to the efforts of the OIC Member Countries towards strengthening institutional and human capacities by sharing knowledge, experiences and best practices among the relevant Ministries and national institutions working in various domains of social development. Within this framework of this Programme, the Centre organises capacity-building activities by using various modalities such as training courses, training workshops, and study visits. For more information on the Social Development Capacity Building Programme (SD-CaB), please visit: https://www.sesric.org/sd-cab.php

All the documents of the Training Workshop are available at this link.

Photos