Organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), AVSI an Italian NGO and in cooperation with Al Hussein Society for the Habilitation/Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged, today’s workshop is the second of three-planned workshops and is within the framework of UNDP and AVSI project “Towards Better Integration of People with Disabilities through ICT and Networking” which is completely funded by the Italian Government.

Based on the findings of the project, due to the lack of knowledge and awareness of the society at large including the disabled people of their rights and the prevailing negative cultural beliefs, people with disability continue to be marginalized and are not given the same opportunities of contributing to and participating in community life.

Another challenge related to the legal framework, is that despite the enabling Jordanian laws, the weak law enforcement mechanisms undermine their effectiveness.

The three workshops are designed to ensure that all participants rethink the way they work.  The first workshop highlighted the importance of advocacy to change cultural attitudes, laws and policies.  Participants received information on awareness raising methods and tools. 

At the end of the current workshop, participants are expected to be able to develop a full action plan for a media campaign using all media and communication tools with the ultimate objective to integrate the people with disabilities within the society through removing all forms of stigma and prejudice that keep them excluded from their own communities.

UNDP and AVSI with funding by the Italian government have worked together in a previous project which helped in establishing an IT Center for the Disabled with the aim to improve the life conditions of the people with physical disabilities through the use of ICT tools.