CEMOFPSC organized a roundtable on 7 November as a continuation of last April with the title “Quality education in conflict zone as a means of promoting peace.”
Participants included experts from various fields and reported on the actions taken under the Convention of the FPSC and AECID, “Improving Primary and Secondary Education in the Palestinian Territories.”
Joining in the Roundtable on Special Education in Palestinian Territories were the following experts: Yamil Abusada, associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Alcala de Henares, Susana Gracia, Counselor at Senara College and Master Teacher of teacher training in compulsory secondary education at the International University of La Rioja (Merge), Begoña Casas, Middle East expert, Aurora Moreno, journalist at the National Radio of Spain, Pilar Lara Alen, President of the Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture, Jumana Trad, President of the Euro-Arab NGOs for Development (READI) and Executive Committee member CEMOFPSC, and Lucia Recarte, Project Coordinator for the Middle East of the Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture. The event was moderated by Macarena Cotelo, Director of Projects and Cooperation at the Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture.
Issues addressed were the treatment of people with varying degrees of disabilities and the need for inclusion of many educational programs to promote their integration into society, problems specific to the area, problems of a cultural nature, which attempts to eradicate poverty by families concealing their disabled members as a taboo.
Information was presented on the agreement that the FPSC has signed with the AECID, “Improving Primary and Secondary Education in Palestinian Territories,” the study that is being conducted under the agreement in more than 50 schools in Bethlehem, East Jerusalem and Hebron on children with special education needs, not only physically but also psychologically. The issue of the creating resource rooms provided with means for these children with special educational needs and the teacher training program was also addressed, specifically the specialization program in special education created by the local partner of the FPSC under the agreement, the University of Bethlehem.
Issues that the agreement addresses include, gender (schooling) of parental involvement, diversity and human rights.