A Public Advocacy and Communication Plan Centre
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A PUBLIC ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATION PLAN CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF INCLUSIVE PRACTICES IN BIHAĆ About the Centre for Development of Inclusive Practices in Bihać The Centre for Development of Inclusive practices (CRIP) in Bihać is an accessible, modern and appropriately equipped facility that is fully compliant with all standards of monitoring, development and improvement of the inclusion of children with disabilities. Through its actions, the Centres seeks to evolve into a good practice example that is recommended for replication in all municipalities of Una-Sana Canton and even beyond, across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The primary beneficiaries of the centre are children aged 0 to 18, parents of children with disabilities, members of their families and all participants in development of inclusive society. The centre for development of inclusive practices is the first example of this practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina and significantly differs from specialised facilities since it is complementary to regular care and educational institutions and other ordinary institutions of the system, and does not seek to replace them. Through its actions, it does not exclude children from the ordinary system but provide the necessary therapeutic support to children who regularly attend care and educational institutions. In addition to the primary role of providing specific therapeutic services for children with disabilities, one of the major tasks of CRIP Bihać is to contribute to the development of inclusive society in a broad sense, primarily through its knowledge hub and active engagement of its staff. This will be possible to achieve through active promotion of inclusion in the community, dissemination and exchange of knowledge, establishing and fostering cooperation with all relevant stakeholders who participate in ensuring an inclusive environment, launching and advocating for initiatives to improve the status of children with disabilities, and strengthening and empowering the Centre’s beneficiaries - children and parents - to advocate for their rights. The staff of CRIP Bihać, with the support of the Save the Children, have developed a comprehensive plan of public advocacy and communication in respect of key audiences in the area of Una-Sana Canton and their local community with a view to adopting a systematic and targeted approach to resolving identified issues and attaining the mission and goals of the Centre for Development of Inclusive Practices. The Plan includes a detailed schedule of activities for the year 2017, which will be subject to ongoing monitoring, amending and updating in order to ensure the desired effect of the activities and enable learning and improvement of the operations of the Centre and its staff. 1 1. Analysis of issues to be addressed by CRIP Bihać through its operations Overarching issue The public of Una-Sana Canton is no sufficiently sensitised as to the rights, abilities and capacities of persons with disabilities and does not encourage their active inclusion in the society, which results in their exclusion from everyday community life and contributes to their stigmatisation, discrimination and overall marginalisation, affecting primarily children with disabilities who are hence unable to fulfil their full potential. Causes Legislation and the current budget do not sufficiently budget for the development of inclusive education and employment of young persons with disabilities, e. g. it is not possible to hire teaching assistants, there are no professions targeting children with disabilities. The ever-changing authorities and unstable political and budgetary situation affect the sustainability of support services to children with disabilities. Insufficient awareness of health, educational and social welfare professionals. Insufficient public awareness of issues faced by children and persons with disabilities, the absence of opportunities for mutual interaction and, consequently the fear of the different, stigmatisation of children and persons with disabilities. An insufficient level of information of the parents of children wih disabilities of their rights, insufficient empowerment to advocate for societal change. Consequences: Impeded access of children with disabilities to the regular system of preschool, elementary and secondary care and education, and limited success with regard to progress in the care and educational system. Inadequate capacities (premises, HR, expertise) for providing support to children with disabilities within and out of the regular care and educational system. The absence of a meaningful and systemic resolution as regards employment of young persons of disabilities - unemployment and difficult financial situation, poverty risk. Social stigmatisation and discrimination of children and persons with disabilities. 2 Marginalisation of families with children with disabilities who do not have the capacity to exercise their rights. The above analysis clearly shows that CRIP Bihać, if it wishes to implement its mission of a catalyst of societal change to result in a higher level of inclusion of the community in which the Centre operates, must employ its assets on a number of fronts concurrently: ➢ Provision of direct services to children with disabilities, which will be of high quality and serve as a good practice example to be rolled over.1 ➢ Encouraging public awareness raising as regards the needs, rights and issues faced by children with disabilities, as well as the importance of the inclusive approach in all segments of life. ➢ Initiating and advocating for the necessary change in relevant policies, strategies, legislation to ensure that they enable and actively encourage the development of inclusive communities and exercising of rights of all children and persons with disabilities. ➢ Strengthening the capacity and empowering of the Centre’s beneficiaries - children and parents - to recognise their rights and develop independent advocacy for the change in the society to be attained. 2. Goals of public advocacy and communication of CRIP Bihać Goal: The public of Una-Sana Canton (the parents of children with and without disabilities, professionals, decision makers, the public in general) sensitised as to the rights, abilities and capacities of persons and primarily children with disabilities, and actively encourages their inclusion in all segments of life, which contributes to their better inclusion in the community and mitigation of stigmatisation and discrimination. OBJECTIVES TASKS POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES 1. The change in attitudes in the To advocate for and contribute to ensuring adequate To train the teaching staff how to community attained by promoting conditions for education and provision of support to prepare, implement and monitor inclusion in all segments of society (the children with disabilities individualised and adapted curricula general public, parents of children To advocate for the inclusion of more children in the To offer early detection and intervention 1Provision of direct services is the primary task of the Centre for development of inclusive practices and as such will not be detailed in this plan of public advocacy and communication. 3 without disabilities, educational, social regular care and education system. services and health sectors). To strengthen the capacities of the teaching staff to be To network all relevant sectors able to respond to requirements of the inclusive (education, health, social welfare, labour, education process. nongovernmental sector) by organising joint meetings, round tables, public To sensitise the parents of children without disabilities debates, etc. as to the needs and issues faced by children with disabilities. To set up a referral mechanism for the inclusion of children with disabilities to include all relevant sectors To promote CRIP Bihać through different actions in the community, marking important dates, and the production of promotional material 2. A new strategy adopted and/or To advocate for amending applicable and enacting new Analysis of applicable legislation, data current legislation implemented legislation in the areas that affect the living of children collection (strategies, policies, laws, regulations) with disabilities direct (education, health and social Launching specific initiatives to improve supporting inclusion of children and welfare, employment). the status of children with disabilities with persons with disabilities into all To advocate for the implementation of applicable the ministries of education, health and segments of life legislation, strategies and policies pertinent to these social policy, social work centres, areas. employment offices (e. g. to employ teaching assistants, introduce adequate educational courses to reflect the needs of the labour market, change the procedures of assessment of children with disabilities, 4 etc.). Meetings with relevnt decision makers, letters, different actions. 3. Capacities of the parents of children To empower the parents of children with disabilities to To involve parents in CRIP activities: with disabilities strengthened in order take on the role of self-advocates of the rights of their workshops, training, group work, parental for them to become aware of the children and family members guidance meetings, informal meetings rights and opportunities for their To involve parents in promotional children and get involved in active activities in the community, to mark advocacy to exercise such rights important dates To involve parents in advocacy activities