ICEVI Higher Education Network Creating inclusive and welcoming university environments for students with disabilities ANNUAL Report APRIL 2015 - MARCH 2016 With the support from JAPAN Submitted by: International Council for Education of ICEVI People with Visual Impairment LARRY CAMPBELL M.N.G. MANI and President Emeritus, ICEVI CEO, ICEVI Co-Project Directors Project Summary The Higher Education project supported by The Nippon Foundation commenced in Indonesia in 2006-2007. Based on the positive outcomes of the evaluation, the project was extended to the Philippines and Vietnam in 2008, Cambodia in 2010, Myanmar in 2013 and Laos PDR in 2014. The broad objective of the project was to make higher education institutions inclusive and also develop the performance of students with visual impairment by training them adequately in using technology. This work has resulted in significant increases in access to university education and during 2015-16, 177 additional students were benefitted by the Higher Education programme. The total beneficiaries since the commencement of the project in 2006-2007 are 2,142. The project cycle 2015 – 2018 listed the following as the key objectives of the project: © Continued attention to the existing programme to increase the enrolment of students in higher education institutions and provide them necessary IT skills to enhance their performance. © Increased attention to advocacy and public policy with universities and with the key government agencies. © Expanding student admissions and increasing access to a wider variety of courses of study pursued by visually impaired students beyond traditional studies in the humanities. © Attention to better preparing higher education students for the world of work with increased numbers gainfully employed in jobs commensurate with their education. In response to the above key objectives, the project partners implemented relevant activities and following are some of the key achievements during the first year (2015-16) of the current project cycle. Cumulative Enrolment Data The enrolment of 2015-16 and the cumulative data since 2006-07 are presented below, which reveal the trend in the growth of the higher education programme. Cumulative Country 2006-07 2006-11 2006-14 2006-15 2015-16 2006-16 Indonesia 250 385 480 609 22 631 Vietnam 28 354 470 563 67 630 Philippines 32 460 489 671 39 710 Cambodia 4 14 22 52 31 83 Myanmar 0 0 29 54 15 69 Laos 0 0 7 16 3 19 Students enrolled 314 1213 1497 1965 177 2142 02 | ICEVI Higher Education Network 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2006 - 07 2006 - 11 2006 - 14 2006 - 15 2006 - 16 Indonesia Vietnam Philippines Cambodia Myanmar Laos Brief profiles of Partner Institutions Resources for the Blind, Inc., Krousar Thmey, Cambodia Philippines Created in the refugee camps at the border with RBI was started in the Philippines in 1988 with a goal to Thailand in 1991, Krousar Thmey (“New Family” in develop and implement programs that will remove the Khmer) is the first Cambodian foundation supporting hindrances, and to provide services, training, materials, underprivileged children. It is a non-political and and equipment needed in order for those who have non-religious organisation. Since its creation, Krousar visual impairment to reach their fullest potential in Thmey, aims to enable the integration of life. The main office is in Cubao, Quezon City, with two underprivileged and disabled children through regional offices in Cebu City and Davao City, which serve education and appropriate support in accordance the central and southern Philippines, respectively. with their traditions and beliefs. Website : www.blind.org.ph Website : www.krousar-thmey.org Sao Mai Vocational & Assistive Pertuni (Indonesian Blind Technology Center for the Blind, Association) Indonesia Vietnam Pertuni is a national blind member based organization Sao Mai Vocational & Assistive Technology Centre for in Indonesia and it has its chapters in 33 provinces and the Blind was established in 2001 with the main goal of branches in 210 cities/districts throughout Indonesia. promoting the usage of assistive technology in The Pertuni plays an important role in lobbying for education and employment of persons with visual the rights of persons with visual impairment. For the impairment. The Centre has also offered consultancy period of 2015-2019, Pertuni elected Mrs. Aria to other organisations in assistive technology. Indrawati, as its first female president. Website : www.saomaicenter.org Website : http://pertuni.idp-europe.org National University of Laos (NUOL) Lao PDR Myanmar National Association of the Blind (MNAB), Myanmar Founded in 1996, the National University of Laos is located in Vientiane. The University has many Faculties The Myanmar National Association of the Blind (MNAB) specialising in humanities, science, management, etc., was formed in 1996 by over 100 visually impaired The higher education program for persons with visual persons. In 2013, it became a legislative organization impairment comes under the Faculty of Letters. The with the recognition by the Government. International program also collaborates with the Laos Association of bodies including ICEVI, Overbrook School for the Blind, the Blind (LAB) which focuses on advocacy, education, The Nippon Foundation and the Danish Association of networking, etc., to empower persons with visual the Blind are supporting various activities of the MNAB. impairment. Website : www.mnab-myanmar.org Website : www.nuol.edu.la Annual Report 2015-16 | 03 Key highlights during 2015-16 The detailed country presentations of activities are enumerated in the separate sections of this report. Key highlights of the project are summarized below: Ÿ Meeting of the ICEVI President and Chairman, The Nippon Foundation On 24th November, ICEVI President Lord Colin Low met with Mr Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, at the House of Lords. The Nippon Foundation has generously supported ICEVI's Higher Education project based in South East Asia for the last 10 years, and Lord Low took the opportunity to express ICEVI's heartfelt appreciation for this support. Mr Sasakawa spoke about how honoured he was to be in London to receive an award, the recent successes on combatting leprosy, a particular passion of his (a UN resolution and news of the last country to achieve elimination - Brazil) and his commitment to supporting vulnerable, including disabled people. He also spoke with obvious commitment about his work in Myanmar, where he has been given a commission by the government to help to promote peace in that country. Mr. Sasakawa also spoke about the work of The Nippon Foundation in Africa, and asked to be kept up to date about progress ICEVI made in this region. Ÿ Award to the Nippon Foundation The Nippon Foundation was given a special award at the Regional Conference of ICEVI East Asia region held at Bali, Indonesia from 28 September to 1st October 2015. The award was presented to The Nippon Foundation in grateful recognition of their support and partnership in expanding educational access and full inclusion of blind and low vision persons in the East Asia Region. Mr. Shuichi Ohno, Executive Director of the Nippon Foundation received the award and delivered a special address. Ÿ Meeting of the Coordinators of Higher Education A meeting of the Coordinators of higher education was organized in Bali on 27th September in conjunction with the ICEVI East Asia regional conference. Members agreed to exchange expertise among the partner organisations especially in preparing visually impaired students in pre-employment and soft skills. Ÿ Orientation of Universities All partners organizations conducted orientation programmes for university administrators during the 2015-16 project year. 04 | ICEVI Higher Education Network Ÿ Video documentation of job experiences in member countries The partners of the higher education project have developed videos highlighting the job experiences of visually impaired persons and these will be used for training purposes. ICEVI will also post these videos on its website for wider dissemination. The higher education partners focussed on job placement through individual contacts and job fairs and placed 117 visually impaired persons in employment. Ÿ Soft skills training Soft skills training programmes were conducted by project partners in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Philippines. These countries have been sharing experiences on the most effective approaches as they work with the curriculum on soft skills training outlined by a core committee in the region. Ÿ Job placement The higher education partners focussed on job placement through individual contacts and job fairs and placed over 110 visually impaired persons in employment. Ÿ TTS development in Myanmar The Burmese Text-to-Speech (TTS) beta version developed by MNAB and the Solve Circle Solutions technical team was launched on 3 December 2015, the International Day of the Disabled at the ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Social Welfare in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw. Ÿ Scholarship programme for higher education in Laos The National University of Laos has developed a scholarship program to support students with visual impairment who wish to enrol in higher education. We are confident that this initiative will do much to motivate students currently enrolled in secondary education to consider pursing higher education. Ÿ Efforts to formulate Decree on higher education The project partners were asked to emulate the experiences of our partner