The Movement of the Youth for Inclusive Development through Education in ASEAN (MY IDEA) is organizing a convention which aims to further empower student teachers to become advocates of inclusive education.
The convention, billeted as Spectrum, will gather 35 student teachers from 10 Teacher Education Institutions in the Province.
The three-day event will begin on Dec. 3, which is also the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
During the convention, Vietnam will also do a simultaneous event to concretely signify MY IDEA’s commitment to bring the cause of inclusion at the global level.
“We envision Spectrum as a meaningful space for student teachers to further improve their understanding towards inclusive education and to provide them with the tools and skills for them to become effective advocates in their respective communities,” said Kathleen Dawn Ricardo, convenor.
Inclusive education is a process based on the philosophy that all children regardless of their disability, gender, age, faith, ethnicity, and language have the fundamental right to go to school and learn with their peers.
“The reason why we are investing in our student teachers is because we believe in the dynamism and commitment of young people to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities,” said Eduard Joseph Narciso, MY IDEA co-founder and co-organizer.
One major output of Spectrum is the call to action which will exemplify the need to include at least two Special Education subjects in all TEIs in the Philippines to ensure that before student teachers go to the field, they have the necessary paradigm and skills in educating children with disabilities in inclusive settings.
MY IDEA is a youth-led and youth run initiative whose goal is to mobilize student teachers in Negros Oriental to become advocates of inclusive education. This initiative is supported by the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative and U.S. Department of State. (PR)
