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On December 12^th 2016, the Department of Education and Training (DoET) of Quang Tri Province, MCNV and the Korean INGO Medipeace co-organized a workshop to share results of an assessment on inclusive education (IE) for children with disabilities (CWD) recently done in the province. Participating in the workshop were representatives of provincial- and district-level organisations of the education sector, labour, invalids and social affairs sector, health sector and finance sector, the Disabled People’s Association, the Village Health Workers’ Association, the Charity Association and some INGOs. Besides sharing the IE assessment results, the DoET of Quang Tri Province, MCNV and Medipeace also consulted the relevant parties about the proposed plan on IE development in Quang Tri in the period of 2017-2020.

Earlier in October and November 2016, MCNV provided technical support to and collaborated with the DoET of Quang Tri to do a survey in Cam Lo, Gio Linh and Huong Hoa districts and Dong Ha city to assess the current situation of IE. The assessment results would be used for the orientation of interventions in improving the IE work in Quang Tri. Statistics show that Quang Tri province has about 37,000 people with disabilities, in which there are more than 6,300 CWD, counted for 1.1% of the population. Key findings from the assessment unveil that the education sector and other relevant sectors currently face a lot of challenges in the IE for CWD, particularly in implementing the supporting policy, ensuring financial sustainability, multi-sectoral collaboration, building capacity for teachers and parents of CWD, and improving the participation of CWD at schools. Key solutions identified and agreed upon at the workshop include: (i) setting up and developing a sustainable system of technical assistance and provision of early intervention and education services for CWD; (ii) transforming the current special education school into a support centre for IE; and (iii) strengthening human resources and capacity for the relevant organisations.

From 20^th to 24^th of March 2017, MCNV Laos organised a traning of trainers followed with a formulation workshop in Vientiane Capital to officially launch the project “Learning from the use of Innovative Communication Methods” (LICM). Participants to the event were 18 key persons from three project partners – Lao Disabled People’s Association (LDPA), Vientiane Youth Centre for Health and Development (VYCHD), and Proud To Be Us (PTBU), an informal network of LGBTI people in Lao PDR. Also attending the event were representatives of the National Institute of Public Health, University of Health Sciences, UNFPA and OXFAM Laos.

LICM is an action research project that aims to enable local partners to learn about the potential of creative methods in improving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of vulnerable youth groups and as a tool to study specific SRHR challenges these groups face. Young girls working in garment factories, LGBTI people and disabled youth are the project’s target groups. The project also investigates if and how the use of innovative communication methods can enhance dialogue on SRHR issues between communities, vulnerable youth and policy makers.

The training of trainers has provided participants with basic techniques and insights about some forms of creative communication such as theatre, shadow drama and participatory video for peer learning, behavior change and advocacy in relation to SRHR issues. With more technical support from MCNV, the project partners (LDPA, PTBU and VYCHD) will formulate co-creative teams, develop creative communication products with different methods, organise communication events and involve policy makers in dialogue on SRHR issues.