Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD)

#Inclusive-Young-Voices Webinar

17 December - 17 December 2021

Virtual

#Inclusive-Young-Voices' Webinar

The Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), in collaboration with UNICEF East and Southern Africa Office (ESARO), will organize a webinar to kick-start a new project dubbed '#Inclusive-Young-Voices' to be held on Friday 17 December 2021. The webinar will be hosted via Zoom or Microsoft Teams and streamed on Facebook live to reach a wider audience of young people and various stakeholders.

The webinar will have a panel of professional and youth activists across the SADC region and other key speakers who will share tips on various aspects of online campaigns, including issues emanating from the 2018 Global Disability Summit (GDS) and the matters forecasted for the upcoming GDS 2022. 

The overall goal of the webinar is to provide a platform to share and amplify youth and children's voices about disability rights and issues that they are passionate about, including this year's IDPD's theme: "Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world."

With the introduction and proliferation of social media and other online tools, SAFOD acknowledges the need to leverage the opportunities that come with technology, especially among children and youths who appear more passionate about social media than other groups. Recognizing the critical role children and young people can play in helping SAFOD to fulfill its mandates, the organization is in the process of setting up a cluster of children and youth advocates with disabilities in Southern Africa. These kids can identify critical issues affecting them and create compelling messages that call decision-makers and influencers at the national and regional levels. Implementing an online campaign will contribute to SAFOD's existing Program on Disability Mainstreaming.

Therefore, the webinar will serve as a space for youth to interact and generate insights into the most impactful issues for young persons with disabilities. A key output from the webinar will be a regional youth database which will strengthen future regional youth engagements such as the upcoming GDS 2022 and effective coordination, collaboration, and communication, particularly amongst youth with disabilities. 

During the webinar, SAFOD will also officially launch the impending writers' competition on thematic issues emanating from the GDS 2018 and other issues affecting children and youths in five targeted countries targeted by the project, namely, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi. 

More details about the event structure and content and the registration information will be available by Monday, 13 December 2021.