More than 600 attend RI Regional Arab Conference in Bahrain in November

More than 600 disability specialists from 57 countries participated in the RI Arab regional conference on the theme, "Disability Rights in a Changing World." The conference and an associated two day meeting of Gladnet, the Global Applied Disability Research and Information Network on Employment and Training, took place November 10-16 in Manama, Bahrain.

Prominent in both meetings was Dr. Fatima al Balooshi, Bahrain's Social Development Minister, who called for a "global effort to combat the impact of wars, violence and natural disasters that have led to an increase of disability." She also encouraged participants to support the current UN process to develop a convention on the rights of disabled persons. Dr. Majeed Al Alawi, Bahrain's Minister of Labor, urged companies and organizations to employ more disabled Bahrainis, stating, "We have a long way to go to promote the potential and skills of disabled persons to enable them to take an active role in their community."

Regular reports were carried by Bahrain's daily newspapers and several can be found on the website of www.gulf-daily-news.com Results of the conference will also be posted at RI's website: www.riglobal.org and the program of the conference can be found at www.ri-arab.org

Gladnet meetings
The Gladnet annual meeting, held for the first time in the Arab Gulf countries, featured presentations on employment and training projects, chaired by Dr. Suzanne Bruyere of Cornell University and president of Gladnet. Topics included the right to work, examples of successful employment initiatives, youth initiatives and technology, labor market information and placement.

Gladnet's goal is to advance competitive employment and training opportunities for people with disabilities and it organizes seminars, operates a listserv and maintains a website with research reports from its members.

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