More than 30 people with various disabilities from India, Nepal and Bangladesh joined together in Hyderabad, India to participate in a workshop on the right to work. Click here to access photos from the training on the DRPI-AWARE Facebook page.

During day one participants learned about the un/underemployment of people with disabilities across the region. Participants engaged in discussions about the concepts and principle of human rights.

Chief guest, Professor M. Kodandaram, alongside Dr. Marcia Rioux from DRPI and Pavan Muntha of Swadhikaar welcomed participants at today’s opening ceremonies. Professor Kodandaram is an educator and political activist in India. He is also the chairman of the Telangana Non-Political Joint Action Committee, which is formed for fighting for a separate Telangana State. He is a professor in Political Science from Osmania University.

Professor Kodandaram gave a brief history of the disability rights movement in India and described the recent state separatist movement (Telagana movement). Professor Kodandaram shared his experiences as a rights activist in India and Andhra Pradesh. He also talked about the value and challenges of democratization. According to Professor Kodandaram,

“Rights are not sanctioned, one must fight for their rights. Social and economic rights, like the right to employment are crucial for the implementation for securing civil and political rights.”

Day 2 of the AWARE Right to Work Training Workshop!  Participants learned the basics of how to conduct interviews with people with disabilities in Dhaka, Kathmandu and Hyderabad. Participants were enthusiastic, eager to learn and practiced new skills with one another. The day ended off with a bonus panel discussion on legal capacity for people with various disabilities.

Day 3 of the AWARE Right to Work Training Workshop –  participants learned about informed consent, focus group facilitation and systemic monitoring. There were many questions and discussion between facilitators and participants to build skills, increase knowledge of local country contexts and commonalities between nations.

Day 4 of the AWARE Right to Work Training Workshop – Participants reflected and shared their learning and experiences with the interview training. Participants worked with their country teams to practice their interview skills while working through the entire interview guide. Discussion was exciting and challenging and represented the process of skill development and peer support. Great teams are being built!

Training day 5 concluded the session in Hyderabad. Participants learned how to pull together all the monitoring tools to create effective reports and build solid evidence for advocacy and activism.