This pilot phase will be implemented at the UNESCO Palace in
Beirut, in collaboration with the Lebanese Physical
Handicapped Union (LPHU), the Rotary Club of Beirut
and the Rotaract Club of Beirut, as part of their joint
'Discover-Ability' project which aims at integrating people with
disabilities in the workforce of the private sector. From June
2nd to 27th, 84 disabled persons were mobilised by the
LPHU and The Dr. Mohammad Khaled Foundation, 64 were
exposed to computers and to the Internet for the very first
time. They benefited from 120 training hours in an environment
specially adapted to welcome handicapped persons: the caravan
has been equipped with demountable slope and handrails to
facilitate the access of wheelchairs. This initiative, the first
of its kind, seeks to offer the opportunity to people who have
disabilities to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in
order to achieve their basic economic right, the right to
employment.
The selection of the location, the UNESCO Palace, was no
coincidence. It is among the very few places in the city, where
special facilities have been adopted to receive adequately and
comfortably persons with disabilities. And the 'Saradar IT
Programme' was able to meet them there because the
'Accessibility Programme' represents a major advantage: it is
first and foremost a caravan. Such 'mobility' makes it
particularly attractive as this school defies and circumvents
the 'Exclusion' (geographical but also social) of some
populations, such as people with disabilities.
2. THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAMME 2003:
IT SUPPORTS THE BASIC RIGHTS OF DISABLED
PEOPLE
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS),
there are approximately 60,000 disabled persons in Lebanon,
yielding a disability rate of 1.5%(*). Until very recently
disability was the forgotten dimension of human rights and
unacknowledged as subject for the right of equality. Society is
unaware of the potential valuable contribution people with
disabilities can make in the workforce.
In May 2000, the Lebanese Parliament approved a new legislation,
Law no. 220, which secures basic rights for the disabled. This
new legislation, which addresses the rights of people with
disability, is based on the "UN Standard Rules for the
Equalization of Opportunities" and the "World Programme of
Action Concerning Disabled Persons". According to the law
disabled people have a right to employment. Art. 73 and 74
define the quota of disabled that should be employed by the
public and private sector as follows:
- 3% public sector workforce should be disabled persons
- Private sector companies with a capacity of 30-60 persons are
obliged to employ one disabled person
- Private sector companies with a capacity of 60+ persons should
have disabled persons covering 3% of their workforce
Additional IT courses will be scheduled for disabled persons, in
collaboration with competent NGOs, concerned municipalities and
specifically with private sector companies to improve direct
access of people with disabilities to education, information and
training leading towards their re-integration in the society as
motivated and efficient socio-economic actors. (*) Central Administration of
Statistics, 1998.
3. THE LAW 220/2000 The
following paragraph has been prepared by the Lebanese Physical
Handicapped Union (LPHU)
In May 2000, the Lebanese Parliament approved a new
legislation, Law No. 220, which secures the basic rights for the
disabled.
According to the Law disabled people have right to employment.
The employment opportunities are enhanced by mentioning
obligation for hiring disabled people Art. 73 and 74 define the
quota of disabled people that should be employed by public and
private sector. Public sector shall appoint at least 3 per cent
of the global number of positions in the different categories to
disabled persons. As for the private sector, the enterprises
that have an employee capacity among 30 to 60 are obliged to
employ one disabled person if he/she qualifies and meets the
working conditions should employ one disabled person. If the
capacity of a private sector company surpasses 60 employees the
number of disabled should be at least the 3 per cent of the
total number of workers.
A penalty is also set in the article for companies that do not
employ disabled persons. The penalty amount has to be paid to
the Ministry of Labor and will be four times the minimum basic
salary for every unemployed disabled person. The employer is
exempted of the penalty if he provides the Ministry of Social
Affairs with documents certifying that the employers presented a
request to the Ministry of Labor to hire a disabled person, but
no qualified person was available three months from the date of
submission of the request.
In case the private sector employs more disabled persons it will
benefit from a reduction on the income tax calculated at the
minimum basic salary on every additional disabled employee
declared by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Therefore, Law No. 220 recognizes to unemployed disabled people
meeting certain conditions, an ‘Unemployment Social Security’
allocation, calculated as 75 per cent of the minimum salary
range.
Law No. 220 recognizes also the right of disabled children to
education. This right is set out also by the education (No. 686,
1998) and in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
According to the CRC, education should help disabled children
achieve social integration. Although disabled children have
specifically protected rights to education, international
studies show that disabled people have less education and fewer
qualifications than the general population.
For more information on the subject, please refer to the
official document (in Arabic) or contact the Ministry of Social
or Lebanese associations specialized in disability, such as:
Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU)
-Youth Association for the Blind (YAB)
-Arc-en-ciel
-Anta Akhi
-Dr. Mohammad Khaled Foundation
4. THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAMME 2004:
LINKING IT TRAINING TO EMPLOYMENT
Encouraging the socio-economic integration of
individuals with disabilities into the workforce: Linking
computer literacy to employability Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley), May 16 – June 26, 2004
Background
The unemployment rate of the disabled people in Lebanon is very
high. As the study in 1996 by the Ministry of Social Affairs
shows, only 17% of disabled actually work. The main reasons
behind this figure are: the existing socio-cultural prejudices,
the low level of education and the vocational rehabilitation
provided through the institutions is not market oriented and not
focused on people with disabilities.
These people have the potential to make a valuable contribution
in the workforce, as employees, entrepreneurs or employers. Some
employers have started to tap this potential. Many governments
have introduced legislation, policies and programs to promote
employment opportunities for job-seekers with disabilities.
In May 2000, the Lebanese Parliament approved a new legislation,
Law no. 220, which secures basic rights for the disabled. The
new legislation on the rights of people with disability is based
on the ‘UN Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities
and the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons’.
The legislation addresses the rights of disabled persons to
proper education, rehabilitation services, employment, medical
services, sports and access to public transport and other
facilities.
Law no.220 stipulates that the public sector shall assign at
least 3 per cent of the global number of positions in the
different categories to disabled persons. The private sector
companies with a staff over 60 persons should employ a number of
disabled that is at least the 3 per cent of the total number of
workers.
The “Discover-Ability project”, launched in 2003, aimed at
encouraging the social integration and development of
individuals with disabilities into the workforce: The isolation
and exclusion of people with disability is even more acute
considering peripheral regions. This weakness led us to start
our intervention from rural areas, choosing the Bekaa Valley as
a pilot region, due to the high number of disabled people that
are heavily affected by the poverty and isolation that this
region is facing.
Since May 16, and within the scope of the “Accessibility
Programme” initiated by Fondation Saradar in collaboration with
the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU), a new project is
being implemented to respond to the needs of the trainees. It
seeks to achieve two main objectives:
1) Build the competitiveness of job-seekers with disability on
the labour market by developing their computer skills, and
creating links between disabled people and the private sector:
enabling people with disabilities to access the labour market in
the Bekaa region, through promoting self-development and
interpersonal skills and increasing their abilities to provide
for their families and community;
2) Increase the awareness of the Lebanese civil society and
private sector on the potentiality of people with disability.
As a result, this pilot experience will contribute to the
implementation of the disability law no. 220 and to a shift
toward Inclusion policy that will enhance employment among
people with disability.
The training
During a period of 6 full weeks, the caravan stationed at LPHU
Bekaa office in Bar Elias, where 48 persons with various
disabilities aged 13 to 41, from neighboring villages and towns
(Bar Elias, as-Soueyra, Majd el Anjar, El Marj, Taalabaya, & El
Dalhamiyeh) will benefit from 72 hours of training each, with
the objective to provide target beneficiaries with the necessary
skills to undertake administrative and financial office tasks in
small and medium size enterprises.
A professional training will provide them with technical update,
and market-responding skills will cut the vicious circle which
people with disabilities are captured into. In the era of
globalization and technology communication, a curriculum with
the necessary skills to work (administrative and financial
office tasks) is a necessary requirement to be employed in a
small or medium size company. A proper background of knowledge
and skills will thus allow people with disabilities, mainly
youth, to increase their self-confidence in responding to any
job announcement.
The training programme includes: Microsoft Windows XP, Word XP,
Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook Express & Internet, as well as
writing CVs and preparing the participants for job interviews.
Upon completion of the 72-hour course, trainees will be entitled
to a certificate delivered by Formatech, a Microsoft certified
technical education centre.
Internship & recruitment opportunities In conformity with its set objective to link training to
employability, the “Accessibility Programme” 2004, through the
LPHU Bekaa office has scheduled, in addition to its training
activity, an awareness and mobilisation campaign targeting
enterprises established in this part of the Bekaa Valley on the
rights of people with disabilities, mainly in the area of
employment. Companies were encouraged to offer internships or
job opportunities to handicapped persons: a first step towards
achieving their complete socio-economic integration as active
and productive members of the Lebanese society.
The reaction of some institutions approached by LPHU was
immediate and unequivocal: ‘Al-Mayss’ Hospital, the Municipality
of ‘Bar Elias’ and companies such as ‘Lamartine’, ‘Efco’ and
‘Domanco’,
spontaneously expressed their readiness to take one intern each,
while ‘Conserves Chtaura’ offered two internship opportunities.
On the other hand, BLOM Bank branch located in the region
recruited one disabled person as a full-timer.
The graduation ceremony On July 26, a graduation ceremony was held at ‘Massabki Hotel’
in ‘Chtaura’ attended by the LPHU President, Ms. Sylvana Lakkis
and Bekaa office Director, Ms. Rasmia el-Hindi, Fondation
Saradar President and General Manager, Mrs. Marie-Claude Saradar
and Mrs. Tania Helou respectively, as well as local NGOs and the
Press. Thirty-four trainees were granted certificates by
Formatech (a Microsoft Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC)
& MOS Center). The speeches delivered at this occasion by
Fondation Saradar and the LPHU stressed on the necessity to
empower people with disabilities and provide them with the
necessary skills to overcome illiteracy and exclusion. The role
of the private sector was specifically identified as crucial in
supporting the rights of handicapped, primarily the right to
employment, considering the discrimination that is prevailing
among this population.
5. THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAMME 2005:
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES
FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE BEKAA
REGION
Background(1)
Among the most exposed groups to poverty are disabled people and
their families, as the high rate of disabled unemployment shows.
According to a study undertaken in 1996 by the Ministry of
Social Affairs(2), in Lebanon only 17% of disabled of working
age actually work, against an international percentage of 30%
and the economic trend shows that this percentage is getting
lower.
This exclusion of disabled people from the labour market is due
to multiple causes:
• Lack of facilities in working places
• No access to education
• No access to vocational rehabilitation programs
• Cultural and social obstacles
• Lack of experience in both public and private sectors (1) Excerpts from LPHU Project
proposal “Unlocking potential job opportunities for people with
disabilities”, 2004.
(2) Ministry of Social Affairs and UNFPA, Results of Population
and Housing Database, 1996
The objectives
For the third year in a row, the ‘Saradar IT Programme’ (SITP)
collaborates with the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU)
to promote the right of disabled people to access information
and acquire the necessary skills to achieve better living
conditions. This year, the ‘Accessibility Programme’ is
inscribed in a wider initiative undertaken by the LPHU: “The
creation of a job centre to act as a facilitator for job seekers
with disability (…) that aims at creating a real and concrete
help-desk for matching job offers with demands from the private
sector. A pilot project launched by this association to “respond
to the challenges and the needs that people with disability face
in the exercise of their own rights of social and economic
integration and the right for a sustainable livelihood”. Because
“managing a diverse work force is increasingly recognized as a
key factor in improving efficiency, productivity and overall
business success, globalisation has accelerated and reinforced
the need to embrace diversity. A highly significant element of
the diversity debate is disability."(3) (3) Excerpts from LPHU Project
proposal “Unlocking potential job opportunities for people with
disabilities”, 2004.
• A gender perspective
There is a strong gender component of underemployment among the
disabled. Although women graduates of care institutions (specialised
for people with disabilities) have higher levels of educational
attainment than men, they are less likely to be employed. Only
35 percent of women were employed, compared to 52 percent of
men. Disabled women face double discrimination in the Lebanese
labour market.
Due to this double discrimination that women with disabilities
face, the project will be targeting women with disability as
well as ensuring their participation and equal opportunity in
the work place; specific measures needed to meet women's needs
would be taken into consideration.
• An IT training programme
The ‘Saradar IT Programme’ constitutes one of the
capacity-building activities of this wider project. It will
ensure the adequate IT training for people with disabilities.
During a period of 4 weeks, the Saradar caravan will be
stationing at LPHU Bar Elias office, providing 48 disabled
persons, aged 14 to 44 from neighbouring villages and towns
-Bar Elias, Bouarej, el Dalhamiyeh, Jdita, Jlala, Hosh al
Harimeh, I’ta al Fakkhar, Majd el Anjar, el Marj, Qab Elias,
Saadnayel, Shmestar, as Soueyra, Taalabaya & Taanayel- with
a 30-hour training course enabling them to undertake
administrative and financial office tasks in small and medium
size enterprises.
A professional training will include technical update and
market-responding skills will cut the vicious circle which
people with disabilities are captured into. In the era of
globalisation and technology communication, a curriculum with
the appropriate capacities to work (administrative and financial
office tasks) is a pre-requisite to be employed in a small or
medium size company. A proper background of knowledge and skills
will thus allow people with disabilities, mainly youth, to
increase their self-confidence in responding to any job
announcement.
The training programme includes: Microsoft Windows XP, Word XP,
Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook Express & Internet, as well as
writing CVs and preparing the participants for job interviews.
Upon completion of the 30-hour course, trainees will be entitled
to a certificate delivered by Formatech, a certified training
centre.
• A Tri-sector Partnership: the Civil Society, the Private
Sector & the Media
Thanks to the active collaboration of non-governmental
organizations, to the involvement of private enterprises in
community development and to the engagement of the media in
promoting social issues, a durable and an efficient partnership
was established and has grown over the years to pursue and
consolidate our common objectives: to achieve a ‘society for
all’ founded on equal rights, social integration and economic
prosperity.
Implementing this 2005 edition of the Accessibility Programme
for the third year in a row would not have been possible without
the unfailing commitment and generous contribution of “Social
and Economic Action for Lebanon – SEAL” and the invaluable
support of partners, such as An-Nahar, Bankers Assurance,
Formatech, IDM, The Daily Star, Libairie Halim, L’Orient-Le
Jour, Quantech-IBM and Sannine.
6. BEIT CHABEB 2006
From June 19th to July 1st, the rehabilitation centre of
Beit Chabeb hosted the Caravan for a period of 2 weeks. All
thirty trainees with physical disabilities, 18 women and 12 men,
work at the centre as craftsmen. Their main products are: wax
candles, porcelain painting, wood crafting and drawing. The SITP
was considered as a unique opportunity for these young
handicapped persons to acquire the basic IT skills.
The age of the participants varied from 13 to 50 years. They
were mobilised by the LPHU that held several intensive
meetings of awareness and coordination to organise all the
logistic aspect of the involvement of disabled persons in such
a project, such as their transportation, for instance. Among
the 48 persons registered, 42 pursued the sessions and 38
completed the required 36 hour-course.
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Background
