UN Conference on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Uri Ben-Ari, President and Founder of Athena Fund, was invited to participate in the annual United Nations conference on the rights of persons with disabilities, which was held in June 2019 at the UN headquarters in New York. Held within the framework of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), to which Athena Fund holds Special Consultative Status, the conference was attended by representatives of various countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from across the globe.
At the conference Ben-Ari met with various representatives and described the "Digital Toolbox for Every Special Education Teacher" program. This program provides special education teachers at schools and kindergartens with: an iPad, 120 hours of professional training, a 3-year hardware warranty, 3 years of technical support, education credits, and a wireless printer. In addition, every classroom is equipped with a projector and wireless Internet. The program creates significant change and impact, helping children with disabilities to develop their innate potential.
To date, 23,400 teachers instructing some 560,000 students in 1,981 schools and kindergartens across 153 local authorities throughout Israel have received a "digital toolbox" from Athena Fund. This figure includes close to 7,800 special education teachers.
Among many others, Ben-Ari met with Michael Brauer Director of the Human Rights and Social Affairs Unit at the Israeli Consulate in New York and consultant to the Israeli delegation to the United Nations. He also met with representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition, he met with representatives from Microsoft and various countries including Norway, Qatar, Canada, Singapore, the US and others.
Next year Athena Fund is planning to participate in the conference and organize a meeting. The goal of the meeting will be to promote and empower special education teachers as one of the most significant ways for developing the potential of children with disabilities through technologies and digital empowerment.
During the conference Ben-Ari participated in many meetings on various topics including: the impact of technology on children with disabilities; technological solutions for integrating people with disabilities into workplaces; social entrepreneurship and innovation; how assistive technology can help people with autism (presented by Qatar's UN delegation); the future of employment and making the digital workplace accessible; and classification and intervention of special education in educational systems. Ben-Ari also participated in a special meeting sponsored by the Israeli delegation and Harvard University on the subject of increasing inclusion in Israel. In the meeting, Access Israel and Enosh – the Israeli Mental Health Association, two Israeli NGOs, presented projects in this field that are being implemented in Israel.
The assistance of the Israeli UN delegation and the Israeli presence in the areas of assistance to people with disabilities were felt at the various meetings. "There is no doubt that Israel has something to take pride in regarding the processes of treating and integrating people with disabilities in society," says Ben-Ari. "However, there is still a lot of work to do and we must continue working to advance these issues."
Uri Ben-Ari at United Nations Conference on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Uri Ben-Ari with Michael Brauer, Consultant for Human Rights and Social Affairs for Israeli Delegation to the UN