UNICEF tackles stigma and harmful social norms against children with special educational needs and disabilities

TBILISI. Georgia. 1 March 2022 – Children, parents and teachers in 20 schools from six regions of Georgia are benefitting from educational interactive trainings aimed at changing attitudes and behaviors to develop supportive and inclusive social environment, and to ensure access to quality education for children with special needs and disabilities. Representatives of local municipalities, the private sector companies, education specialists, psychologists and public figures will also get involved in the campaign.

The communication for social change campaign “See Every Colour” is organized by UNICEF with the financial support from the Government of Norway and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science within a three-year project “Leave No Child Out” which aims at strengthening inclusive education in Georgia. The key goal of the ‘See Every Colour’ campaign will be to raise awareness on the importance of inclusive education and to increase the involvement of children with special needs across the education system.

Following the trainings and discussions at schools, participating parents, teachers and students will be encouraged to come up with innovative ideas to promote inclusive education within their schools and to advocate these ideas with local governments and local businesses to mobilize more supporters. 

As part of the project, multimedia content will be produced and shared via multiple media platforms. Human stories, posters, infographics about common mistakes in classroom setting and the best practices for inclusive education will be distributed among parents’ and teachers’ social media groups and pages. Interactive Facebook lives will be organized with the participation of child psychologists, social therapists, parents and activists to initiate discussion on the importance of inclusive education. 

The campaign is a continuation of the communication for social change intervention ‘See Every Colour’, implemented by UNICEF and its partner donor organizations in 2017-2020 and aimed at reducing the stigma against children and youths with disabilities. The initiative reached more than one million people and contributed to a reduction of stigma against people with disabilities from 41.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent.

Children with special educational needs are one of the most vulnerable groups in Georgia. The widespread misconceptions and false beliefs prevent them from full engagement in social, educational, and cultural activities and from realizing their rights.