New activation to boost inclusive education for 160,000 children living with disabilities in Ukraine

KYIV, 03 December 2024 – The ‘First National Lesson on Inclusion’ campaign launched today to engage teachers as the champions of inclusive education for some 160,000 children living with disabilities in Ukraine who are even more vulnerable following years of war.

The ‘National Lesson’ is accessible through the EdEra platform—one of the biggest platforms for educators in Ukraine—in a collaboration with the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation and with the informational support from the Ministry of Education and Science. The lesson materials include presentations, inspiring inclusive practices and provide educators with practical tools to foster understanding and acceptance in their classrooms.

“Children with disabilities are first and foremost children and they have the same rights that all children have,” said Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine. “Every child has the right to education and teachers are essential to help make that a reality through fostering inclusive classrooms,” added Mammadzade.

Recent data shows that some 75 per cent of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards children with disabilities learning in the same class. The new activation aims to build on that momentum as the world marks the annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which promotes the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic and cultural life.

"Teachers are leaders who help children with disabilities not only to build individual educational trajectories but also to socialize, establish connections, and create a positive classroom environment,” said Daria Gerasymchuk, Advisor to the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation. “The All-Ukrainian lesson on inclusion is about impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, whose futures can be transformed during their schooling," added Gerasymchuk.

The ‘National Lesson’ forms part of the ‘Children as Children’ communication campaign that launched earlier this year to make children with disabilities more visible and help to destigmatize disability. Transforming attitudes is an ongoing process, with research also showing that more than 70% of people surveyed in Ukraine still feel pity towards people with disabilities, thinking they are not independent or able to succeed in life.

Ensuring access to inclusive education is also an essential component of the ‘Better Care Reform’ agenda that is driving forward family-based – not institutional care – for some of the most vulnerable children, including those living with disabilities. Strengthening the education system to accommodate children with disabilities through inclusive education and mainstream schools is an essential part of this work.

“The inspiring educators across Ukraine, who are themselves coping with the horrors of war, can positively shape the mindsets of the next generation to embrace inclusivity,” said Mammadzade. “But disability inclusion also starts with me, with you, with all of us,” added Mammadzade.

UNICEF’s national and global goal is to enable all children, including those with disabilities, to live in barrier-free and inclusive communities where persons with disabilities are embraced and supported throughout life. 

Notes to editors: 

Data on the perception of people with disabilities in Ukraine comes from the First National Sociological Survey on the Perception of People with Disabilities in Ukraine, initiated by the NGO ‘League of the Strong’, Rating, 2023.