UPDATE FOR SIXTH UWICDS REGIONAL DISABILITY STUDIES CONFERENCE

The UWI Centre for Disability Studies Sixth Regional Disability Studies Conference will be held on April 16-17, commencing at 10:00AM on Tuesday April 16 with the opening ceremony. The conference will be held in the Eon Nigel Harris Conference Room at the UWI Regional Headquarters. The conference for this year will focus on employment of persons with disabilities and the theme is “Employment Creation: The Path to Sustainable Development for Persons with Disabilities”.

Some 18 scholars from across the world will present their transformative and enlightening research on the subject of employment and persons with disabilities. These scholars will be joined by persons with disabilities, policy makers, advocates and members of the academic community in two days of rich dialogue on the topic of employment of persons with disabilities. It is estimated that a concerning 90 per cent of persons with disabilities in the Caribbean are unemployed and ways must be found to correct this troubling situation.

There will be 12 thematic sessions over the two days, with the scholars presenting on their chosen field. Each session will have a chairperson and at the end of the presentation from each scholar (15 minutes), there will be two persons with disabilities to lead the question and answer session. This is to ensure that persons with disabilities participate in the conference and that there is a continuous flow of the discussion on the topic that has been presented by each scholar.

The Centre for Disability Studies is extremely proud of its efforts to publish papers presented at previous conferences. This year, there will be no difference. We will be selecting the best papers presented at the conference for a peer-reviewed manuscript that will be published in 2025. Scholars are therefore asked to ensure that they present high quality research and to submit their full paper in Microsoft word, by April 17, 2024.

We are looking forward to this extra-ordinary conference. We are looking forward to the dialogue and interaction. Our mission is to build a Caribbean disability identity that is inclusive, participatory and non-discriminatory. Disability does not mean inability.

For any concerns please contact: Floyd Morris at morrisfloyd@gmail.com or 876 322 0301.