Dubai: The Community Development Authority (CDA) in Dubai has called on local and regional researchers to conduct studies in the UAE focusing on inclusive employment and propose solutions to be submitted to relevant authorities.
The call was made ahead of the International Conference for Inclusive Employment and Occupational Learning being held on December 10 and 11.
The conference is being organised by CDA in partnership with the Qualifications House UK Group and the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation.
The conference is being held in line with the Dubai Strategy for People of Determination 2020 and making it a “Disability-friendly City” by 2020.
“We call on local and regional researchers and research centres to consider the local market’s need for accurate information and scientifically collected data on the issue, because it could greatly help accelerate the full inclusion of people of determination in the community,” Dr Hussain Al Maseeh, social care expert at the Social Development Sector at CDA, told Gulf News.
“Studies and researches that are particularly considering the facts affecting people of determination such as governing laws, procedures and policies in the area of education and employment can perfectly reflect the reality of their needs and requirements, which could be used as references while developing inclusive education and employment programmes,” he added.
The conference will be the first in the region to highlight the importance of using academic research to solve problems or issues that communities face, especially people of determination, Professor Hisham Al Saghbini, CEO of Qualifications House UK Group, said.
More than 50 researchers are expected to present their findings mainly focusing on creating a disability-friendly workplace.
“What we’re trying to focus on really is the importance of research, to attract a large number of researchers. We are calling for a maximum of 50 to 100 research papers to focus on the area of inclusive employment,” Professor Al Saghbini said.
“One of the main issues that we face here is that the research is not really put in the right direction to solve problems. The whole objective of the conference is to bring these researchers on board, highlight the importance of inclusive employment and propose some solutions to it. It’s badly needed,” he added.
Professor Al Saghbini said the conference aims to come up with an action plan so policies, programmes and services are based on the real-market conditions and real social factors that are under study.
Currently, a total of 15 researchers from the UK and five researchers from the UAE have responded to the call.
