When seen through the eyes of an individual with special needs, the world can be a daunting, forbidding place that ill-affords them the opportunities that seem to be the preserve of the other lot. A representative perspective that has prevailed long beyond its relevance, it is in dire need of being altered for the better and in the UAE, this change is ripe to happen. With the announcement of the new National Policy to Empower People of Determination on Thursday, the UAE has consolidated the strategies it has developed over the years for people with special needs into a comprehensive, solution-driven programme of integration that offers a strong guarantee of delivering the results.
A sweeping, grass roots-strengthening initiative, what distinguishes the policy beyond its acuity is the empathy and equality invested in the new nomenclature it has created for people in this segment. As stated by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, individuals with special needs will now be referred to as “the determined people”. This thinking, and its awareness in society, is a reinvigorating validation of the spirit and courage of the determined ones that has been long overdue.
Beyond the nomenclature, the national policy also distinguishes itself with its nuts-and-bolts approach. All the different facets of society meant for the determined ones — health, rehabilitation, accessibility, education, social security, public life, cultural integration — will be finessed for delivering results. This, indeed, is the only way to bring about real inclusivity and rescue the term from the theoretical morass it has been mired in.
Serving as a guarantor to achieving this goal will be an advisory council that will oversee and implement the policy to its fullest.
Another highlight of the policy, whose time too has come, is the launch of a national registry for new-borns with disabilities and delayed developmental issues. Offering an invaluable database, this registry will be a critical tool with which to hone future strategies.
Ensuring that the determined ones stand their ground on the same level as their fellow human beings is as much a part of national progress as are its other indicators. Till such time as people of determination become an indistinguishable part of the mainstream as social contributors, the efforts to erase the lines that separate them from the rest of society must go on.
