Understanding, Developing, and Supporting Meaningful Work for Youth with Disabilities in Bhutan: Networks, Communities, and Transitions

在全球范围内，大多数残疾人被边缘化，无法公平获得和有意义地参与培训和就业机会。由于残疾、贫困和不平等之间存在着重要的关系；支持残疾人的包容性就业和社区参与不仅对残疾人本身的生活，而且对他们的家庭、社区、社会和国民经济都有潜在影响。作为一个位于喜马拉雅山脉的低收入和中等收入国家，不丹现在和未来都面临着巨大的经济和社会挑战，城市地区的青年失业率高（23%），青年人口预计将大幅增长。在不丹，残疾青年参与经济和社区活动的机会有限，因为他们被归类为“不从事经济活动”，在转学、技能和职业培训、获得信贷和包容性就业等领域获得的资源和援助很少。为了应对不丹和世界各地的这些挑战，在该项目的第一阶段，我们建议对残疾青年在经济和社区中的接触和参与进行一项方法创新的全面调查。调查方法包括：采用明尼苏达大学社区整合研究所（UMN ICI）目前有效的调查和指标工具开发；进行雇主观点和态度调查；举办由近200名社区持份者组成的焦点小组；为残疾青年进行个案研究；利用GIS空间和网络制图揭示社会、社区和经济网络和服务；利用开创性的SenseMaker软件进行微叙事定量空间分析；并进行政治经济评估。这项调查将为实施第二阶段活动奠定基础，第二阶段活动首先是实施伯明翰大学先前开发的定制就业评估工具包。该工具包将提供以人为本的规划和评估，以及评估基线，以支持以下干预措施：为残疾青年开办创业和就业技能讲习班，试行三个协调员职位（包容性就业协调员、创业和自营职业协调员、学校过渡协调员），并试行一项小额信贷赠款计划，以支持不丹残疾青年创业和获得就业和技能培训。此外，将选出10名不丹包容性就业和学校转型研究员——在不丹这一领域及其周边工作的专业人士——参加UMN ICI的培训。通过这个项目，我们试图了解这些干预措施的有效性、可持续性和可扩展性，以及它们向南亚和全世界其他低收入和中等收入国家转移的潜力。项目的最后阶段将涉及对干预措施和项目活动的多方面影响评价，以及令人兴奋的影响活动。这些影响活动包括关于残疾青年技能和经济参与问题的南亚区域首脑会议，以及委托制作一部记录残疾青年日常生活经历和本项目活动的纪录片。这部电影将由不丹电影人制作，并将雇用残疾青年作为支持人员。这部电影将在不丹首映，并在全球发行。

Globally, a majority of persons with disabilities are marginalised and excluded from equitable access to, and meaningful participation in, training and employment opportunities. As there is a significant relationship between disability, poverty, and inequality; supporting inclusive employment and community participation for persons with disabilities represents potential impact not just in the lives of persons with disabilities themselves, but also in their families, communities, societies, and national economies. As a low and middle-income country nestled in the Himalayas, Bhutan also has great economic and social challenges now and predicted into the future, with high youth unemployment in urban areas (23%) and the youth population expected to grow significantly. Access and participation to economic and community activities for youth with disabilities is limited in Bhutan, as members of this population are classified as 'economically inactive' and receive very little resource and assistance in areas such as school transition, skills and vocational training, access to credit, and inclusive employment.In response to these challenges in Bhutan, and around the world, in phase one of this project we propose to conduct a methodologically innovative and comprehensive survey of access and participation of youth with disabilities in the economy and community. Survey methods include: adapting currently validated survey and indicator instruments development at the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration (UMN ICI); conducting employer perspectives and attitudes surveys; conducting focus groups of nearly 200 community stakeholders; conducting case study profiles of youth with disabilities; using GIS spatial and network mapping to uncover social, community, and economic network and services; using micro-narrative quantitative spatial analysis facilitated by the groundbreaking SenseMaker software; and conducting a political economy assessment. This survey will lay the foundation of understanding in implementing phase two activities, which begins by implementing a bespoke Employment Assessment Toolkit, previously developed by the University of Birmingham. The Toolkit will provide person-centred planning and assessment, as well as an evaluative baseline, to support the following interventions: entrepreneurship and employment skills workshops for youth with disabilities, piloting three coordinator positions (Inclusive Employment Coordinator, Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Coordinator, School Transition Coordinator), and piloting a microfinance grant scheme to support entrepreneurship and access to employment and skills training for youth with disabilities in Bhutan. Additionally, a group of 10 Bhutanese Inclusive Employment and School Transition Fellows - professionals working in and around this area in Bhutan - will be selected to participate in training at the UMN ICI. Through this project, we seek to understand the effectiveness, sustainability, and scalability of these interventions, and in their potential for transferability to other low and middle-income countries in South Asia and across the world. The last phase of the project will involve multifaceted impact evaluation of the interventions and project activities, as well as exciting impact activities. These impact activities include a South Asia Regional Summit on Skills and Economic Participation of Youth with Disabilities and a commissioned documentary film featuring the daily-lived experiences of youth with disabilities and the activities of this project. This film will be made by Bhutanese filmmakers and will employ youth with disabilities themselves as support crew. The film will be debuted in Bhutan, with distribution worldwide.