#Resolution 181

[a-typical]

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappé (2006)

[bibleblender]

New article has been published on https://www.bibleblender.com/2023/biblical-lessons/biblical-history/ancient-history/quick-history-israel-palestine-gaza-strip-west-bank-promised-land

The battle for the Promised Land - a quick history covering the ever-changing control over Israel, Palestine, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.

Our entire Old Testament is a story, not just about the Jewish people but their land – the Land of Milk and Honey. From the earliest chapters in Genesis to the fiery culmination in Revelations – the story is centered in Israel. It’s a tale about the land God gave to the Israelites, his people, who serve as foundation stones in the history of mankind.

[agentfascinateur]

Most "moral" army using human shields

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wissam Nassar (@wissamgaza)

Lame psychopaths who should be sent to mental asylums.😒

[movementlike4river]

The Story Of Palestinian Christians | The Stones Cry Out (2013) | Full Film via Journeyman Pictures on YouTube <3

long live palestine

[immaculatasknight]

Day of infamy

[browniesbagoftricks]

[tamamita]

Israel was created by resolution 181 of the United Nations, which was passed by the General Assembly. Its no less legitimate then uganda or china or poland or canada or mexico or ukraine or Indonesia

There are dozens of christian states in the world, with official state churches in europe.

There are what, 15 islamic countries?

Why do jew haters focus on the one jewish state I wonder?

People seem to complain only about the jewish state? And never mention the half of arabs who chose to stay and now are full israeli citizens

Maybe, I mean this might be a hunch, but could it be that people hate your settler colonial state because it has AND is openly enacting genocide at this very moment? Or is that too antisemitic for the Zionists to grasp?

[apollos-olives]

i see many people trying to bring up hamas as some kind of scapegoat and distract from the issue when palestine and palestinians' issues are mentioned so if it's okay i would just like to ask how you deal with people saying "but hamas is bad!!!!" or "but don't you condemn hamas and their october 7 atrocitics????" so I can know how to deal with it if I come across a zionist, thank you

i usually block them or ignore them. debating with fascists is useless. but if you really want to know what i do, i personally look into un resolutions that actually support the existence of hamas. un resolution 37/43 in particular, along with understanding the history of resolutions 181 and 242. it is completely justifiable, especially under UN law, to have the right to self determination and taking up arms to fight against an occupying force. also, when they say hamas is a terrorist group, ask them "to who?". because majority of the world does not consider them that way. only the western countries such as the US and canada consider hamas a "terrorist group", and those countries are the ones commiting genocide against palestinians right now. ask the rest of the world about hamas and none of them will say they are terrorists, simply a resistance group. and if the zionist insists that israel is not an occupying force so hamas shouldn't exist, simply bring up examples of some of the fathers of zionism, who very clearly said that zionism is a colonial occupational government.

in the end u just gotta do your research 🤷‍♂️ most zionists who like to argue are ones who are expecting you not to know the history, so they can lie and twist what really happened. if you learn about the history and what happened and why, you'll have a good grasp of how to deal with zionists and their lies.

[girlactionfigure]

How many times did we get an offer to split the land with the Jews?

1. Peel Commission (1937): This was the first major proposal for partition by the British, recommending a division of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. The plan proposed a small Jewish state in> 

parts of the north and coastal areas, with the remainder of the land going to the Arabs. The Jewish leadership accepted it in principle but wanted modifications, while the Arabs outright rejected it.

2. United Nations Partition Plan (1947): Known as UN Resolution 181, this> was the most significant partition plan prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. The plan proposed the creation of independent Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international city. The Jewish community accepted the plan, but the Arab leadership rejected it,> leading to the 1947–1948 Civil War and the subsequent Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

3. Armistice Agreements (1949): After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, armistice agreements were signed between Israel and its neighboring Arab states, but these did not constitute a formal partition plan> 

Instead, they established ceasefire lines, known as the Green Line, without official recognition of borders.

4. Rogers Plan (1969): Proposed by U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers, the Rogers Plan aimed at resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict after the 1967 Six-Day War.> 

The plan called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the war (including the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem) in exchange for peace and recognition by Arab states.

Impact: The plan was rejected by both Israel and the Arab states, as Israel was unwilling to> 

the pre-1967 borders, and the Arab states refused to recognize Israel or negotiate at that time.

5. Camp David Accords (1978): The Camp David Accords were brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.> 

Two frameworks were agreed upon: A. Framework for Peace in the Middle East B. Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (1979) Impact: The accords improved relations between Israel and Egypt but did not resolve the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nor did they lead to immediate Palestinian> autonomy.

6. Madrid Conference (1991): After the Gulf War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union co-sponsored the Madrid Peace Conference, bringing Israel and Arab states (including Palestinian representatives) to the negotiating table for the first time.

Impact: The conference> initiated direct, face-to-face negotiations but did not result in a final agreement. However, it paved the way for later agreements, including the Oslo Accords.

7. Oslo Accords (1993-1995): The Oslo Accords were the first direct agreement between Israel and the Palestine>

Liberation Organization (PLO). The accords outlined a framework for Palestinian self-governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza and a five-year timeline for further negotiations on issues like borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. Impact: The Oslo Accords led to the establishment> 

of the Palestinian Authority and the division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C, each with varying levels of Palestinian and Israeli control. However, final status issues were left unresolved, and subsequent violence, including the Second Intifada (2000-2005), disrupted> the peace process.

8. Camp David Summit (2000): U.S. President Bill Clinton hosted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Camp David to negotiate a final status agreement. Barak offered a two-state solution, proposing that Israel would> 

withdraw from most of the West Bank and Gaza, while retaining some settlement blocs and offering a shared Jerusalem. Arafat rejected the offer.

Impact: The failure of the summit, combined with the outbreak of the Second Intifada, led to a collapse in the peace process.> 

9. Taba Summit (2001): Following the Camp David failure, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Taba, Egypt, to try to salvage the peace process. The talks made significant progress, with Israel offering a near-complete withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza and compromises> 

on Jerusalem. However, the negotiations were interrupted by Israeli elections and the Second Intifada.

Impact: While progress was made, the talks ended without a final agreement, and violence escalated soon after.> 

10. Annapolis Conference (2007): The Annapolis Conference, held in November 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland, was a peace summit aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and promoting the two-state solution. It was initiated by U.S. President George W. Bush and attended by> 

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and representatives from several other nations. The conference sought to revive peace negotiations based on previous agreements, with the goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state> 

alongside Israel. During the negotiations, Olmert made a far-reaching peace proposal to Abbas, offering a near-total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, a territorial link to Gaza, and international control of Jerusalem's Old City. Abbas, however, rejected the offer.> 

11. Trump Administration Peace Plan ("Deal of the Century") (2020): The Trump administration proposed a peace plan in January 2020, which envisioned a two-state solution, with Israel retaining large portions of the West Bank, including settlement blocs, while offering the> 

Palestinians limited autonomy over a non-contiguous state. Jerusalem would remain Israel's capital, and the Palestinians would receive some compensation for land losses.

Impact: The plan was welcomed by Israel but rejected outright by the Palestinian leadership. 

Ahmed Al-Khalidi

[eretzyisrael]

by Joanna Tokarska Bakir

As it turned out though, 8 October proved to be worse than 7 October, because it was then that the campaign of denial began. Western academics, artists and activists, some under the banner of justice and humanitarianism, others devoid of any banner, rushed to explain how the whole attack was simply armed resistance, and not genocide,[vi] even though Palestinian terrorists had killed everyone in their path.

The American writer Najma Sharif tweeted sneeringly: ‘What did y’all think decolonisation meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays? Losers!’[vii] Former minister Yannis Varoufakis, leader of the Greek left, declared that it was not Hamas, but ‘Europeans’, who were the criminals[viii]. Furthermore, in a joint statement, 35 organisations from the University of Harvard placed all the blame for the massacre on one actor – Israel of course.[ix] While attendees of the ill-fated rave party were still hiding in bushes from the terrorists, the New York section of the Democratic Socialists of America and the anti-Zionist organisation the Jewish Voice for Peace held a rally on Times Square in support of ‘Gaza’. [x] Susan Sarandon, the unforgettable star of Thelma and Louise, spoke at the next demo, and expressed satisfaction that Jews were finally ‘getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country’.[xi]

Meanwhile, a photograph went viral of a man paragliding over the Gaza barrier on 7 October so as to take part in the massacre. The image was shared by the Chicago branch of Black Lives Matter and Jodie Dean, a political theorist from Hobart College. The latter viewed the event as ‘exhilarating’.[xii] ‘And what do you stand for? For liberation, or for Zionism and imperialism?’ she asked.[xiii] The creators of the posters that were put up across New York got straight to the point: ‘Zionism = terrorism’.[xiv]

The terrorists themselves seemed somewhat disorientated by the unexpected outpouring of sympathy, and they published contradictory statements. Some claimed that no hostages had been taken, because Muslims do not wage war against civilians.[xv] Others declared that there are no civilians in Israel, because all the Jewish inhabitants were occupiers[xvi].

All this took place amidst the deafening silence of humanitarian and progressive organisations, who in the wake of the murder of George Floyd or the outbreak of war in Ukraine had issued statements around the clock.[xvii]

Slogans such as ‘Queers for Palestine’ drew comparisons with the little dog from Moominland Midwinter who longs to be with real wolves in the woods.

Go back to Poland

The slogan ‘Go back to Poland’ was tested by Lebanon’s Hezbollah following Hamas’s attack,[xviii] and a couple of months later it spread to the placards of American students protesting against the war in Gaza.[xix] Confronted by the fact that their postulates conformed to the definition of colonialism – dictating a situation overseas at someone else’s expense – the students superciliously shrugged their shoulders.

They had clearly never been exposed to the view that at the time of the creation of Israel, the majority of Jews were refugees, and Palestine was their haven (refugium), established by UN resolution no. 181 in 1947. This concept did not conform to the narrative about settler colonisers, and the same could be said about the traumatised kibbutzniks, peers of Hanna Krall from the orphanage in Otwock such as Lili Szynowłoga, who had miraculously survived the war by hiding in the cemetery in the town of Chęciny.[xx]

In Stanford, the first sit-in was held in mid-October, so before Israel entered Gaza. The young participants were angry and resolute: in their bid to justify the violence of the liberators, they cited Franz Fannon,[xxi] likened Hamas to Nelson Mandela, and compared the massacre of the kibbutzniks to Ukrainian self-defence in the war with Russia. In fact, Hamas and Hezbollah flags were few and far between at the New York demonstrations in early November, but soon the Columbia students announced that ‘We are Hamas’, while also championing such slogans as ‘By any means necessary’, ‘Globalize intifada’, ‘Abolish the settler state’ and ‘Glory to our martyrs’.[xxii] The red, upturned triangle that is used by terrorists to denote their aims started to appear on Jewish institutions (for example the Brooklyn Museum).[xxiii] One day, passengers on the New York subway heard something that Polish Jews remembered from 1968: “Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist. (…) This is your chance to get out.’[xxiv]

At Stanford, students were only let into the building if they recited the words ‘Fuck Israel, free Palestine’.[xxv] There were calls for boycotts of Israel – academic and others; these slogans had been launched by the anti-Israel movement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, which had been prohibited by Trump, but which now found itself back in action. Recently, it gained official support from the American Anthropological Association, an organisation of specialists that nevertheless had vehemently opposed the movement for many years (i.e. when the serving president was the daughter of one of the survivors of the Jedwabne Pogrom).[xxvi]

The reality I have described thus far might seem like a clumsy imitation of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. The next installment is, however, more of a dark satire on universities – factories of the world’s greatest minds – as if straight from the movie The Social Network.

‘We don’t want no two states! We want all of ’48!’ chanted Stanford students, calling for a return to the situation prior to Israel’s 1948 war of independence (which was started, like the wars of 1967 and 1973, by Israel’s Arab neighbours who, rejecting the previously mentioned UN resolution and the creation of Jewish and Palestinian states, attacked the former, but did not win).[xxvii]

‘We are Stanford University! We control things!’ – shouted young Americans in keffiyehs. They covered their faces, so as not to jeopardise their future careers. The creator of the idea of civil disobedience, Henry David Thoreau, believed that the condition for carrying out such defiance was voluntary submission to the resulting penalty, but this notion was considered ridiculously out of date by the protesters.

Worse than Again

I observed all this while in the US, where I spent the last academic year. My vantage point could be called privileged, considering that I was based at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, but that autumn, it was one of the more unfortunate places to be.

Although school groups bustled to and fro outside the museum, which adjoins the National Mall, the building seemed deserted in early October, and its lifts, which had been designed to bring to mind gas chambers, broke down more than usual.

The black cloud that hovered over the institution following the events of 7 October was expressed in a vigil in honour of those who had been killed or abducted by Hamas. A handful of pale, elderly Holocaust survivors took part. For the first time in the history of the museum, only the initials of those who attended the vigil were provided, due to security fears, but the situation gave the impression that the participants were culprits, not victims.

The official optimism that had been part of the museum’s mission for several decades disintegrated when social media started to swarm with unfriendly statements in the aftermath of 7 October. Suddenly, Jews found themselves on the wrong side. Rywka, a relative of Kielce Pogrom-survivor Anszel Pinkusewicz[xxviii], was on duty answering the constantly ringing telephone, but when the situation became completely unbearable, she started to consider handing in her notice. In November, things got even worse, when pictures of Hamas’s hostages were torn down under the cover of night. The fact that the institution was in crisis was plain to see: within just a few hours of the attack taking place, the museum’s main exhibition, with its motto ‘Never Again’, became painfully outdated. When clips from terrorists’ bodycams were uploaded onto the net, old symbols such as cattle trucks transporting Jews to Auschwitz receded far into the distance. Something had begun that Henry Grynberg had described as ‘Worse than Again’,[xxix] and the hallmark of this was the deafening silence in which it took place.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

*Norman attempting to speak with Ayshe using the demon language again and Ayshe getting mad at him for it.

Semi-continuation of the "If Shirai announced one more chapter of TPN, I would want it to be about…" Poll where a resolution to this conflict was the option with the most votes.

(Chapter 181)

Other related posts: • Shirai's post-series reflections on the Ayshe-Norman conflict and some thoughts • My guess for what Norman says to Ayshe in chapter 160 • Did Ayshe forgive Norman during the timeskip?

[a-typical]

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappé (2006)

[doctoremrys]

So, like any other girl who reads fanfiction, and has so many n/m ships, I too, was exposed to Heartstopper, one day, and became obsessed with it. Yeah, and not only the show, ALL THE NOVElS, I read all of them at least 3 times, watched the show a lot, I even read fics about it beacause I can't wait fir season 3 to come out this year on October...

I fully support the LGBTQ+ community, I might not be a part of it, but, as my dear Imogen said on the show "I'n an ally".

I had lots of respect to tge author and illustraitor of this fantastic novel series, Alice Oseman, but today I found out that she had stated her support for Palestine.

I don't tend to comment about anything on social media, not at all, but after finding out about this, I became too upset and had to write my thought out, so yeah, this post will probably get deleted, and it's not like I have many people who follow me, or people that will read this.

Look, I have nothing against people who want to have peace on this world, besides the war between Israel and Hanas, there are lots and lots of wars happening around the world, having said that, lots of pro palestiniabs, simply don't know the basic facts, so let me starts stating a few of them. Israel became an independent state on 1948. Between 1947 to 1949 Israel had its' first war, what they call in"the independence war". The war started after the UN had agreed on Resolution 181, a UN plan thar divided the state between the jews and the arabs, and had Jerusalem as the capital city for jews and arabs. The jews agreed to this plan immediately, it was barley 2 years after WW2 had ended, the one wherein 6 Million jews were murdered beacause of hate. The arabs however, did npt agree on that plan, a UN plan, and started attacking the jewish citzens on 30th of November 1947. After Israel got its' independent,on May 14th 1948, the neighboring Arab coubtrues had joined the arabs in Israel in their fight against the new country. Israel won. Egupt gor conrol of Gaza. On 1967, Israel won another war, one we call, the "6 days war", and got Gaza. On 1969 Israel gave the people in Gaza Electricity from Israel's Electricity Connector.

In 1971, the Israeli government decided to rehabilitate the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. Israel did not annex the Gaza Strip to its territory, Israel didn't know what to do with it. On Marah 1979, Egypt and Israel had signed a peace agreement between them. Egyot didn't want Gaza back, so Israel got kind of "stuck" with it, and even after that Israel still did not annex the Gaza Strip to its territory. On December 1987, the first intifada broke out by the palestinians, . At its beginning, it was characterized mainly by mass riots that included demonstrations, stone throwing, roadblocks, and in some cases Molotov cocktails,

Subsequently, the intifada changed its character, and from 1989 terrorist attacks began to be carried out. Kidnapping people, stabbing them to death, shootings, and more, 164 Israelis were murdered. It officially ended in 1993, with the signing of the Oslo Accords, but the attacks continued. The oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and were meant to give peace, and end to the terror attacks agaibst Israel.

On 1994, as a result of the Oslo Accords, the IDF, left Gaza, and Control of the city passed to the Palestinian Authority. On 2005, all the Israelis who lived on Gaza were evacuated, as a part of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. After that, Gaza started firing more Qassam rocket and missile fire at southern Israel than before. On 2006, Hanas, a terrorist organization, won the elections in Gaza, and started ruling Gaza.

On October 7th Hamas and The Islamic Jihad murdered more than 1200 people, kidnapped 240 people. Many women and men were raped, bodies were violated, organs were cut from victims, babies were murdered, entire families were burned to death. Even to this day, according to Palestinian Statistics, more than 85% of palestinans on Gaza still support Hamas' actions on October 7th. Palestinian citizens had helped Hamas, and there are even released hostages that said that palestinians families had held them captive. Lots of palestinian citizens had helped Hamas, they robbed houses, and killed innocent people as well.

Israel did not want this war, all it want is for her hostages o be released, and be back home with their families. This war is not against thr palestininans, it's war against Hamas. There are still 132 hostages held captive by Hamas, Israel and the world don't know for sure which of them is alive, and which one is not, but it needs all of them back home with. Women, Mean, Children, babies, elderly were kidnapped on this day. How is a one year old baby, your enemy? How is a Holocaust survivor your enemy?

And for those of you that say, that there is a genocide in Gaza. , on 1948, there were 710,000 palestinians ib Gaza, now there are more than 2.2 Million palestinians.

Secondly, Israel supplies the palestininans with food, water, and medicine every single day. I don't think that the US army gave Japan aid on WW2, but you know what they did do? Detonated atomic bombs on her. I don't see people call this genocide, so why is it different when it's Israel?

You don't know what it's like, to fear fron rockets, to fear leaving the house beacause Hanas can shoot at you whebever he wants. You don't live in fear.

But the people of Israel know what it's like, beacause ti them it's their nornal routine of life.

And again, while I'm against violence in general, remember, that this conflict did not start by Israel, no, Israel got attacked first by the palestininns thenselves.

Dear Aloce, I am dissapoined to find out that another jew supports Paelestine. Yon live on the UK, you write about LGBTQ+ characters on your novels. You identufy as a she/her and they/them, you are aroace. The people in Gaza, hate people fron the LGBTQ+ community, they murder every one of them, they do not care for your support, and all your money will go tk Hanas, a terririst organization, because guess what? Hamas controls everything in Gaza, including all the money the people like you, the UN, and other counries give to Gaza, and they use thus money for terror, and for murderm

Why did you have to start being politucal? Why do you support sonething that you dob't fully undestand.

And by the way, Hamas murdered and kidbapped muslims, arabs, and Israelies, they did not care for who you are, which country are you a citizen of, and what are your poltic views, if you were in the wrong place on the wrong tine, they simply did not care, they killed everyone, and kidnapped arabs and Israelies alike.

I still love Heartstopper, but it'a dissapoing to find out that another jewish person supports something that they do not understand. Alice, you will not see this post, but "thank you".

[agentfascinateur]

Israeli forces desecrating bodies

#more war crimes

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suppressed Nws. (@suppressednws)

They're true psychopaths. #mental defect

[mariacallous]

Every child has a superpower. Yet, those with disabilities often do not have full access to quality education and other services that would enable them to use their superpower to positively and fully contribute to society. A recent workshop on inclusion in early childhood, held as part of the Center for Universal Education’s symposium on education systems transformation for and through inclusive education, asked whether focusing on the early years of a child’s life might offer a window of opportunity to catch, remedy, and maybe even reverse a child’s development trajectory so all countries can reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It brought together early childhood development (ECD) and inclusion experts and those who wanted to learn more about the topic. Two key messages emerged from participants: every child matters, and early means early. Participants also suggested that the global community needs to develop a global disability-focused ECD strategy and that governments should allocate at least 3% of education budgets for children with disabilities.

Children with disabilities are not a monolith and vary greatly in the challenges they experience and their abilities to fully and positively contribute to society. Some have physical, mental, social, or sensory impairments while others have a combination of multiple challenges. Globally, it is estimated that 15% of the world population, about 1 billion people, live with some type of disability. UNICEF estimates that about 1 in every 10 children has at least one disability, with children from South Asia, East Asia, and West and Central Africa having higher incidences. Moreover, globally, almost 53 million children under the age of 5 have developmental disabilities, and many others live with hidden disabilities that may go unnoticed and, therefore, unrecorded.

The global Convention on the Rights of the Child and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) articulate the rights and equal treatment of children with disabilities. The CRPD provides a comprehensive international legal framework for the education rights of children with disabilities that has been ratified by 181 countries. These legal frameworks and the SDGs are resolute in leaving no one behind. Despite these legal frameworks, agreements, and aspirations, there are numerous challenges and insufficient investment for disabled children to enjoy full rights to education, health, and well-being. In most countries, children with disabilities face stigma and discrimination from their own governments, communities, and families. Their complex needs are often not included in policy and investment discussions. Investment in this cohort of children is usually not high on the policy or financing agenda, yet we know that increased investment and support for children with disabilities can accelerate countries’ paths to achieving the SDGs, particularly SDG 4.2. From 2007 to 2016, disability funding declined by 11.4% worldwide, and only 2% of the estimated $79.1 million invested in early childhood development was spent on young children with disabilities. Tim Shriver, Special Olympics’ Board Chair, maintains that if governments could commit even 3% of their overall education budgets to the inclusion of children with disabilities in existing classrooms, it could impact their abilities to thrive and contribute to our societies. 

2 key messages

Every child matters

All of society benefits when all children are uplifted. For the early childhood sector, that means developing inclusive classrooms that use a twin-track approach and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Instruction. Using this method, rather than having separate classrooms for children, disability-focused support is provided in classrooms that focus on equity for all, but also provide specific support for those with disabilities. Research indicates that this approach benefits all children; children with disabilities have better developmental outcomes (for example, language, social and academic skills, better behaviors), and typically developing children have increased empathy, tolerance, skills in sign language, and more. Establishing inclusive classrooms also requires investment in upskilling classroom teachers so they can support children of all abilities while working with special education teachers. These interventions cost money, yet exclusion has greater negative costs to society in reduced national GDP and higher spending for remedial programs, to name a few. It is estimated that the annual economic cost to society when a disabled child is not able to attend school or get a job can be high—more than 1% of GDP in some cases.

Early means early

The first five years of life are crucial periods of brain growth and development where about 90% of new neural connections (about 1 million neural connections per second) are made. After around 30 months of life, the brain’s ability to change in response to experiences requires greater effort than before this period. Since the brain is very malleable during this phase, evidence suggests that early screening, referrals, and intervention can halt, improve, and completely change the course of a child’s developmental trajectory. As children are mostly with parents and caregivers during the earliest months of life, investing in their ability to support their children can be important. Often support for parents and caregivers to aid their children is unavailable in communities or unaffordable. Research comparing urban and rural children’s access to early childhood education found that those with access to support before age 5 (mostly in urban areas) had higher academic achievement. For children with autism, research indicates that early intervention can greatly ameliorate symptoms, putting children closer to the development trajectory of those without autism.  

The way forward

Supporting children with disabilities is complex as their needs span multiple government and sectoral departments, there are finite resources in all government budgets, and underlying societal discrimination, even subtle, remains strong throughout the world. Yet, workshop participants suggested that supporting every child and doing so early provides the best chance for countries to meet the SDGs. Two suggested actions for supporting every child early that emerged from the workshop and recent literature include:

Establish a global, disability-focused ECD strategy: Global goals and road maps such as the SDGs, Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), and others include young children with disabilities yet provide inadequate strategy and concrete actions for how to ensure full rights and support for young children with disabilities. Thus, a strategy resulting from action by multiple sectors that complements the NCF is one agenda for progress.

Allocate at least 3% of education budgets for children with disabilities: Increasing investment will allow more to be done to support children with disabilities. These could focus on:

Supporting inclusive preschool classrooms that implement a twin-track approach and universal design for learning

Upskilling teachers that lead inclusive classrooms

Parental support so they have increased knowledge and skills to support their children

Strengthening early screening and referral systems

Research focused on young children with disabilities

Workshop participants were ready to join hands and tackle this complex challenge and suggested that commitment from stakeholders, including governments, donors, and families will be critical to light a path towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring a thriving society. 

[immaculatasknight]

The world stands together