Benedicta helps to break down the barriers for young people with disabilities

Armed with a bachelor’s degree, Benedicta Oyedayo Oyewole went looking for work in Nigeria. She showed up for interviews only to be rejected. Benedicta has cerebral palsy. And she believes those employers felt her disability meant she was incapable of doing the job.

Happily, things have improved for her on the career side. The 23-year-old now works at the Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative in the capital Abuja - and she’s a Global Youth Ambassador for Theirworld.

But she still has difficulty in accessing services that most of us take for granted. Across the world, millions of young people with disabilities face barriers that prevent them from taking part fully and equally in education, employment and society.

This week, Benedicta helped to shine a spotlight on those challenges. Her story appeared in a major report produced by the Global Business Coalition for Education, an initiative of Theirworld. Investing in Inclusion - a guide for businesses on improving their education, training and employment for young people with disabilities - was launched at the Global Disability Summit in Norway. Read the report here.

Benedicta also spoke at a companion event, the Global Disability Youth Summit, where she highlighted how climate change can affect young people with disabilities.

Click on the button below to read more about Benedicta and the report.

This week we also launched the Theirworld TikTok channel with a video from another Global Youth Ambassador, Grace Payne from New Zealand, about living with an intellectual disability.

Watch Grace’s video and follow us on TikTok.

...and this is the type of leadership we need to see

When the President of North Macedonia heard that an 11-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome was being bullied at school, he decided to lead by example. Stevo Pendarovski held Embla Ademi's hand as they walked together to her primary school in the city of Gostivar. He talked to Embla's parents about the challenges she and her family face on a daily basis and discussed solutions.

Pendarovski said: “We are all equal in this society. I came here to give my support and to raise awareness that inclusion is a basic principle.”

Watch the President take Embla to school.

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Thank you,

The Their News team