In-Country Workshop on Strengthening School-to-Work Transition Programmes Conducted in Timor-Leste

About 20 participants composed of MoE officials, including Director Alfredo Araujo of Basic Education and School Grants and Director Alfonso Soares of Policy and Planning, attended the 2-day In-Country workshop on the Strengthening of School-to-Work Transition Programmes for Students with Physical Disabilities and Sensory Impairments held last 23-24 August 2011 at the Excelsior Resort in Dili, Timor-Leste.

Organized by the Inclusive Education Unit of the Ministry of Education led by Mr. Jose Monteiro with support from UNESCO Jakarta and its Antenna Office in Dili, the workshop aimed at simplifying the draft Standards, Guidelines and Quality Indicators for Strengthening School-to-Post-School Transition Programmes for Students with Physical Disabilities and Sensory Impairments for adoption within the context of Timor-Leste.

Director Alfredo Araujo of the National Directorate for Basic Education and School Grants opened the workshop. Two key processes were undertaken during the workshop: (1) explanation of the working definitions, underlying assumptions, and guidance on using the Standards and; and (2) presentation of the different domains of the Guidelines and proceeded with discussions on the contextualization of these standards and guidelines in the country.

Dr. David Mitchell, UNESCO Consultant and author of the Guideline was the main facilitator of the workshop. The participants went through the different domains of the Guideline and reflected on the existing situation of the country as far as the standards and guidelines are concerned. The participants provided relevant and contextualized information on the country in relation to the guideline and drafted action plans to meet those guidelines and to improve the application of the standards on the transition programme. A documentation was prepared as the final output of the workshop and served as basis for the next steps towards the full application of the guidelines in the country.

• 12-09-2011