THE PUBLIC WAS INFORMED ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF CNC
Within the framework of advocacy campaign on activities of the Caucasus Network for Children (CNC) in July 2016, series of meetings were organized in Baku by members of the Azerbaijan Children Union (ACU).
During these meetings (all 4 meetings) held in Baku, the ACU officers told about the aims and objectives of the Caucasus Network for Children, activities of Azerbaijan Children's Union and other organizations representing respective countries at this international structure. Participants were informed about the previous projects of the Network, as well as the plans for the future. The facilitator of these meetings spoke in detail about the web-site of CNC and the Facebook page of CNC-Azerbaijan. Further, the meeting continued in the format of “question and answer”, discussions and group works. Participants were shown a presentation on the theme of inclusion and the importance of such networks in solving the problems of inclusive education in our country.
After the meetings, we heard the views of some participants.
Lamia Rzayeva, Master of Social Work Faculty at Baku State University: “Such informational events are very useful for social workers and other professionals working in this field. I was glad to learn about the activities of the Caucasus Network for Children. Using the potential of the CNC will have a positive impact on solution of problems in the sphere of inclusion in our country”.
Emin Panahli, social worker: “I already knew about the activities of the ACU, about various social projects held by them. However, now, after learning about this organization's activities in the framework of the Caucasus Network for Children, I was pleasantly surprised. The fact that our country is represented by five non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the web is another good news. They work in different fields, but they are united by one common goal - to improve the situation in inclusive education. It should be noted that the page of CUC- Azerbaijan on Facebook is updated weekly. Given the fact that Facebook is the most popular social network in our country (especially among youth), posting news about inclusive education here is very important in terms of readership coverage”.
Natavan Akhmedova, teacher of high school N2, in Baku: “Such meetings are useful in terms of informing the public about the work of non-governmental organizations, as well as attract the attention of the general population to the problem of inclusion in education. It is noteworthy that the students, the representatives of public social services, NGO staff involving in solving the problems of children and youth, teachers took part in the meeting. It was interesting to know the opinion of specialists from different spheres on the situation in the field of inclusive education”.
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In total more than 100 people were attended at the previous events. Some participants suggested to continue organizing such meetings in the future. They also noted the importance of introduction of debate format in which it will be possible to raise and discuss various issues in the field of inclusive education.