Presenter: Yahya El-Lahib, MSW, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
Date: October 25th, 2017
Summary
People with disabilities, or "long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments” as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, may experience hindered participation in society. Immigrants and refugees with disabilities may experience other additional challenges. For example, with limited awareness of disability rights and resources available to them in Canada, and with differential access to resettlement resources due to attitudinal, physical and social barriers, this population may not have access to health care and psychosocial support.
In this webinar, Dr. Yahya El-Lahib will discuss some of the limitations, barriers and systemic challenges that affect the settlement experiences of immigrants and refugees with disabilities, along with an exploration of ways that settlement, social and health service providers can aim to improve practices in efforts to facilitate effective access to services for newcomers with disabilities.
Presenter biography
Yahya El-Lahib, MSW, PhD, is a long-time disability activist and an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary.
Yahya’s work questions the colonial North/South power dynamics and relations that play out through the assumed universality of knowledge produced in the global North and their presumed applicability to global South contexts and realities. Situated within a critical understanding of social work, disability studies and immigration, Yahya’s current research aims to bridge between theories and practice models developed within both hemispheres to respond to the knowledge gaps and limitations that manifest themselves through transnational issues such as the intersection of disability and immigration.
