Thursday, November 05, 2020 09:49 WIB    Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik
     The Social Welfare Study Program of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) again held a webinar inviting various speakers from several countries in ASEAN through the Zoom Meeting. This activity raised the topic of social work practices, especially the fulfillment of social services for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in ASEAN countries. About 300 participants were involved in the activity which was held on November 4, 2020.
     Even though in the midst of a pandemic that did not allow meetings between countries, the UMM Social Welfare Study Program was able to collaborate with other countries to continue carrying out a common agenda. This activity presented a number of speakers from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Among them are Jowima Ang-Reyes (Ph.D. from the Department of Social Work, University of The Philippines), Somchai Rungsilp (Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, Thailand), Dr. Aizan Sofia Amin (Department Of Social Work, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and Rini Hartini Rinda Andayani Ph.D. (Polytechnic of Social Welfare Bandung).
     One of the highlights of this seminar is the presence of Dr. Aizan Sofia Amin from University Kebangsaan Malaysia. This Doctoral graduate of Glassgow University is a person with a disability since he was 14 years old. Despite having a disability, however, Dr. Aizan is able to be a motivation for many people in his country. In his presentation, Dr. Aizan Sofia Amin also explained that the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in Malaysia are related to accessibility, from obtaining information, health services, education, employment, economic to social. “Similar to other countries, Malaysia’s challenges in dealing with people with disabilities, one of which is in terms of work. People with disabilities are a group who have a high risk of being ignored and find it difficult to get work outside the home, “said the senior lecturer at UKM.
     Jowima Ang-Reyes from the Philippines discussed social services for people with disabilities in the Philippines. Not much different from Jowima, Somchai Rungsilp from the Asia-Pacific Development Center (APDC) also explained about social services during the COVID-19 period in Thailand and the challenges faced by people with disabilities today.
     In Indonesia, people with disabilities also need more attention from the government. Rini Hartini Rinda Andayani Ph.D, a speaker from the Bandung Social Welfare Polytechnic explained that the situation of people with disabilities in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic also experienced feelings of isolation, lack of information for persons with disabilities related to COVID-19, and a lack of teaching to prevent COVID-19 from becoming challenges that must be considered by the speaker.
     The material presentation session by the speakers in this webinar lasted for approximately 100 minutes. The Head of the Social Welfare Study Program, Dr.Oman Sukmana, M.Si said that this webinar was the result of collaboration between the Social Welfare Department and a number of well-known campuses both in Indonesia and abroad. “We hope that in the future there will be more collaborations that can be established, so that knowledge sharing like this can be more varied,” he said. (eko / wnd)
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