UNESCO Chair

UNESCO Chair “Vocational education in the field of information and communication technologies for persons with special needs” (hereinafter referred to as the UNESCO Chair)operates inInstitute of Information Technologieseducational institutions"Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics"(hereinafter –IIT BSUIR) since July 17, 2014.

During this period, various scientific and educational events were held, including six international scientific and practical conferences (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025), hundreds of scientific papers were prepared and published, educational programs were created in the field of information and communication technologies (hereinafter referred to as ICT).

At the initiative and with the active participation of the UNESCO Department, the following were developed and included in the Action Plan for implementation in 2016 – 2020. Concepts for the development of inclusive education for persons with special needs in the Republic of Belarus, approved by the Minister of Education, proposals aimed at the professional development of persons with special needs in the field of ICT.

As part of the work of the UNESCO department, preparations were carried out for participation in the III National Championship of professional skills among people with disabilities “Abilimpix” (Moscow, Russia, December 2017) in the areas: “Web design and development” (Makovetsky R.E., student of the Academy of Informatics for schoolchildren of IIT BSUIR) and “Network administration” (Antonov A.S., 3rd year student IIT BSUIR). Based on the results of participation in this championship, the guys took 2nd and 3rd places according to the number of points, respectively.

Over the past period, the UNESCO Chair has implemented a number of significant projects aimed at the professional development of persons with special needs. The potential has been accumulated for the further development in the Republic of inclusive education, professional development of persons with special needs throughout life based on the introduction of ICT, as well as the formation of their “digital skills” and “soft-skills” in the context of digital transformation and the implementation of the concept of sustainable development.

UNESCO has decided to extend until December 31, 2027 the Agreement between UNESCO and BSUIR on the functioning of the UNESCO Department “Professional education in the field of information and communication technologies for persons with special needs” on the basis of IIT BSUIR.

In the coming period, the UNESCO Chair sees its goal as promoting professional and personal development using ICT of persons with special needs within the framework of decisions and recommendations of the UN and UNESCO, government bodies and organizations of Belarus in the field of inclusive education, inclusive management, socialization, formation of citizenship, as well as improving the legal regulation of issues of physical, information and organizational accessibility of public services to persons with special needs.

The work of the UNESCO Chair will be focused on:

Strengthening, with the help of ICT and mobile technologies, the accessibility of education in the IT field for people with special needs and creating conditions under which these categories can have access to education throughout their lives.
Formation of “digital skills” and “soft-skills” among people with special needs as part of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development through e-government and the digital economy, as well as the development of their critical thinking, creative approach, and understanding of the ethical aspects of life.
Expanding the scope of IT literacy among youth and adults, including creating conditions for the participation of young women and men, taking into account the special needs of persons with special needs in society, governing the country and using their potential as carriers and subjects of social and economic change.
Achieving inclusive social progress in the field of education, science, communication and information, sharing scientific knowledge, ensuring physical, informational and organizational accessibility of public services to the population, taking into account the special needs of people with disabilities.

As recommended by UNESCO, all promotional and informational materials published by a UNESCO Chair bearing the UNESCO logo and the UNESCO Chair (example: brochures and other electronic documents) must contain a disclaimer:

"The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they do not necessarily belong to UNESCO and do not imply any liability on the Organization."

UNESCO Chair

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