Meeting Global Challenges to Inclusion

By Neelam Dhadankar, Disability Working Group Intern at World Learning

This summer I am one of six participants in the United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD) Youth in International Development and Foreign Affairs internship program. When I first learned about USCID from my professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, I was intrigued by their advocacy and vision of a world in which people with disabilities are empowered and able to participate fully in society. My placement for this internship program was at World Learning where I spent eight weeks learning about how an organization promotes inclusive practices and promotes disability inclusion in all their work in education, exchanges and sustainable development.

World Learning is a unique organization because of its diversity. For me, it is this quality that sets it apart from other organizations. I have held many internships at various organizations, but have never come across an organization where there are people of so many nationalities, ethnicities, religions, and abilities all working together in one place. As someone who wants to have a global impact and promote inclusion of people with disabilities, being at such a diverse organization and having an opportunity to meet a network of international leaders in the disability field has helped me understand strategies for meeting the global challenges to inclusion.