A new online certificate program designed and developed by staff members at the International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR) at Queen’s is bringing people together from around the world to examine issues related to disability and development.

“We started the program at the beginning of this year to allow a wide range of participants to study community based rehabilitation, and to learn not just from the course, but from each other,” says Malcolm Peat, Executive Director, ICACBR.

Students explore the relationship between disability, community based rehabilitation and development using a five-module program, while upgrading management, leadership, policy analysis, research and evaluation skills.

“The online format reflects a shift in educational techniques that allows us to make the course widely available to interested learners and as interactive as possible for participants,” says Djenana Jalovcic, Director, ICACBR, who coordinates the program.

So far, 61 learners from 27 different countries have participated or are currently participating in the program. Of those participants, 57 per cent are from developing countries and 75 per cent are women. Most of the participants are working professionals, ranging from a disability advocate in rural Tajikistan to an academic researcher at Yale University.

The program was developed in partnership with the Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s.

Established in 1991 and celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, the ICACBR is an organization committed to advancing the concept of community based rehabilitation practice in partnership with women and men with disabilities and their communities around the world.

For more information visit the website.