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International Forum on Children with Special Needs

April 25, 2007

Ed Cortez and Joseph Dixon attended the Second International Forum on Children with Special Needs, which was held in Doha, Qatar on April 23-25. The Forum was organized by the Shafallah Center, which is a state of the art program in Doha that provides education and employment services to individuals with developmental learning challenges. The purpose of the forum was to bring together policymakers, educators, persons with disabilities, and leaders in the field to discuss how perceptions of disability are formed and transformed through media, creative arts, and education.

Opening Ceremony, from left to right teacher and student at Shafallah, Hassan Ali Bin Ali, Chairman Shafallah Center, and Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations

The Shafallah Center was established at the behest of the wife of the Emir of Qatar, Sheika Mozah Bint Nasser. The 150 forum participants were guests of the Shafallah Center, which paid for all expenses associated with attending the forum. Other guests included Anthony Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Best Buddies International; Suzanne Wright, Founder of Autism Speaks; and Ambassador Luis Gallegos, who chaired the UN International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Cherie Booth, wife of Tony Blair, co-chaired the Forum.

A crowd gathers in the old souq as a local group performs

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