President's Report on the 1st World Congress on Inclusive Education Almaty, Kazakhstan

As the current President of IASE, I was invited by the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan to be a delegate to the First World Congress on Inclusive Education. The Congress was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from October 15th to 17th. This was an unique opportunity to engage with other organizations and individuals who are involved in educational programs and schools from many countries and to share our IASE organization and activities.

So after a very long trip from my home in New Mexico, USA which took several days by American and Qatar airlines through Doha, Qatar, I was able to participate as a delegate in the First World Congress on Inclusive Education.

This Congress on Inclusive Education had many sponsors; the primary sponsors were the Kazakhstan Ministry of Education, World Inclusion Congress (WIC), International Forums of Inclusion Practitioners (IFIP), UNESCO and a Kazakhstan NGO- Help Others Promote Education (HOPE).

The Congress was held over 3 days at three different sites, starting with an opening session that featured many local Kazak musicians, dance troupes and governmental officials with opening remarks. The following days were filled with important keynote presentations by Kazakhstan and international speakers, workshop presentations by university faculty, school administrators and organizations that promote inclusive education with students with disabilities. The Congress was focused on three themes: Accessibility, Equality and Progress.

One of the more important keynote presentations was by Nora Shabani, the Regional Education Advisor with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) which is the UN agency that protects the rights of children worldwide and works to meet their basic needs, such as heath, nutrition and education.

During the 3 days of the Congress, I was able to attend many different presentations by individuals and selected panel discussions on topics like "Building Emotional Available Schools", "Artificial Intelligence and People with Disabilities", "Psychological Resilience and Mental Health Challenges", "Effective Ways to Create an Inclusive Campus for Students with Intellectual Disabilities."

As the President of IASE, the most important and critical element was the personal connection and conversations with both Congress participants and international organizations and the sharing of information about our IASE organization and the 19th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Special Education (IASE) which will be held in partnership with the Royal Thimphu College (RTC) in Thimphu, Bhutan in June 21-26, 2026.

In that regard, I was able to share our IASE story and information with many of the international delegates and the parents of children with disabilities whom I met during particular sessions and presentations, especially from the surrounding countries of India and Kazakhstan.

Like our own IASE Conferences, there was a great group of high school and university students volunteers who assisted everyone with great energy and dedication. They were incredibly helpful to everyone and the conversations with them were valuable in the understanding of their personal interests and educational experiences in Kazakhstan.

During the Congress, I had the opportunity to meet and visit with several headmasters of public funded schools in the UK and was invited to visit each of their schools which they identified as "Inclusive schools" that also focused on student and family social and emotional health. I will be able to visit these schools on my next visit to the UK in early December.

Their schools are in communities with the following demographics:

These are some of the ideas that were presented related to the importance of "Inclusive Education" and the relationship to the economic, school success and social development of countries.

and the important issue of Transitions for students with disabilites.

The National Museum of History of Kazakhstan

I hope to see many of you, our IASE members in Thimphu, Bhutan in June, 2026!

More to come and keep on supporting IASE!!!