Phnom Penh, July 30th – CARE Cambodia hosted Southeast Asia focuses event on “The Regional Learning Forum on Social Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in the Garment, Footwear and Travel Goods Sector (GFT sector)”. The two days’ workshop, integrated essential partners in the discussion of this important topic. Relevant stakeholders, and participants from different countries in South and Southeast Asia including Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Pakistan brought expertise, knowledge and good practices of social inclusion in the same room.

CARE Cambodia works actively and closely with the Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) and other key stakeholders in Cambodia to promote social inclusion for persons with disabilities in the GFT sector through collaboration to enhance   meaningful and dignified work for all.    

Asia has been and remains to be known as the “garment factory of the world” . According to ILO’s 2022 report, across the garment industry, Asia alone employs around 60 million workers, constituting approximately 75% of the industry’s global workforce. The garment sector in many South and Southeast Asian countries remain an essential contribution of the national’s economy.  

The forum was designed to provide the space and conducive environment for learning, collaboration, and cooperation at the regional level among development partners, civil society organizations, OPDs, government agencies, private sectors,  and relevant stakeholders around social inclusion of persons with disability in the GFT industry in reflection to the key challenges and possible solutions to address those barriers and enabling the inclusive social, political, economic, and technologies landscape.

The learning environment aims to create more actionable and practical tools to support persons with disabilities accessing a dignified working environment, inclusive workplace adjustment, reasonable accommodations and opportunities.