UNAIR NEWS- Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) will hold another summer program. One of the topics is the development optimization of children with special needs.
The program, held in collaboration with WUACD (World University Association for Community Development), does not only target UNAIR students as their community service program (KKN). It also targets students from other universities as part of the Freedom of Learning Program, students and staff from overseas universities, practitioners in the field of children with special needs (ABK) development, teachers, and the wider community can take part in the series of events.
Several faculties at UNAIR will coordinate the course of this summer program. The Faculty of Psychology, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Dental Medicine, the Faculty of Public Health, the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, the Faculty of Humanities, and the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences will work together to review various aspects of ABK according to their respective scientific field.
The activity, which was opened last Saturday on July 24, 2021, in commemoration of National Children’s Day, will hold various events, such as webinar sessions that will present expert speakers with a network of related faculties. Furthermore, there are also community service projects such as information dissemination and optimization of ABK to encourage inclusiveness of ABK in the form of Virtual Art Exhibition and Psychology Talent Finding (PMB) activities.
Given the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, all events in the summer program will be held online. “The community service project activities are also designed not to require participants to interact directly,” said Endang Retno Surjaningrum, M.AppPsych., Ph.D., Psychologist, in an online interview, Monday, July 26, 2021.
The Vice Dean III of the Faculty of Psychology and the event coordinator added that this summer program activity is also a form of support to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program. This program is related to point 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), point 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and point 14 (Life Below Water).
The program is scheduled to end on Saturday, October 31, 2021. The whole program is expected to increase public awareness regarding issues related to Children with Special Needs. “Hopefully, they can get to know the issue of individuals with special needs,” concluded Endang. (*)
Author: Agnes Ikandani
Editor: Binti Quryatul (AC/AP)
