LAUNCHING TODAY | Building an Inclusive Lao PDR, Side by Side

Is it a workplace where everyone has the opportunity to contribute? A school where every child can learn together? A building that everyone can enter independently? Or is it something even more fundamental? A society where we see people's abilities before we see their disabilities.

For many persons with disabilities in Lao PDR, inclusion isn't about special treatment. It's about having the same opportunities as everyone else.

The opportunity to learn. To find meaningful work. To volunteer. To lead. To be heard. To belong.

Yet for many, the biggest challenge isn't their disability. It's the barriers they encounter every day. A staircase without a ramp. Information that isn't accessible. An interview that isn't inclusive. Opportunities lost because of assumptions about what someone can or cannot do.

These barriers may seem small, but they can shape a person's entire journey.

The encouraging news is that barriers are created by people. That means people can remove them.

Over the past five years, UN Volunteers (UNV) in Lao PDR have seen what becomes possible when inclusion moves beyond good intentions and into action. Working alongside Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, volunteers, communities and partners, we've helped create more opportunities for persons with disabilities to volunteer, lead and contribute to development efforts across the country.

Today, 14 persons with disabilities have served as UN Volunteers across the United Nations in Lao PDR. They have brought professional expertise, fresh perspectives and lived experience to programmes supporting communities across the country.

Their stories remind us of a simple but powerful truth:

Disability does not limit potential. Barriers do.

Today, we're launching the Disability Inclusion Awareness & Adaptation Campaign. It's not simply about raising awareness. It's about inspiring action.

Over the coming months, we'll share stories of volunteers, partners and communities who are breaking down barriers and creating more inclusive opportunities. We'll explore practical ways to make workplaces, schools, public spaces and digital platforms more accessible while celebrating the leadership, skills and contributions of persons with disabilities.

Behind every story we share is a commitment to action. Through this campaign, the United Nations in Lao PDR is strengthening its own efforts to become more inclusive by improving accessibility, promoting disability-inclusive recruitment and volunteerism, and ensuring that persons with disabilities can participate fully as colleagues, volunteers, partners and leaders.

These efforts are part of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS), a system-wide commitment to embed disability inclusion across every aspect of the UN's work. For the UN in Lao PDR, this means creating more accessible workplaces, removing barriers to participation, and ensuring inclusion is reflected not only in what we advocate for, but also in how we work, partner and deliver for the people of Lao PDR.

From now until 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we hope this campaign will encourage more organizations, institutions and communities to take practical steps toward inclusion. It can start with making workplaces more accessible, creating more opportunities for persons with disabilities, or simply challenging the assumptions that continue to hold people back.

Because disability inclusion isn't about charity.

It's about rights.

It's about dignity.

And it's about recognising that when everyone has the opportunity to participate, communities become stronger.

Building a more inclusive Lao PDR isn't the responsibility of one organization. It belongs to all of us. Together with the Government, the United Nations, civil society, the private sector, volunteers and communities, we can remove barriers and open doors.

Because inclusion isn't only about persons with disabilities.

It's about building a Lao PDR where everyone belongs, everyone participates, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Together, we remove barriers.

Together, we create opportunities.

Together, we build an inclusive Lao PDR, side by side.