A statement issued in Accra by Maame Yaa Barnes, the Convenor, said the  conference was aimed at making Ghana an enabling environment for Persons with  Disabilities (PWDs) to lead dignified and meaningful lives.   It said the central focus was to consider ways to make Ghana an enabling  environment for Persons with Disability, their families and their caregivers.

The event is on the theme: “Disability and Development: Perspectives from the  Family.” It said the theme recognised the integral nature of the family in any relevant societal discourse and seeks to foster critical engagement with the place of the family in issues relating to PWDs and in particular, explore how the family system could assist in tackling the disability issues that confront the society.

The event will be Chaired by Nana Oye Lithur, a former Minister for Gender,  Children and Social Protection, and the Plenary Speaker will be Mr Kwame Dadzie- Denis, representing Madam Otiko Djaba, the Honourable Minister, Gender, Children and Social Protection.

The statement said several papers would be presented at the conference and  each would touch on key thematic area including: social and cultural perspectives on disability; disability, family and the role of law; disability, the family, and marriage.

Madam Barnes, the convenor, said “We want to encourage a rigorous academic  discourse on disability.”    The statement said in previous years, a number of special guests have  attended and chaired the event including Ms Bruce-Lyle, a member of the Ghana  Federation on Disability, Professor Henrietta J.A.N Mensa-Bonsu, former Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the UN Mission in Liberia and  Mr Ivor Greenstreet, 2016 Presidential candidate for the Convention People’s Party.

Other important personalities who have chaired or spoken at the Conference are  Father Campbell of the Christ the King Parish, and Prof Angela Ofori-Atta, former Deputy Minister, Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment.