We Are All Stronger Together
Jwana Mustafa
College Graduate, Community Leader, Disabled Rights Activist, and Children’s Book Author
As a visually impaired woman raised north of Sulaymaniyah City, Jwana Mustafa is a passionate activist in the disabled community in the Kurdish Territories. She holds seminars and workshops to advocate for members of the disabled community, their rights and needs, as well as female empowerment in the Kurdish Nation. Jwana is now continuing her education at the University of Kurdistan Hewler and is due to graduate in 2021 with a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics / TESOL. Jwana is an active community leader, contributing to local youth groups, as she believes that the change and future of our communities stem from the nurturing of our children’s environments and minds. Her work as an author of children's books is deeply inspired by the nature of Kurdistan and its friendly people.
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Jwana works as a translator and she has translated a number of English texts into Kurdish and from Kurdish into English.
Jwana has recently joined our team as a DSI Ambassador for Kurdistan to achieve and accomplish the goals and ambitions of DSI's commitment to the disabled community in Iraqi Kurdistan.
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For information about programming in Kurdistan Territory and Northern Iraq contact Jwana at:
THE CONFERENCE FOR UNITY AND STANDARDIZATION OF KURDISH BRAILLE
February 21 & 22, 2021
Erbil, Kurdistan; Kurdish Territory Iraq
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DSI Ambassador Jwana Mustafa, in conjunction with Roshnayi and other community organizations serving the blind in Kurdistan came together for a two day event to celebrate the role of Braille in Kurdistan and to promote the standardization of the Kurdish Braille system in Iraq. Jwana proposed 10 resolutions at the conference, which were all adopted as part of the 32 formal resolutions to guide the promotion of the role of Braille moving forward in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
The two day conference was organized by Roshnayi, a local organization creating audiobooks in Kurdish languages for the blind and people with print disabilities. Bringing together several organizations, including DSI, the Conference for Unity and Standardization of Kurdish Braille not only agreed on the standard form of Kurdish Braille that should be used for creating Braille media in Iraqi Kurdistan, but conference delegates also proposed several strategies and benchmarks to pursue the normalization and integration of Braille into Kurdish life. Resolutions adopted by the Conference included:
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Braille signage in all government buildings
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Braille signage in all new construction
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Introduction of Braille as part of the elementary school general curriculum as part of cultural awareness
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Teacher training for Kurdish Braille so the new standard code is taught to all students in the territory who are blind
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The conference delegates signed a document affirming the standardization of the new Kurdish Braille code and the adoption of the resolutions for future action. The delegates will continue to meet in the coming months to keep advocating with the public and private sector and to promote public education about the role of Braille in Kurdistan's future.
