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The Authorities Are Always Right - Special Needs & Human Rights

Feb 20
Wed 7:00 PM
Location
London School Of Economics

Room S75, St Clements Building,
Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE
London

How to find us
"We will have a special room booked"

Who attended?
Estimated attendance:  62  people attended.
4.5

Map to find the St Clements Building - then go to room S75

The February meeting will be a joint meeting with the Humanist Group of Central London and will be a discussion on human rights centered on the showing of a film made by one of our members. The film is called "The Authorities Are Always Right" and has been mane by Sapna Ramnani who will attend and present the film to us.

Nihal is the central figure of the film and he is a boy who was clearly abused physical and mentally by his Special Needs school, and this gave Sapna the motivation to make the film as she herself had been through a Special Needs school and suffered discrimination. One comment on the film was,

"I found the film very interesting. It consists mostly of interviews with a mother who has had immense difficulty trying to get her severely disabled child into normal schooling. It is sad because, just when she seems to be making progress, the child dies. The film appeared to me to be well made and professional. ... It could possibly be used to start off a wider discussion about the rights of disabled people.?

It would seem the film focuses on the rights of the disabled to access mainstream education and this could provide a springboard for a wider discussion on inclusion in our country's education system and whether the human rights of children are being fully met.

This could also also provide a springboard for a wider discussion on inclusion in our country's education system and whether the human rights of children are being fully met; and the importance of inclusion for creating the right attitudes for after school society as well.

Photos of this Meetup

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Talk about this Meetup

  • Valentina Biagini
    Posted Apr 2, 2008 1:40 PM
    Valentina Biagini
    It was very interesting and moving. The video from the gathering is coming up soon. Sorry it took so long. Best, Valentina
  • Pre-Meetup comments below
  • Adam
    Posted Feb 7, 2008 9:29 AM
    Adam
    Wish I could come - but busy on Wednesdays :(
  • Marilyn R. O'Brien
    Posted Feb 6, 2008 10:18 PM
    Marilyn R. O'Brien
    I am in Madison, Wisconsin but I would love to be there for a visit. Please view my work at www.artbymarilyn.etsy.com Marilyn of Art By Marilyn
  • David Jackson
    Posted Feb 5, 2008 2:16 PM
    David Jackson
    I missed the last meetup due to accident when driving down to London from Milton Keynes. I hope I will attend the next one.
  • Sapna Ramnani
    Posted Jan 23, 2008 12:49 PM
    Sapna Ramnani
    I discovered children with physical disabilities and who's academic potential were lost in Special Needs Schools and the failure of parents and professionals to realize that education is a fundamental human right. People in the film strongly express how they supported Nihal in his battle for a mainstream school placement. A must see film for all those who wish to know how the British education system is set up to fail those who are the most vulnerable.
  • David Jackson
    Posted Jan 19, 2008 11:41 AM
    David Jackson
    Love to attend. I will bring £2 on the day. Hope many people come.

Who attended?

    • “ Interesting to get a better understanding of the disability issues raised, which many of us will probably never come across let alone experience in our own lives. Very thought provoking. Thanks to Sapna and all those involved in making the film, especially Nihal's tenacious mum who is an inspiration for us all. It would have been interesting to extend the discussion to exactly "who are the authorities?" in any given situation and "are authorities necessarily or ever always right?" especially in the light of recent UK and world political events. But we would probably still be going now ... ”
    • Bob
      “ Great to have both the film-maker and people in the documentary at the event. The film was moving and thought-provoking and the discussion was well-led. ”
    • Sapna Ramnani (+9 guests)
      “ Sorry about the DVD going funny I was so very nervous that something like this would happen but I hope that it didn't spoil the evening. ”
    • “ Great thought provoking Event. Prior to this discussion I had never considered how people with disabilities might feel about special needs schools. It would have been interesting to have a represenative of the "authorities" to give their side of the story. ”
    • anita (+1 guest)
      “ Stimulating, moving and thought provoking. More time for disvcussion would have been good. ”
    • “ I think it was a very deep and thought provoking meeting and I am pleased so many people came and joined in the experience. ”
    • “ Well organised and run, as always. Harrowing topic, highly emotional, charged atmosphere. Not surprisingly, it wasn't really possible to have a calm, dispassionate debate about the problems raised. But then, perhaps, in yesterday's context, it wasn't necessary! ”
    • sarah ismail (+1 guest)
      “ I wish we had had more time there! ”
    • Ling (+5 guests)
    • nilesh (+1 guest)
    • Valentina Biagini (+1 guest)
    • Eva (+5 guests)
    • Ian
    • Amy Barnes (+1 guest)
    • Alison Coombs (+1 guest)

Your organizer's refund policy for The Authorities Are Always Right - Special Needs & Human Rights

Refunds offered if:

Payments you make go to the organizer, not to Meetup. You must make refund requests to the organizer.

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