iDEM interview with Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden – Digital accessibility and IT training for migrants with disabilities: a pathway to inclusion 

Isolation, in every sense of the term – economic, physical, social – is a shared experience for migrants. However, it is highly exacerbated for migrants with disabilities. To understand the importance of digital accessibility and other types of support for migrants with disabilities, we interviewed Julius Mvenyi Ntobuah, Chairman of Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden and UNHCR Advisory Board Member. He shared his organisation’s initiatives to break this isolation for refugees and asylum seekers in Sweden, which include IT training and international advocacy. 

Listen to the full interview here: 

How does Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden support migrants?

Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden is a Swedish non-profit disability-led organisation that started its journey at the end of 2021, three years ago. Its mission is to “empower newcomers with disabilities in Sweden [and] increase awareness of the conditions for asylum seekers and refugees with disabilities”. They achieve this by providing support and advocating for migrants with disabilities, both at national and international level. This organisation is a member of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and their chairman, Julius Mvenyi Ntobuah, is a Member of the UNHCR Advisory Board. 

Julius explained during our interview the different ways in which they support migrants with disabilities. These initiatives include providing legal advice, community inclusion activities – such as a “breaking isolation cafés” and other networking activities – as well as IT training, in order to reduce the digital divide between newcomers and local Swedish society, which is highly digitalised. 

He also explained the innovative ways in which they do advocacy work, beyond their already existing efforts as members of EDF and their involvement in the UNHCR. Specifically, Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden uses storytelling as a powerful tool for advocacy: 

“We also make deep games using storytelling as a means for advocacy, where we change the story of our target group into a board game for policymakers to play it and feel the impact that bad policies can have on human beings.” 

Promoting digital literacy for newcomers is one of your main areas of work. How do you work towards bridging the digital gap for migrants with disabilities? 

Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden provides training in digital skills for their users, recognising the imperative need of digital literacy for migrants to access Swedish society. This education is a priority for the organisation, because as Julius explained: 

“If you come here without basic survival IT skills you will be really, really isolated”. 

Therefore, they are currently focusing on a three-year project that will provide newcomers with basic IT skills. Julius explained that they are also seeking to start training on Artificial Intelligence and basic coding for migrants with disabilities as they “want to use AI to tailor their IT education according to their own needs.” This customised training will provide migrants with a better chance to access the labour market and connect with their new community. 

What added barriers would you say that migrants with disabilities face when arriving in a new country compared to migrants without disabilities?

With first-hand experience, Julius shared with us the added barriers that migrants with disabilities face when arriving in a new country:

• Lack of physically accessible housing
• Lack of healthcare tailored to their needs (interpretation is often needed for healthcare services)
• Social isolation, exclusion, stigma, and discrimination
• Inaccessible job market 
• Educational barriers, including lengthy administrative processes to obtain equivalent qualifications in host countries 
• Economic barriers, such as the added costs of disability services 

Are you aware of any examples where migrants with disabilities were included in local consultations processes or civic forums?

While Julius explained that migrants with disabilities still faced discrimination in Sweden, he noted that the country provides extensive support, including financial aid and free language lessons. Reflecting on the iDEM App, he added that: 

“[The] introduction of the iDEM App with automatic subtitles and text with simplified features will significantly enhance these already existing tools […] Your App is coming to harmonise all this and even make the communication more accessible.” 

Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden was created precisely to bridge the current divide that exists between local community life and newcomers with disabilities. In the years to come, there will hopefully be new initiatives to actively include migrants in democratic processes. 

You have done important advocacy work with international bodies like the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. What advice would you give to policymakers regarding the inclusion of migrants with disabilities in local communities?

Julius provided a series of clear recommendations as part of a holistic approach for policymakers to take into account when including migrants with disabilities in local communities. These include: “creating inclusive legislation, ensuring accessibility, providing tailored support services, promoting social inclusion and facilitating civil participation […] improving data collection […] promoting networking collaboration […] allocating adequate funding [for organisations working on this issue]”. 

This interview provided us with great insight into the needs and challenges that migrants with disabilities face all around Europe. We hope that our work at iDEM will contribute to breaking the isolation that many migrants experience. 

Thank you Newcomers with Disabilities in Sweden for talking to us and sharing your incredible journey with us!