Over 70 people attended Ghana’s first career fair for persons with disabilities organised by international development NGO, Sightsavers, and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). The career fair was held on the 29th May at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra, to encourage companies to employ persons with disabilities, a release from Sightsavers noted. The event gave over 30 companies, including PZ Cussons, Tullow Oil, Blue Skies, Guinness Ghana Breweries, Bank of Ghana, Vodafone, UT Group, Barclays Bank and Montran the opportunity to identify candidates, and to provide persons with disabilities the opportunity to interview with large companies and showcase their experience and capabilities. Hemen Shah, Standard Chartered CEO, Ghana, and Area General Manager, Central and West Africa, said: “Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is simple – we want to get the best out of the broadest spectrum of people in order to sustain strong business performance and competitive advantage. We believe that managing diversity through inclusion will enable us to understand and serve all our stakeholders better. We have partnered with Sightsavers to organise this event in order to create new opportunities for, and change attitudes about, the employment of people with disabilities.” Ben Hoefnagels, Sightsavers Regional Director, West Africa, Eastern Sector commented “We need to change negative attitudes towards people with disabilities, and at the same time empower persons with disabilities and their organisations to take up their rightful places in society.” The Careers Fair also included demonstrations of accessible technology including computers and mobile phones, to highlight to employers that cost-effective technology is available to make the workplace more accessible to people with disabilities. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) encourages countries to recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others. This includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and a work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities. Ghana signed the UNCRPD Protocol on the 30th of March 2007. Ratification of the convention is still pending. Sightsavers, in collaboration with other stakeholders, promised to support organizations for disabled persons to advocate for its ratification. The career fair, the first of its kind in Ghana, will be hosted again in 2011, targeting a larger number of persons with disabilities, potential employers and NGO’s.