Putting aside political and religious differences, individuals from Ireland and Northern Ireland are working together to create a more tolerant society for people with disabilities.

Nurturing this cooperative effort is Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations' Extension Division, which through its Program on Employment and Disability has developed a training program to assist 15 advocates in addressing equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The three-week training session, which ends Sept. 26, is led by Susanne M. Bruyre, director of the Program on Employment and Disability, and sponsored by the International Fund for Ireland.

"Through this intensive program, we can help develop a mutual understanding between people from Northern Ireland and the Republic," Bruyre said. "They must work together in this pursuit of equal opportunities for people with disabilities."

Patricia Bray from Disability Action, an umbrella organization representing some 180 agencies that provide services for people with disabilities throughout Northern Ireland, said she and her colleagues from the Republic share a common goal -- that of increasing socio-economic opportunities for those currently marginalized by society.

"It is the reason we are all here," Bray said. "to put differences aside and work together on these important issues."

Training sessions, which are held in the ILR Conference Center, cover a myriad of issues from disability etiquette to designing employee training programs. A discussion on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 gave participants a better understanding of legislation for people with disabilities in the United States.

"The United States is way ahead of us when it comes to opportunities for people with disabilities," Bray said. The United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 is a step in the right direction in bringing about greater employment opportunities for people with disabilities but, Bray said, it's a legislation without muscle.

"There's no commission to ensure that employers are following the law or to provide recourse for a job applicant or employee," she noted. "Legislation here in the states is much stronger on this matter."

Bray said her organization will try to influence policymakers to develop tougher legislation with regard to equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

James McClean of D.A.T.A. (Donegal Disability Association Through Action) in Donegal, Ireland, said there is much anxiety on the part of employers when addressing employment issues related to individuals with disabilities.

"There is a lack of awareness on the part of many employers on this matter," McClean said. "We need to teach and advise them on what can be done to make people with disabilities contributing employees. Many employers believe they need to completely rebuild a factory to accommodate these individuals. We need to change their attitudes and perceptions."

Aside from their classroom sessions, program participants will take a variety of field trips. Those planned include visits to the University at Buffalo's Center for Assistive Technology, ARISE Inc., an independent living center in Syracuse, N.Y., and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Occupational Psychology in Rochester, N.Y.

The group also will hear from individuals directly involved in working with people with disabilities. A representative from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council in Albany will discuss "Grass Roots Community Organizing on Behalf of People with Disabilities," while officials of Rehabilitation Support Services Inc. of Guilderland, N.Y., will speak on "Employment Options for People with Disabilities."

All of the individuals attending the program have a disability, whether it be a sensory, physical or a hidden disability. The group includes a young deaf women who participates in the proceedings with the use of a sign-language interpreter.

"Often, it is individuals with disabilities who are the best advocates and supporters of these efforts to mainstream," Bray said. "They are proof of what can be accomplished."

Despite those differences that bring violence to Northern Ireland and the Republic, this group of individuals is steadfast in its drive to work together with its newfound knowledge and understanding of disability issues.

"Disability does not discriminate, nor should society," Bray said.