Youth with disabilities and the intersectionalities of age is one of the focus areas of the work of the International Disability Alliance (IDA).
Since 2010, IDA has always included youth with disabilities in our workshops and the CRPD Committee review processes. In 2015, with the launch of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training Initiative, IDA established their systematic inclusion, including facilitators through the ToT trajectory.
IDA also has created the Bridge Fellowships that have the mission to support the effective implementation of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs initiative and enjoy peer-learning and mentorship from the ToT team of persons with disabilities.
In 2020, following decisions from the IDA’s Board and PC meeting, IDA members decided to include the issues and realisation of rights of youth persons with disabilities into IDA’s Strategic Framework 2020 – 2023. Across our programs, we are applying a twin-track approach to the issues and rights of youth with disabilities and cross-youth movements.
Still in 2020, we produced a number of events and workshops promoting youth and issues and rights of youth with disabilities before the UN as well as on the COVID-19 situation. IDA also supports the Community of Practice linking up with partners. For instance, two youth from the Global South participated in a webinar discussion with the Office of the UN Special Envoy on Youth and the UN Major Group for Children and Youth ‘Asia Pacific Researchers, Practitioners and Policy-makers in Dialogue with Children and Youth’ Project, selected two youths with disabilities, from underrepresented groups to participate in their work.
In the same year, IDA held a global webinar with youth with disabilities on the COVID-19 situation which was proposed by the WBU Youth Committee.
During the global webinar, youth with disabilities asked us to create a ListServ where they could meet and exchange. The email address for this ListServ is youth-list@ida-secretariat.org. It is an open network. We plan to update our webpage and invite more people to register in this ListServ.
In January 2021, IDA created the Youth Fellowship opportunity, and in March 2021 established the Youth Committee with youth representatives of our members and Bridge alumni.
IDA and its Youth Committee are planning a number of activities ahead and around the Global Disability Summit 2022, including national consultations involving youth with disabilities, webinars, and the Youth with Disabilities Summit co-hosted with Norway and the Atlas Alliance, supported by their member the Youth Mental Health Norway.
While there is a fruitful field of advocacy by youth, particularly around the SDGs, still, movements led by youth with disabilities are highly underrepresented both in the youth and the disability movements. IDA has been working hard to address this power imbalance, including by identifying youth leaders including from underrepresented groups, and creating opportunities for mentorship and leadership within the movement.
The Youth Committee representatives 2021 are:
Santigie Kargbo, African Disability Forum, Sierra Leone
Laura Lesmana, Asean Disability Forum, Indonesia
Simon Okwii, Down Syndrome International, Uganda
Loredana Dicsi, European Disability Forum, Belgium
Selma Cela, International Federation of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephaly, Belgium
Bowen Tang, International Federation of Hard of Hearing, Canada
Ruci Senikula, Pacific Disability Forum, Fiji
Antonio Palma Lopez, RIADIS, Guatemala
Iqbal Mohamad, Pakistan / Diane Bergeron, Canada, World Blind Union
Shirley Liu, World Federation of the Deaf, Australia
Mark Kato, World Federation of the Deafblind, Uganda
Dorothy Mubezi, WNUSP, Uganda
Alagammai Chenthilnathan, Bridge CRPD-SDGs alumni, India
Peter Ochieg, Youth Fellow, Uganda
It is time for the change! We count on your support!
On the 30 March 2021, during the first edition of the Generation Equality Forum, Mexico chapter, the International Disability Alliance (IDA) held a Special Session with the aim to raise priorities of women with disabilities, reflecting on access to decent and safe work and employment, disability inclusive social protection and the impact of COVID-19 and the opportunity it presented to reimagine what inclusive access really means.
The Special Session was perceived as an important event during the Generation Equality Forum as it was the only event focused on the intersectionality of gender and disability, and brought together a diverse group of stakeholders – including State representative, self-advocates and members of the CRPD Committee – and to propose a set of recommendations to governments and international cooperation stakeholders.
The Special Session brought the kind presence of:
Her Exc. Ambassador Catalina Devandas, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica in Geneva,
Fernanda Santana, Brazilian Association for Action on Rights of Persons with Autism (ABRAÇA), RIADIS,
Agnes Abukito, Fellow of the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB)-IDA, Uganda,
Meenakshi Balasubramanian, Center for Inclusive Policy (CIP), India,
Amalia Gamio Ríos, Member of the CRPD Committee, Mexico,
Valeria Gonzalez, representative of Inclusive Generation for Equality Collective, Mexico.
The event was moderatedbyTchaurea Fleury, IDA’s Director of Capacity Building.
The Her Exc. Amb. Catalina Devandas highlighted the importance of support services in the fulfilment of economic justice and why it is important to not leave behind women and girls with disabilities in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic.
“Despite efforts to bring women with disabilities to the table, we still continue to leave them out, and this is a structural issue to think about.”
Her. Exc. Catalina stated
Fernanda Santana addressed the social economic impact of exclusion of women with disabilities and emphasized the lack of inclusive education, including the access to sexual and reproductive education, in Brazil. She also highlighted the experiences of overprotection and infantilization that affects women and girls from underrepresented groups.
She further went on to link the denial of access to education for women and girls with autism in Brazil to the denial of their personal autonomy and how that in turn impacts financial independence.
“Without public policies, really focused specifically on women with disabilities, paying special attention to the most vulnerable groups, we won’t be able to deal with this kind of issue that is both about mediate an effective social protection but also a long‐term plan for a more inclusive society with equality and non-discrimination and opportunities for all, for everyone.”
Fernanda Santana
Agnes Abukito shared that the economic impact of COVID-19 was felt acutely in Uganda. Due to the lockdown, many communities could not harvest their crops, which led to increased situations of hunger and unemployment upon persons with disabilities. Persons with deafblindness in Uganda rely heavily on in person contact, and technology is very often not accessible for them. The shutting down of transportation and imposition of social distancing measures further marginalized them as, for instance, those who were in need of guide interpreters could not access the services. She also highlighted the need for Government programmes to specifically target women with disabilities from underrepresented groups.
“The procedures against the Covid 19 make an accent on social distance. But, these were not friendly to persons with deaf‐blindness, most especially women with deaf‐blindness because you have to move with a guide. And then when we talk about food distribution, in my country, Uganda, there was a policy that all people would get food at their door. It does not favor women with deaf‐blindness, because we are not among the target group that the government targeted for food distribution…”
Agnes Abukito
Meenakshi Balasubramanian presented the findings of the study “How responsive are social protection programs towards women and girls with disabilities-inferences from gender budget analysis (India)” emphasizing the lack of data disaggregated by gender and disability. She highlighted the underrepresentation of social protection schemes for women with disabilities with only 30% of schemes actually considering women with disabilities.
She also pointed out that the design of schemes and programmes end up excluding women and girls with disabilities because they do not factor in the gendered barriers to access, for instance, public work programmes exclude women as work sites do not have accessible toilets or drinking water. She concluded with the need for social audits of programmes from the lens of women with disabilities.
“The gender responsiveness and impact of multiple marginalization has to be part of the training programs of all professionals both at the government and other levels that ensures accountability, even within the disability movement. Along with the gender training mandated by the budgeting. Then there should be greater participation of women with disabilities in all forums. Re‐look at the programs and policies to ensure gender responsive design.”
Meenakshi Balasubramanian
Amalia Gamio presented the concerns of the CRPD Committee with regard to the lack of implementation of the rights of girls and women with disabilities who continue to be marginalized and discriminated against. She pointed to the upcoming General Comment on Article 27 about access to work employment being an opportunity to specifically recognize these issues and rights.
She shared that the CRPD Committee was also concerned about the profound marginalization experienced by women with psychosocial disabilities, as they are institutionalized without their consent, they have been raped, been forced to undergo abortions and forced sterilizations, that have been aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are looking to empower women and girls with disabilities, and that de SDGs can work in hand with the UN CRPD, so empowered women, including those with disabilities, can contribute on eradication of poverty and hunger and the achievement of the rest of the SDGs goals.”
Amalia Gamio
Valeria Guzmán presented the advocacy platform established by the Collective with the priority actions to ensure an intersectional and disability perspective in the Generation Equality Forum.
She reiterated that women and girls with disabilities have been discriminated and left behind with regard to economic justice, which has been even more pronounced during this COVID-19 crisis. She emphasized that it is crucial that women with disabilities must be actively and meaningfully participating in all decision-making fora and discussion spaces with regard to the development agenda and the recovery efforts with regard to COVID-19, and that their perspectives and the gendered barriers that they experience in accessing economic justice must be taken into account, especially from underrepresented women and girls with disabilities.
“There will not be a Equality Generation if we do not redesign the way in which we create public policies in all parts of the world, without considering all and especially those women who face the most severe structural barriers, violence, discrimination and exclusion, they do not happen in a bubble, they are filtered by all barriers… we have to open spaces so that all women can participate calmly under equal conditions… ”
Stated Her Exc. Catalina Devandas
Main Recommendations:
All the different barriers faced by the women and girls with disabilities must be considered, as well as their diversity must be understood and considered in all their intersecting identities to promote their active and meaningful participation,
We urge governments to include articles regarding women with disabilities in the general law of persons with disabilities in each country, and also to pay attention to the particular multiple and intersectional discrimination that women with disabilities face,
Governments and other stakeholders should ensure the exercise of the rights of women and girls with disabilities on equal basis with others,
During the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, the perspectives and the gendered barriers that women and youth women with disabilities experience in accessing economic justice must be considered and addressed, especially from underrepresented women and youth women,
Participation in all decision-making and discussion spaces must be ensured to youth with disabilities, women with disabilities, and also, girls with disabilities, older women with disabilities, indigenous women with disabilities, and women from rural and remote areas,
Women with disabilities, their issues and rights must be included in educational efforts, including regarding the access to sexual and reproductive education,
The rights of women and girls, including with autism, to access to inclusive education must be ensured and promoted, as well as their right to personal autonomy, including their financial independence,
Government and international cooperation must specifically target women with disabilities from underrepresented groups within their mainstream efforts,
Social audits and removal of public programmes that excludes women and girls with disabilities must be factored in the gendered barriers to access, such as work sites with no accessible toilets or drinking water.
In 2021, UNICEF and the Government of Norway established a Partnership for disability inclusive programming at the global, regional and country level, focusing on the Eastern and Southern Africa region.
The Disability Inclusive Programming Framework for the Eastern and South Africa region is to implement inclusive social protection programming in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Madagascar and Mozambique and to implement cross-sectoral disability inclusive programming in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Madagascar, Mozambique and Lesotho. The cross-sectoral programming includes activities in the areas of inclusive education, water, sanitation and hygiene management, health, early childhood development, child protection, social protection, assistive technologies, communication for development, and data and research.
UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office has established a Disability Inclusion Team led by a Regional Disability Inclusion Specialist, Yetneberesh Nigussie Molla, supported by a Programme Officer on Children with Disabilities, Kristel Jüriloo. The role of the Regional Disability Inclusion Team is to provide quality assurance and oversight of the disability inclusive programming in the 7 UNICEF country offices implementing cross-sectoral disability inclusive programming, technical assistance to all UNICEF country offices in the region, evidence generation and establishing and strengthening partnerships with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities between UNICEF regional and country offices.
We encourage Organizations of Persons with Disabilities to engage with the Regional Disability Inclusion Team so we can inform you of the specific activities at the regional and country level and engage in close collaboration between UNICEF and the disability community. Every UNICEF country office has a focal point for disability inclusion and the Regional Disability Inclusion Team can put your organization in touch with them upon request.
Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) are an important mechanism within the United Nations process for follow-up and review of Africa’s progress in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as set out in the 2015 Declaration (UN 2015). This country-led approach, as introduced in the Agenda 2030, is central to the implementation of the agenda, the remaining challenges and the policies required going forward. The framework is built around a voluntary process that tracks progress on goals, focus on people with particular attention to human rights and the people furthest behind (UN 2015, para 74).
In 2020, 14 African countries submitted VNRs to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) – Benin, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zambia, along with 1 regional report produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
This baseline report sheds light on the perceptions of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Africa concerning their inclusion in development programs and policies. It presents results and draws conclusions from the first IDA Global Survey on OPD participation in development programs and policies, the first-ever global survey led by OPDs on their participation in decision-making.
Pan African Network of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities (PANPPD) is inviting applications from Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Togo and Ghana to submit requests for proposals for microgrants. The goal is to raise awareness on the social and economic challenges precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic for persons with psychosocial disabilities and to advocate for responses to COVID-19 and for “building back better” policies and programs that are inclusive, human rights- and community based, and that include psychosocial support and other alternatives to the medical model as a key component. Application deadline: 31 May 2021. Call for application can be found here. Please download the application form here.
The Centre for Disability Law and Policy (CDLP) are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the 12th International Disability Law Summer School 2021!
This year, summer school will take place entirely online, on the topic of Article 30 – Access to Culture, Recreation, Leisure and Sport for People with Disabilities.
The impact of Covid19 has shown us, more than ever, the importance of culture in times of crisis – we turn to art, music, sport and play to find comfort and meaning in difficult times. This global pandemic has also highlighted new ways to make culture more accessible, for example, through live streaming of cultural events. Nevertheless, disabled people are still excluded from accessing culture in different forms and much work remains to ensure full and meaningful participation of disabled people in all forms of cultural life.
In its first-ever online incarnation, the summer school will take place over 5 weeks, from 31 May to 2 July. The programme has been designed to allow participants to dip in and out of the material based on their availability throughout these weeks, and contains a mixture of specially pre-recorded content, live panel discussions with opportunities for Q&A and interactive events (including comedy sets, a storytelling event, and a DJ’d dance party). Participants will receive an email each Monday with 2 hours of pre-recorded videos, live panel discussions will take place each Wednesday from 2-4pm Irish time, and the interactive and group activities will take place on Thursdays and Fridays (each lasting no more than 2 hours).
Each week will address a different theme, including Article 30 CRPD, voices of disabled people in media, disabled people as artists and creators, sport, leisure & play, and access to the arts. We are committed to making summer school as accessible as possible in this online format, so please let us know your access needs on registering, and we look forward to welcoming you (virtually) to the various home offices, bedrooms and living rooms of our speakers from around the world this year!
General Registration will remain open for a number of weeks.
The Centre for Disability Law & Policy (CDLP) has recently received scholarship funding from Irish Aid, we are in a position to offer a limited number of scholarships to delegates from the following countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Vietnam, South Africa, Liberia) to attend the 12th International Disability Law Summer School which will be taking place online from 31 May – 2 July.
The scholarship covers the registration fee for this online summer school.
Entry Requirements:
Please provide a statement including the following:
A brief background summary about yourself (include the country you are from)
How you think the conference will benefit you/your organisation
How would you apply the knowledge gained following your participation at the summer school within your networks.
Please send your statement in word format to disabilitysummerscho@nuigalway.ie (Maximum word count is 500 words) by 5pm (GMT) Friday 21st May 2021
Please note if you have already submitted a statement for scholarship and you are from above mentioned country your application will be transferred and considered within this call.
The successful delegates from this call will be informed by email on Wednesday 26th May.
The African Disability Forum (ADF), the World Blind Union (WBU) and the entire International Disability Alliance (IDA) congratulate Esther Kyozira on her appointment as the new CEO of the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU).
In 2018, as the Programme Director of NUDIPU, she implemented the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Initiative in Uganda.
Her other career milestones include serving, in Uganda, as Programme Officer for Disability Rights Fund (DRF), having chaired the National Council for Disability and been coordinator of the Hi-Tech Project for the National Association of the Blind.
Esther has solid experience in programmes, partnerships, the use of UN Monitoring Mechanisms, legal harmonisation, and on rights-based approaches to persons with disabilities, in general, and women with disabilities, in particular.
At IDA and our members, we are very much looking forward to our continuous engagement with NUDIPU and DPOs in Uganda and we wish you all success in your upcoming endeavours!
Youth with disabilities and the intersectionalities of age is one of the focus areas of the work of the International Disability Alliance (IDA).
