Projects and Activities
Inclusion International held a regional forum for families and self-advocates “Transforming Rights into Action: Africa in Focus” on 2-3 March in Johannesburg, South Africa. The forum was organised in collaboration with Inclusion Africa, Disabled Children’s Action Group, Down Syndrome South Africa and the Norwegian Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.
This is one of the five regional events Inclusion International will hold in the next two years to identify and raise awareness of the issues impacting the social, economic and political exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities from their communities. The main objective is to promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and support the work of its member organizations and other organizations of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in implementing the changes required. All information, documents and tools generated in these forums, will contribute to Inclusion International’s global strategy to promote the Convention.
Like the previous Forum held in Bogota, Colombia in November 2010, the African Forum also focused on Inclusion International’s 4 key priority areas:
• Preamble on the Role of Families (family support)
• Article 12: Equal Recognition Before the Law – People with intellectual disabilities have legal capacity and have the right to support in order to exercise their capacity
• Article 19: Living Independently and Being Included in the Community – People with intellectual disabilities have the right to choose to live in the community with the supports required
• Article 24: Education – Students with intellectual disabilities have the right to be included in the regular school with the supports they require.
Representatives from over 16 countries from all regions of Africaparticipated as well as invited guest speakers such as Ms Edah Maina, a members of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has agreed to participate in the event.
PROGRAMME (PDF)
Over 300 participated in the forum ‘The Road to Inclusion: Together we can make the change!’ and the event was a huge success. This is the first of five regional forums to be held by Inclusion International in the next two years to promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities supporting the work of its member organizations and other organizations of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in implementing the changes required. All information, documents and tools generated from these forums, will contribute to II’s global strategy to promote the Convention.
The event focused on Inclusion International’s 4 key priority areas:
* Preamble on the Role of Families (family support)
* Article 12: Equal Recognition Before the Law – People with intellectual disabilities have legal capacity and have the right to support in order to exercise their capacity
* Article 19: Living Independently and Being Included in the Community – People with intellectual disabilities have the right to choose to live in the community with the supports required
* Article 24: Education – Students with intellectual disabilities have the right to be included in the regular school with the supports they require.
A combination of regional and international presenters introduced the topics in plenary and participants broke into focus sessions on each of the key areas. Key issues were raised and discussed during these sessions and the information collected will feed into II’s work on promoting the Convention.
Regional Forum for Self Advocates
The first day of the event was a forum for self advocates with 30 participants from four countries in Latin America; Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss self-advocacy training and issues important to self advocates. One of the invited participants, Juan Cobeñas, from Argentina, was prevented from attending the meeting because the airline TACA he and his family were travelling with lost part of his wheelchair. The airline failed to understand that losing a wheelchair is not like losing a suitcase and that without a fully functional wheelchair Juan could not continue his trip and had no other option but to return home. A complaint letter to the airline was formulated by the participants during the meeting and an online petition against the airline has been set up by Inclusion International.
International Forum on Legal Capacity – Colombia
Inclusion International (II), OSI (Open Society Institute) jointly with the Fundación Saldarriaga Concha and with the cooperation of Asdown Colombia, Fundación PAIIS, Universidad de los Andes, and Handicap International, conducted an International Forum on “Legal Capability and Supported Decision-making”.… Read More
First National Forum on Legal Capacity- Mexico 2010
With the support of Inclusion International, CONFE held its first national conference on Legal Capacity in March 2010. At the conference 70 family leaders and self-advocate members from all over the country participated discussing models of supported versus substitute decision making, and shared their experiences….Read more
UN supported global project to promote and validate models of good practice in the implementation of the UN Convention
Inclusion International’s UN Project has supported the development of a project in India to promote the shift to supported decision making models articulated in Article 12 of the CRPD. Through the work of the Convention Action Team on Legal Capacity, II is providing technical support to PARIVAAR and the National Trust in the development of a demonstration project on SDM… Read More
