The motto above refers to the fundamental principle of participation, which signifies a major shift away from charity as the mode of addressing disability and towards the recognition of disabled people’s agency and resources. The motto has been used by Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) for many years as part of the global movement to achieve the full participation and equalization of opportunities for, by and with persons with disabilities. The signposts of this approach are outlined in The United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, 1993
Since 2001 an Ad Hoc Committee under the United Nations’ General Assembly has worked to develop an International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. The active involvement of persons with disabilities in the ongoing elaboration of this convention has proved to be an excellent example of how the principle of full participation can be put into practice and how it can contribute to the development of inclusive societies.
Many activities for, by and with persons with disabilities also take place at national and community level. Danish DPOs are among the most successful NGOs implementing the Danish Civil Society Strategy in their support to the capacity building of local disability organisations.1. Good Practice Case Stories supported by DanidaDanida mainly supports the inclusion of people with disabilities through embassy grants and support to Danish NGOs and Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) who collaborate with local organisations. The case stories below are all examples of activities implemented by Danish NGOs and DPOs in collaboration with local organisations.
Recent support from Danish embassies have included allocations to ensure that persons with disabilities were include in a population census in India in 2001, that the rights of disabled persons were included in new labour market legislation in Egypt in 2002, and that voters with disabilities were mobilised for national elections in Zambia in 2001.The development of the Technical Issue Note and the Good Practice Case Stories For the purpose of this web-site a good practice case story is understood as a concrete example of how disability has been addressed successfully in Danish development co-operation. The identification of good practice case stories on disability in development took a starting point in the summary of disability specific activities annexed to the review report on The Inclusion of Disability Aspects in Danish Development Co-operation from November 2004. Good Practice Case Stories on disability in development are included in the Tool Box and Good Practices section of several networks at Danida Professional Networks.Criteria and selection of cases were discussed with staff of Danida’s Technical Advisory Services and representatives from Danish disabled people’s organisations. Good practice case stories in this collection were chosen if they met at least two of the following criteria:
2. International conventions and declarationsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 3. Other resourcesWorld Bank web-site on disability [N/A]Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development (DCDD)Building an Inclusive Development Community. A Manual on Including People with Disabilities in International Development Programs. A Mobility International USA Publication sponsored by USAID
