PRESS RELEASE Brussels, 20 January 2011
Inclusion Europe together with its member associations Mencap (United Kingdom)
and Lebenshilfe (Germany) are pleased to announce the launch of the Inclusive
Development Toolkit, a resource for disability NGOs looking to improve the situation
of people with intellectual disabilities in developing countries.
The toolkit has been developed within the framework of the project “Full Inclusion in Development Aid for People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families” aiming to ensure that development aid programmes at national and European level include the needs and interests of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
The toolkit contains comprehensive practical information on how to include people with intellectual disabilities in development cooperation, gathered to support development cooperation activities between disability NGOs and local authorities in Europe and organisations and services for people with intellectual disabilities in developing countries. It is composed of two parts: a selection of supporting development of such activities and a collection of existing relevant resources (contacts to development aid organisations, useful websites, literature and legislation) for further reading on the topic.
Starting with the explanation of basic principles underpinning inclusive development cooperation and overview of development aid policies, the toolkit further provides inspiring examples of good practices and success stories about including people with intellectual disabilities in mainstream development aid programs. Detailed guidelines on how to establish development partnerships and manage development projects are complemented through information on different funding opportunities to finance such projects. A guide to towntwinning, as a first step towards international cooperation, is also included.
In addition, a series of awareness-raising brochures have been published, explaining the concept of inclusive development to the three different groups targeted by the project. An easy-to-read publication “An Introduction to Inclusive Development” explains the concept of development cooperation and the UN Millennium Development Goals and provides suggestions on how people with intellectual disabilities can help their peers in developing countries. “Development for everyone” addresses families and disability professionals, pointing out that the expertise of disability NGOs is crucial to achieve full human rights for people with intellectual disabilities in developing countries. And finally, “Development for all!” explains to mainstream development aid organisations why their programmes need to be made inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
All project deliverables are available in English, German and French on the re-launched project website www.inclusive-development.eu.
About the project:
The project “Full Inclusion in Development Aid for People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families” was carried out by Inclusion Europe and its project partners Mencap Wales and Northern Ireland and Lebenshilfe Germany since December 2009; with the financial support from the European Commission’s Programme “Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development Cooperation”.
The project addressed the implementation of the Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing for international development cooperation to be inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities; with a particular focus on the specific situation of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
The overall objective was to develop better support for people with intellectual disabilities and their families in developing countries in mainstream development aid programs. The project was based on the recognition that local disability NGOs in Europe managed to develop highquality support services for people with intellectual disabilities. This, together with their expertise in the development of inclusive local policies, is a precious know-how that could come to a great use in the developing countries, if adapted to the specific situation of each country and transferred accordingly.
The project thus sought to mobilise local disability NGOs in Europe to get involved in development cooperation activities, providing them with necessary knowledge of development cooperation issues, policies and contacts at national and European level. To this end, in addition to the Inclusive Development Toolkit, national networking meetings and a European Networking Conference were organised within the framework of this project.
More information about these meetings can be also found at www.inclusive-development.eu.
For more information, please, contact:
Silvana Enculescu
s.enculescu@inclusion-europe.org
Communications Officer
Inclusion Europe AISBL
The European Association of Societies of Persons with
Intellectual Disabilities and their Families
Galeries de la Toison d’Or
29 Chaussée d’Ixelles #393/32
B-1050 Brussels – Belgium
Tel. : +32-2-502 28 15
Fax : +32-2-502 80 10
www.inclusion-europe.org