By: Bob van DillenConsortium Coordinator We are Able! Towards Food Security And Social Justice! On Saturday 3 December, we observe the IDPD for the 30th time. This special day was called for by the UN in 1992, because disability inclusion is an…

An inclusive action plan for food security in Burundi In many communities in Burundi, persons with a disability are often called ‘ikimuga’. This word refers not to a person, but to a ‘thing’. Something that is broken. This is not…

Taking away prejudices and creating awareness about the daily challenges of persons with a disability is the first, crucial step for achieving more inclusive local policies. This is what we advocated for at the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)…

On October 10-12, 2022, DCDD organised the kick-off of a 3-year ‘Power of Disability Inclusion’ trajectory for Uganda-based civil society partners of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  This training was organised in collaboration with Light for the World Uganda and SeeYou Foundation, as part of the We Are Able! programme (funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

In October, I started as the consortium coordinator of We are Able! I have worked for the Dutch NGO Cordaid, where I coordinated a number of advocacy trajectories, mostly on food and agriculture, migration and refugees. Prior to that I have also done advocacy at EU level, working for NGO networks, and also at the level of the United Nations.

On September 12, the annual Regional Learning and Sharing Event for the We are Able! programme took place in Burundi. From seven countries, participants came together for one week to reflect on the past year, share experiences, learn, discover and…

A delegation of We are Able! was present at the World Urban Forum that took place in Katowice/Poland June 26-30. This international conference was a good opportunity to increase awareness on the need for disability inclusion at different levels.

“In Africa, people with disabilities are the poorest of the poor. They happen to be disabled, but poverty is the issue.” Shuaib Chalklen, the CEO of the African Disability Forum, one of the partners of the We are Able! consortium,…

One year and a half into the project, the We are Able! consortium convened in Utrecht for a series of workshops and presentations. The partners reflected on the work of the past months and exchanged plans and ideas for the coming ones. Going forward, three themes will take centre stage: disability inclusion within the consortium, ‘Shift the power’ and equal partnerships, and internal and external communication.

Making members of Parliament aware of the Sustainable Development Goals. That is one of the goals of a campaign setup by several organisations, amongst whom We are Able! partner VNGI. On May 16, a delegation from We are Able! was present during a meeting with Member of Parliament Hülya Kat, who ‘adopted’ sustainable development goal 1 (no poverty) and 2 (no hunger).