December 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities – a great day to celebrate human diversity and to raise awareness of the fact that persons with disabilities around the world experience exclusion in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
Today, let’s be reminded of the contributions people with disabilities make to our societies. Can you imagine what potential we could unlock if people with disabilities would be provided equal opportunities? Today and every day, let’s get to work to make inclusion a reality!
DCDD is present today at Gelijk = Gelijk (equal = equal), a Dutch network event in Utrecht where we will present ‘An Untapped Potential’, our latest report on disability inclusion in international development cooperation. This report addresses the steps that the Dutch government and its NGO partners have taken since The Netherlands ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The research was conducted by Anika Altaf from The Broker. A policy analysis was done, and several government officials, NGOs, professors, and international experts were interviewed. The conclusions are clear: while awareness about the need for disability inclusion is increasing, actual implementation remains minimal and happens mostly ad hoc. Less than 2% of the total Dutch Official Development Assistance budget is being spent on programmes which are disability inclusive and/or support the empowerment of people with disabilities. The report highlights a few very inspiring practical examples and gives nine recommendations to the Dutch government and development sector to become more disability inclusive.
Join us on Twitter via #UntappedPotential @dcdd_nl and help us spread the word!
You can read our report in different versions:
