In 2019, DCDD has awarded ‘small grants’ to its members for the first time. On October 2, seven applicants were invited to pitch their projects in front of an independent jury who chose four initiatives that received 4000 euros each. The small grants were awarded to Dorcas, Liliane Fonds, SOFT tulip and Tunafasi.
Criteria
Applications had to meet the following criteria:
- The initiatives promote disability inclusion in low- and middle-income countries (in line with DCDD’s vision and mission);
- There is a clear strategy to raise awareness among and/or involve Dutch stakeholders (e.g. non-governmental organisations, disabled people’s organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Aid & Trade, embassies, parliamentarians, etc.);
- There is a clear strategy for sharing within and beyond the DCDD network (e.g. through a learning session, communications, media, etc.);
- There is a 3 percent maximum for administrative costs so the rest of the budget is allocated directly to project activities.
Joint applications were encouraged, to enhance collaboration within or beyond the DCDD network.
Aim
Through these small grants we aim to strengthen collaboration between DCDD members, strengthen collaboration between DCDD members and external (Dutch) stakeholders, promote (small) innovative practices, increase the visibility of DCDD members’ expertise towards external (Dutch) stakeholders and raise awareness on ‘how to make disability inclusion reality’. We initiated the small grants because we believe in the power of sharing. Sharing of knowledge and expertise, sharing of capacity, practical tools and lessons learned. Together we can make a stronger case for disability inclusion than when each of us goes at it alone. That’s what DCDD is all about.
We proudly present the initiatives that were awarded the first four DCDD small grants:
Dorcas
Together we can do more
Through the disability network in El Minia, which consists of 15 DPOs and NGOs three workshops will be held with candidates from the ministries of Health, Education, Labour and Housing, to discuss the themes:
- From isolation and segregation to inclusion – practical successful models,
- Inclusion barriers in the Egyptian context and possible mitigation strategies, and
- How to build inclusive communities (based on the convention for disabled persons (CDP) and the articles on the Egyptian constitution that support the rights of disabled persons.
The outcome of these workshops will be a contextualized manual with assessments, practical examples, recommendations and lessons learnt. This will be a guide for every member of the network to revisit their Theory of Change, build their strategic plans and their short-term action plans. It will also be of great value to capacitate and inform parents and persons with disabilities as it will include all information and practical procedures on their legal rights.
A team of people with and without disabilities will work together to produce a short play that highlights the barriers that come in the way of inclusion and offers solutions based on the UNCRPD and Egyptian law. The play will be used to raise awareness among society members, especially illiterate people. It will be shown in different places to people with disabilities, parents, government officials, decisions makers and other stakeholders. Mr. Louis Martin from the Dutch embassy in Egypt, as a person with a disability, will be invited to attend and be the keynote speaker to introduce and to conclude the play. Many people with disabilities and their families are illiterate – especially in Upper Egypt – and completely unaware of their rights. The play will be an easy tool to explain these to them, at the same time sending a clear message to others how to help create and enable an inclusive society.
Liliane Fonds
Sharing is Empowering: Promoting Inclusive and Accessible Publishing
Sharing is Empowering is a joint application of the Liliane Foundation and the African Studies Centre (Leiden University) on the improvement of information accessibility. Academic knowledge is often not accessible to people with disabilities (blind or hearing-impaired). Communication that is easy and inviting to engage with is a crucial part of making the Liliane Foundation’s services and knowledge accessible.
In 2015, the Liliane Foundation initiated Breaking down Barriers, to identify the success factors of advocacy for children with disabilities. The programme aims to share all outcomes of the project for learning and dissemination beyond the project. This is done by sharing project sheets on the website www.barriersfree.org and by starting a new collaboration with the online platform Bridging Humanities.
However, sharing should be done in a way that makes knowledge available for everyone. Inclusive communication ensures that on-site information and other materials reach the widest audience. This grant will be used to incorporate some necessary publication tools in the project: the production of sign language videos, the implementation of reading options and content conversion to large print and symbols. All information will be shared (open access) with local partners and awareness will be raised among Dutch stakeholders by making all the information accessible to a wider group of stakeholders.
SOFT tulip
Promoting the successful support for inclusion and de-institutionalisation of people with disabilities in Ukraine
Since 2006, SOFT tulip has been working on inclusion and de-institutionalization of people with disabilities in Ukraine. Many positive grassroots and structural results have been achieved. Inclusive care practices have been created, Ukrainian trainers and parents have been trained and multi-stakeholder networks have been built. Thanks to the long-lasting lobby, SOFT tulip and partners have stimulated inclusive policies on local, regional and national levels. The Ukranian government has embraced Early Intervention: an innovative support system promoted by SOFT tulip. However, the positive results of this approach are hardly known. Therefore, in September 2019, SOFT tulip published the book ‘Making a Change’. This book will be the basis for a short video that will amplify the impact of the book and promote SOFT tulip’s work among a larger and younger audience. The video will be used at conferences and other promotional activities. It will also be published on YouTube and be distributed through social media to promote the lessons learned.
Tunafasi
Sharing learnings on creating equal opportunities for children with a disability in East Congo
Tunafasi in Swahili means: We all have a place. The ambition of the Tunafasi pilot project is two-fold. Firstly, the Tunafasi project will finance innovative activities that aim to improve the quality of life of 661 identified children with a disability living in Uvira, Congo. Uvira is a city of 400.000 inhabitants in East Congo plagued by violence, diseases and an absent government. The project promotes disability inclusion and equal opportunities for children with a disability in the areas of health, education & economic development and empowerment. Tunafasi will focus on sustainability by encouraging people to take responsibility and to allocate local resources from the very beginning. The activities will be carried out by ADED, a local organisation. In addition to that, Tunafasi wants to share the learnings with stakeholders involved in inclusive disability in the Netherlands by facilitating a round table discussion where the most important findings of the activities implemented in the challenging context of East Congo will be presented and discussed. Different stakeholders will be invited to make sure that the sharing of knowledge goes beyond one sector (representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DCDD members, mainstream NGOs and philanthropists).
