History

DCDD was founded in 2000 to unite international non-governmental organisations and individuals advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities.

DCDD is a Dutch Foundation with a Board, a Coordinator, and a Coordination Team.
Network participants standing and talking, trying to check off their expertise bingo card
The DCDD Network is a collaboration of organisations and individuals working in the field of international development or humanitarian aid and recovery and embracing the vision of a world in which people with disabilities should enjoy equal rights, opportunities and fair treatment.
Our Team Our Participants
Participants in an annual general meeting of DCDD in the year 2006.
Participants in an annual general meeting of DCD in the year 2006.
Presentation on annual general meeting of DCDD, 2006
Presentation on annual general meeting of DCDD, 2006.

Huib Cornielje, co-founder of DCDD:

“In the year 2000, Marlies van der Kroft, Cristin de Vries and I came together to discuss the recent developments in the disability movement in the Netherlands. The three of us agreed, there was huge untapped potential and therefore we established the Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development. Disability inclusion was our core goal from the very beginning and we aimed to build capacity in the field of development. The strength of DCDD was the fact it was a coalition: we had both individual and organizational participants and we got a lot of support in the early years. We formed different working groups and new partnerships, there were constant discussions about new developments and there was a high level of commitment – a movement was born.”

History

Relevant external developments:

2006

UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD).

2011

Ratification of the UN CRPD by the EU.

2016

Ratification of the UN CRPD by the Dutch Government.

Additional motion: international policies should also be inclusive.

2018

First Dutch CRPD report.

2023

Launch of the Foreign Feminist Policy

Launch of the Foreign Feminist Policy, showing growing international demand for more inclusive Dutch foreign policies and laws.

History

Examples of recent DCDD achievements: 

In 2020, the Power of Voices partnerships were launched by the Ministry. One of them is We Are Able! Consortium, consisting of ZOA (lead), SeeYou, Leprosy Mission, Africa Disability Forum, VNG International, and The Hague Academy for Local Governance. We Are Able! focusses on amplifying the voices of people with disabilities for improved access to food and basic resources. For the period 2021-2025, this provides a unique springboard for learning and exchange on disability inclusive development. DCDD has been subcontracted to lead the lobby efforts in The Netherlands.

Various motions have been adopted, and commitments for disability inclusion have been made in the policy areas of humanitarian aid, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and youth employment and education.

20 Years of DCDD

In 2020, Vice Versa published an article about 20 years DCDD (in Dutch):

12 Consortia

Our Power of Disability Inclusion sessions have attracted 12 consortia, including 140 people, since 2022.

Since 2019

The Ministry reports annually to Parliament on their support to programmes which include people with disabilities since 2019.

4 Quick Guides

Four Quick Guides on disability inclusive programming were published as practical tools for NGO professionals, as well as several research papers that provide an evidence base for lobby advocates.