Driving the Agenda

DRF staff, grantees, and allies at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
DRF staff, grantees, and allies at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

For too long, people with disabilities  – who are one in every seven people – have been marginalized, ignored, and paternalized. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, brought about by the strong activism of persons with disabilities united under the slogan, “nothing about us without us,” initiated a sea change in how persons with disabilities are seen.

The Convention clarified that persons with disabilities themselves should drive the agenda for decisions that concern them.

We support the disability movement to advocate for implementation of commitments to leave no one behind through:

Grantmaking

  • Our grantmaking targets organizations of persons with disabilities in developing countries to increase voices from persons with disabilities themselves
  • We fund work to increase participation of persons with disabilities at decision-making tables where laws, policies, budgets and programs are determined
  • We fund initiatives where persons with disabilities count and their voices are heard so they are no longer excluded in development and can actively address the Sustainable Development Goals

Advocacy

  • Together with leaders in the disability movement and donor partners, we advocate for inclusion in national and global human rights and development fora
  • We ensure that the work of the movement is echoed in our communications – from social media to formal presentations – to inspire and influence change makers

Technical Assistance

  • We support and guide disabled persons organizations to articulate messages and campaigns for rights of persons with disabilities
  • Working with our partners, such as the International Disability Alliance, we provide technical assistance to DPOs so they can advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities at the United Nations and other global or national arenas

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