Disability and Development

The Disability and Development Group (DDG) exists to support INGOs' and donors' work more effectively to include disabled people in all development work. The DDG derives its mandate from the UK-based international development organisations which constitute its membership. As such, we bring together UK-based international development professionals who work alongside disabled people and their representative organisations in the South. We work in both mainstream and disability-specific organisations. Our expertise rests in the experience our organisations have of managing interventions which advance the rights of disabled people and their families living in the majority world, and in the work we undertake alongside southern Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) in shaping the policies and practices of donors and governments.

We and our organisations do not claim to represent disabled people in the majority world, nor do we aspire to speak on their behalf. Nonetheless, we offer our experiences in addressing some of the most pressing issues facing disabled people in the South, notably their exclusion from mainstream pro-poor development work. What we do all share is a commitment to approaching disability as a mainstream development issue and the empowerment of DPOs in the south to lobby for inclusion. We share this experience by gathering information about the ways in which our organisations work, offering case studies of specific development interventions, and by giving insight into effective methodology which brings about disabled people's inclusion.

Chair

Diane Mulligan,
Sightsavers International

Email: dmulligan@sightsavers.org

Group News

Meeting - 24 June 2008

The last DDG meeting was held on 24 June 2008 at VSO. The meeting discussed the group's Terms of Reference and the possibility of forming a Steering Committee. The meeting also discussed a questionnaire they are working on to map what different organisations are doing in each area of the CBR matrix.

Rachel Hurst and Mark Harrison gave a presentation to the group.

For more information, please see the minutes of 24 June 2008 meeting (word 55KB).

New Chair!

Lorraine Wapling stood down from the role as Chair of the DDG in early 2008. Thank you to Lorraine for all the hard work, energy and enthusiasm that she has put into leadership of the group over the past few years.

Diane Mulligan from Sightsavers International has now been confirmed as the new Chair of the DDG. Welcome to Diane and thank you to all those who participated in the election process.

Meeting - 28 April 2008

The Disability and Development Group last met on 28 April 2008 at VSO's offices. The meeting welcomed Diane in her new position as Chair. Discussions focussed on plans leading up to this year's International Day of the Disabled Person and the BOND Learning and Training Programme. Please see the minutes of the 28 April meeting for more information.

Meeting - 27 February 2008

The group met on 27 February 2008. To find out more, please read the minutes of the meeting. 27 February 2008 minutes

2007 Activities

International Disability and Development Day - 3 December 2007

The Disability and Development Group hosted a very well-attended conference on Disability Mainstreaming to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

For more information see the summary of the International Disability and Development Day event.

Meeting - 15 October 2007

The DDG last met on 15 October 2007 at VSO's offices. Alex Tetteh from the Ghana society of the Physically Disabled talked to the group about his work and gave a very interesting account of the history of the disability movement in Ghana. The DDG Day planning team gave an update to the group about the plans for the event. There was also discussion about the group chair role, a VSO disability position paper and a general catch up of news from members and opportunities for collaboration. Please see the minutes of the 15 October 2007 meeting for more information.

Meeting - 30 April 2007

The Disability and Development Group met on 30 April 2007 at BOND. The main discussion topic of the meeting was human resources and employment of disabled people. The DDG Day planning group gave the main group an update after their first planning group meeting which was held earlier in the month. There was also a round up of news from those present at the meeting and an update on UN Convention. For more information, please see the minutes of the 30 April 2007 meeting.

Meeting - 13 February 2007

The DDG met on 13 February at the BOND offices. The group reviewed the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People and the articles of the Convention that are most pertinent to their work. They considered issues around disability mainstreaming and the need for this to be better understood across the international development sector. The DDG then discussed the planned DDG Day, to be held on 3 December 2007 (to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities) and a planning group to work further on this was formed. Please see the minutes of the 13 February 2007 meeting for more information.

2006 activities

The DDG met on 7 December 2006 at the BOND offices. For more information, please see the minutes of the 7 December 2006.

The DDG met on 24 October 2006. Please see the minutes of the 24 October 2006 meeting for more information.

View the minutes of the DDG meeting on 1 June 2006 at the IDCS.

Future Meetings

Dates for your diary!

The next DDG meeting dates for 2008 are:

23 September (1 - 4 pm)

27 November (1 - 4 pm)

Venue: Both meetings will be held at VSO's offices in Putney, Carlton House, 85 Upper Richmond Road, SW15 2BS.

To register for these meetings, please email groups@bond.org.uk.

Membership of the Disability and Development Group is open to all BOND members. If you are from a BOND member organisation and would like to be added to the DDG mailing list, please email groups@bond.org.uk.

Papers and Reports

'Impact Assessment: Drivers, dilemmas and deliberations' Prepared by Jennifer Chapman and Antonella Mancini for Sightsavers International (574KB) (added June 2008)

'Equalise It! A Manifesto for Disability Equality in Development Co-operation' from the UK's Disabled People's Council (UKDPC) (330 KB) (added June 2007)

'Equalise It! A Manifesto for Disability Equality in Development Co-operation' from the UK's Disabled People's Council (UKDPC) (135 KB) (added June 2007)

Light of the World Advocacy Newsletter (54.5 KB)

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty & Disability in Developing Countries - General Information (90.7 KB)

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty & Disability in Developing Countries - Information Notice (111 KB)

Strengthening Disability & Development Discussion Paper 1999 (119 KB)
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Strengthening Disability & Development Discussion Paper 1999 (215 KB)