People with Disability Australia Incorporated

PWD Logo
Photo of the group from the Samoan Women's Forum.

Recent Activities

April 2012: PWD supports Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) in Fiji

PWD is proud to be partnering with the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program to support Stephanie Hubbard in her role as a Communications and Marketing Officer on assignment in Fiji.
Stephanie will be travelling to Fiji in April 2012 to volunteer for a year with the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), an organisation which works towards the achievement of inclusive, barrier-free, socially just and gender equitable societies that recognise the human rights, citizenship, contribution and potential of people with disabilities in Pacific Countries and territories. She will be supported by PWD in our role as Australian Partner Organisation.
Here are some words from Stephanie about her upcoming AYAD placement and what she hopes to achieve -
“Bula!
My name is Stephanie Hubbard and over the next year I will be volunteering as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) in Suva, Fiji, at the Pacific Disability Forum.
The AYAD Program is part of Australian Volunteers for International Development, an Australian Government, AusAID initiative.  I will be helping to revise communications procedures and creating a marketing toolkit for forum members.  I hope to make a small but real difference for people with disability in the Pacific region.
I am new to the disability sector and have a lot to learn. Thankfully I have great mentor at my current workplace, and she is helping me learn my way around the sector with her decades of experience. 
While there is still a way to go in Australia, I believe the situation for people with disabilities in the Pacific is far more challenging.  In fact, my host organisation, the Pacific Disability Forum, was created specifically to address the many issues faced by the estimated 832,900 Pacific Islanders with disabilities.
In reality, I hope to gain just as much as I give by working in this sector. I expect to have my worldview challenged and to learn life challenges I’ve never given much thought to before. Most of all, I expect to be surprised; both by what I learn and the people I will be working with.  I expect that I will learn just as much (if not more) than I will share. 
By working with local grassroots organisations to improve their communications and marketing strategies, I hope to contribute to the sustainable growth of these organisations.  Leaving the Pacific Disability Forum and it’s members with a greater knowledge and skill set they can then apply to their organisations is my ultimate goal.”
PWD looks forward to working with Stephanie and the PDF in this exciting new partnership.
To learn more about the AYAD program, please visit www.ayad.com.au

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UN ESCAP) Regional Preparatory Meeting on the New Asian and Pacific Decade, 2013-2022

PWD participated in the United Nations Regional Preparatory Meeting on the New Asian and Pacific Decade, 2013-2022, as part of a group of international ‘Civil Society Organisations’ (referred to as CSOs) that were invited to participate in the meeting.

The meeting focused on reviewing the draft goals and targets to be included in the “Incheon Strategy” for people with disability in the Asia Pacific. The Incheon Strategy is an action framework for the new Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, which will run from 2013 to 2022. The meeting also promoted the Regional efforts to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) through the ‘Make the Right Real Campaign’ www.maketherightreal.net

PWD participated through its involvement with Disabled People’s International and the Pacific Disability Forum. The 15 CSO’s were required to work collaboratively and provide a unified joint statement on the draft Strategy at the meeting. The ‘CSO Joint Statement’ formed the basis for input to the meeting discussions and greatly influenced the revised draft text of the Incheon Strategy.

Click here to download a copy of the CSO Joint Statement

Some of the key areas in which the CSO Joint Statement influenced the discussion and which were adopted by the meeting for inclusion in the draft Strategy were:

  • Incorporate reference to ‘under-represented groups’, including specific reference to ‘Indigenous persons with disability’;
  • Include additional goals and targets regarding participation of people with disability in development programs and disaster preparedness;
  • Revised specific targets regarding removal of barriers to employment in both private and public sectors;
  • Provision of supports to enable independent living;
  • Inclusion of targets and actions at local level and for local agencies;
  • Inclusion of ‘universal access and design’ principles in creating accessible and enabling environments;
  • Specific targets regarding the ratification of the Convention and its Optional Protocol;
  • Include additional gaols and targets regarding participation of people with disability in international cooperation.

The ‘Incheon Strategy’ will be finalised at the ‘High Level Intergovernmental Meeting for the New Decade’, which will be held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, 29 October to 2 November 2012. 

PWD will continue to have input to the New Decade of Persons with Disability in the Asia Pacific and strategies for implementation of the Convention in our region. For more information about PWD’s participation at the meeting and other side events, contact Samantha French, Advocacy Projects Manager on samanthaf@pwd.org.au

10-13 October 2011: Durban, South Africa Disabled Peoples' International 8th World Assembly

From 10–13 October, a delegation of Australian people with disability from People with Disability Australia (PWD) and the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) are representing Australia at the Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) 8th World Assembly in Durban, South Africa.
Click here for more information on the DPI World Assembly and the Australian delegation, including a daily roundup and photos.

December 2010: PWD staff donate Kris Kringle to DPO Kiribati

It was decided in 2010 that instead of a traditional Kris Kringle, PWD staff would donate money to Te Toa Matoa, the Disabled Persons Organisation (DPO) in Kiribati. PWD staff raised a total of $315 for this very deserving organisation.

Te Toa Matoa is unfunded and currently without any office or substantial resources. Kiribati is one of the poorer countries in the Pacific and is seriously endangered by climate change and rising tides. Despite this, Te Toa Matoa is a dynamic organisation which uses song, dance and storytelling to undertake its advocacy for people with disability.

September 2010: Tonga’s DPO, NATA, receives a data projector

Naunau 'oe 'Alamaite Tonga Disabiliy Association (NATA) is a non-government, not for profit, association formed by a group of people with disability who have come together to speak out for themselves and help empower people of differing abilities in Tonga.

PWD has held strong ties with NATA and have worked closely with representatives from the organisation on a number of projects.

In September 2010, following a request from NATA for a data projector, PWD was able to locate a projector and deliver this to NATA. With this small gift, NATA is now better equipped to give presentations on human rights and advocacy within the Tongan community.

Note: Due to the limited nature of our funds, PWDA does not accept unsolicited proposals or calls for assistance from DPO’s. Instead we work with established partner organisations and strive to increase their capacity to grow and develop within their own countries.

PWDA is open to establishing new relationships with individuals and organisations willing to fund or promote our development work.

Please refer to the Get Active section of this website.

September 2009-August  2010: Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)/Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) Disabled Persons Organisations (DPO) Governance Training

The PDF partnered with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to coordinate and deliver governance and human rights training in nine countries in the Pacific. The training aimed to build the governance and advocacy capacity of DPOs to work with government to progress the rights of people with disability in their countries. It also provided an opportunity for government and DPO representatives to begin working and planning together on strategies to progress the rights of people with disability in their countries.

PWD provided support to the program by developing and delivering the advocacy component of the training. Other support organisations include the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and the Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT). Over the course of the project training was delivered to seven countries - Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, PNG and Tonga.

March 2010: Council Meetings of the Pacific Disability Forum  in Fiji

The 2010 PDF Council Meeting was attended by 21 out of 22 Full Members from all 13 member countries, including PWD, and one territory (New Caledonia). The members approved the 2008-09 audited financial report, received annual reports from the Executive Committee and CEO and endorsed the 2010- 2011 annual work plan and budget. Three new organisations were received as Associate Members of PDF - Fusi Alofa Association Tuvalu, National Disability Resource and Advocacy Centre (PNG) and the Tonga Red Cross Society brought the total membership of PDF to 22 Full Members and 16 Associate Members.

April 2009 - Pacific Disability Forum Conference and Council Meeting, Vanuatu

The Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) held its first Pacific Regional Conference in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 20-24 April 2009. The Conference consisted of three separate events - the Women with Disability Forum, a two-day Conference program and the PDF General and Council meetings.

Co-hosted by PDF member Disability Promotion and Advocacy Vanuatu (DPA), the Conference provided PDF members, including PWD, and other participants with an opportunity to discuss disability and development and regional initiatives and projects.

February 2009 – PWD attended the 1st International Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Congress in Bangkok.

PWD participated in the First Asia Pacific Community Based Rehabilitation Congress, Community – based Inclusive Development: Persons with disabilities and their families, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 18-20 February 2009. The Congress was held as a joint initiative between UN agencies, Governments and civil society.

The Congress brought together leading experts in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR), people with disability and their organisations, donor and development agencies involved in disability inclusive development, Government and Non-government organisations and many others to share knowledge and experiences of CBR, promote the effectiveness of CBR as a multi-sectoral strategy and develop future alliances and networks for the realisation of the rights of people with disability.

Through its participation, PWD was able to increase its understanding of the CBR approach and its potential application in Australian and the Asia Pacific and develop partnerships and networks for strengthening the global disability rights movement.

February 2009 – PWD visited DPOs and other NGOs in Thailand and Laos:

    • Lao Disabled Peoples Association (LDPA);
    • Lao Women with Disability Development Centre;
    • Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE);
    • the Department of Social Development and Welfare – Ministry of Social Development and Human Security;
    • Baan Fuengfah Home for Babies; and
    • Two CBR programs operating in the Bangkok.

October 2008 - Australian Leadership Awards Fellowship (ALAF)  ‘Disability and Development – Leadership in Asia and the Pacific’

PWDA acted as the lead agency in partnership with the Aboriginal Disability Network (ADN), Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), Australia Pacific Islands Disability Support (APIDS), Encompass Community Services Inc. and Vision Australia to provide this program.

Significantly, this program targeted people with disability for the first time, many of whom represent Asian and Pacific Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPO). The ‘Disability and Development – Leadership in Asia and the Pacific’ ALAF Program 2008 provided ground breaking opportunities to empower people with disability to gain both control and a voice.

2004 - 2008: Council Meetings of the Pacific Disability Forum

PWD participated in PDF Council Meetings. At these annual meetings, members approve audited financial reports, receive annual reports from the Executive Committee and CEO, and endorse the upcoming work plans and budget.

 

Back to International Development menu

 

Recent PWD Publications

PWD Media Releases

PWD E-bulletin #62, June 2010