Developing capacity for youth disability advocacy through networking in East Africa

该项目通过残疾与发展行动的青年领袖方案，利用我们合作伙伴的知识、专长和网络，将为东非新一代残疾人活动家提供建立强大变革运动所需的工具、技能和资源。这将围绕东非青年残疾人活动家（在坦桑尼亚、乌干达和苏丹工作）、学术界、国际运动组织和现有残疾人网络之间的知识交流方案。该方案将使残疾问题活动家能够：（a）影响各国政府、国际发展行为体和私营部门在地方、国家和全球各级采取考虑到残疾人需求的做法并设计政策和服务;（B）通过发展其公共声音和影响媒体渠道来挑战对残疾的污名化，以增加和改善残疾人的代表性。通过联网，我们将把残疾研究、政治学、政策、教育、宣传、通信、艺术和媒体等领域的学术研究与实践结合起来，建立一个既注重研究，又注重行动的网络。重要的是，我们将绘制东非残疾人宣传的现有模式，帮助记录紧急情况，并捕捉这一领域的生活经验。然后，这些将与残疾宣传研究的现有知识进行对话，以促进知识。此外，我们将分享实践，加强集体的声音，创造一个可见的循环动力，创造变化。我们将通过以下活动来实现这一点：1.为期四天的残疾人宣传节，以能力建设和知识交流讲习班为特色，将国际合作伙伴与东非的基层残疾人活动家联系起来。2023年3月在坦桑尼亚达累斯萨拉姆举行。由残疾人活动家、学者、国际运动组织和现有残疾人网络领导的在线知识交流和联网活动方案。在网络的支持下，由青年残疾人活动家领导开展一系列宣传运动，在东非促进残疾人权利和挑战污名化。根据以往的活动，开发一个可供世界各地残疾人活动家使用的培训材料、案例研究和宣传工具包的无障碍网站。建立一个跨学科的国际网络，以研究和实践残疾人宣传工作。这些活动将促进残疾问题倡导者、学术界和其他主要利益攸关方之间的跨文化交流和伙伴关系。因此，虽然最初的重点是东非地区，但通过网络活动和运动，我们将分享知识、方法和经验，并将其与更广泛的全球网络联系起来。（分包商），并与国际选举制度基金会（IFES）、青年道路安全组织（YOURS）和人道与包容组织合作;并与其他几个相关利益攸关方建立了联系。所有这些利益攸关方都深入参与了东非的基层残疾人宣传和能力建设，并在全球一级建立了自己杰出的非政府组织和决策者网络。因此，它们提供了在区域和全球层面产生影响的良好途径，这将使我们正在与之合作的残疾年轻人以及我们的学术网络受益。

Working through Action on Disability and Development's (ADD) Young Leaders programme and utilising the knowledge, expertise and networks of our partners, this project will equip a new generation of disability activists in East Africa with the tools, skills, and resources required to build powerful movements for change. This will centre around a programme of knowledge exchange between young East African disability activists (working in Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan), academics, international campaigning organisations, and existing disability networks. The programme will enable disability activists to a) influence governments, international development actors, and the private sector to adopt practices and design policies and services, at a local, national, and global level, which consider the needs of disabled people; and b) challenge the stigma of disability through developing their public voice and influencing media outlets to increase and improve the representation of disabled people. Through networking, we will fuse academic research with practice in the fields of disability studies, political science, policy, education, advocacy, communication, arts and media, creating a network that is research-informed, but also action-oriented. Importantly, we will map existing models of East African disability advocacy, help document emergent ones, and capture lived experiences in this area. These will then be put into conversation with existing knowledge of disability advocacy research to advance knowledge. Further, we will share practices and strengthen the collective voice, to create a visibility circular dynamic to create change.We will do this through the following activities:1. A four-day Festival of Disability Advocacy featuring capacity building and knowledge exchange workshops to connect international partners with grassroots disability activists in East Africa. Held in March 2023, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.2. A programme of online knowledge exchange and networking events led by disability activists, academics, international campaigning organisations, and existing disability networks.3. The development of a series of advocacy campaigns, led by youth disability activists with support from the network, that advance disability rights and challenge stigma in East Africa.4. Informed by the previous activities, the development of an accessible website of training materials, case studies and campaigning toolkits that can be used by disability activists across the world.5. The establishment of an interdisciplinary and international network for the study and practice of disability advocacy. These activities will promote cross-cultural exchange and partnership between disability advocates, academics and other key stakeholders. Thus while the initial focus is on the East Africa region, through the networking events and campaigns we will share knowledge, approaches and experience and connect these to broader global networks.We are working with with ADD (sub-contractor), and partnered with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems [IFES], Youth for Road Safety [YOURS], and Humanity and Inclusion; and have established links with several other related stakeholders. All of these stakeholders are deeply engaged with grassroots disability advocacy and capacity building in East Africa, and come with their own outstanding networks of NGOs and policymakers at the global level. They therefore provide excellent pathways to impact at both regional and global levels, which will benefit both the disabled young people we are working with, and our network of academics.