Emergency and Universal Design

DISABILITY AND COOPERATION:
PRAXISES TO INCLUDE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PROJECTS
Emergency and Universal Design
REPORT
Rome, 24th November 2006
SAPIENZA - University of Rome, Palazzo Baleani
This seminar is part of the project ‘Disability mainstreaming in
Development Cooperation’, supported by DG Employment, Social Affairs
and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission. The contents of
this report are the sole responsibility of AIFO and DPI Italia ONLUS .
Programma
ore
9.00
ore 9.30
Iscrizioni ed accoglienza
moderatore: Gino Gravina
Vice Presidente AIFO
Saluti delle autorità:
Francesco Colizzi, Presidente AIFO
Emilia Napolitano, Presidente Disabled Peoples International – Italia
Urbano Stenta, Responsabile per le tematiche della disabilità della Cooperazione Italiana , MAE
Raniero Chelli, Coordinatore del Master in “Cooperazione e Progettazione per lo
Sviluppo” - CIRPS
ore 10.00
Presentazione del progetto “Iniziativa Europea per l’inclusione delle persone con disabilità
nei programmi di Cooperazione allo Sviluppo”
Simonetta Capobianco, AIFO
ore 10.30
Il quadro internazionale
Giampiero Griffo, DPI Italia
ore 11.00
La situazione Italiana: il risultato della mappatura
Viviana Frisina, CIRPS
ore 11.30
Pausa
ore 11.45
L’Universal Design nella Cooperazione e l’Emergenza
Fabrizio Mezzalana, architetto progettazione universale, FISH
Andrea Micangeli, CIRPS TpAA
ore 12.15
Disabilità in contesti di emergenza: le esperienze di AIFO in Indonesia e dell’OVCI in Sudan
Francesca Ortali, AIFO
Marco Sala, OVCI
ore 13.00
Pausa pranzo
ore 14.30
Tavola Rotonda: “Quale approccio alla disabilità nelle politiche e nei progetti di
Cooperazione”
Moderatore: Giampiero Griffo, DPI Italia
Intervengono:
Pietro Barbieri, FISH
Francesco Colizzi, AIFO
Luciano Gonnella, UNOPS/ART Services for International Partnerships
Andrea Micangeli, CIRPS TpAA
Ivo Pazzagli , docente di Antropologia Università di Bologna - Educaid
Urbano Stenta, Responsabile per le tematiche della disabilità della Cooperazione Italiana , MAE
ore 16.30
Conclusioni
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In the framework of the European Project “Mainstreaming disability in development cooperation
policies”, on November 24 2006, it has been held in Rome the first of five seminars (three at
national level and two at European level on the topic “Disability and Cooperation” .
The project is co-funded by the EU Directorate General Employment and Social Affairs and aims
at including disability in Development Cooperation policies and practices, encouraging
interventions directed to persons with disabilities, based on mainstreaming and social
empowerment.
The project is carried out by 12 European NGOs and Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPOs).
Italian Partners of the Project are the Italian Association Friends of Raoul Follereau (AIFO) e
Disabled Peoples’ International Italia ONLUS (DPI Italy).
The first appointment was organised by AIFO and DPI Italy, with the support of the
Interuniversity Centre for Sustainable Development (CIRPS) - SAPIENZA University of Rome.
The title of the seminar was “Disability and Cooperation: praxises to include Human Rights of
Persons with Disabilities in Development Cooperation Projects – Emergency and Universal
Design”.
At first, there was the introduction to the seminar and the description of the project by AIFO’s
deputy president, Gino Gravina, and the greetings of the representatives of DPI, AIFO, CIRPS
and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The seminar was divided in three parts. The first dedicated to a general discussion on “Disability
and Cooperation” at national and international levels. Then, there was an analysis of projects on
Emergency and Universal Design, with the purpose to achieve a compendium of “best practices”
on this topic. The third was dedicated to a roundtable on the Italian policies relating to the
inclusion of persons with disabilities in development cooperation projects.
The first part dealt with issues related to disability and the policies aiming at encouraging social
inclusion at national and international level.
Urbano Stenta, MAE, underlined the effort made by the Italian Cooperation in publishing “Italian
Cooperation Guidelines about handicap” a document gathering all the action strategies about
disability. The Paper represented the change from a medical to a social model of disability The
Guidelines rely on the conviction that we must “contemplate specific operations of fight against
social exclusion ad economic marginalisation”.
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The European project “Mainstreaming disability in development cooperation policies”,
coordinated for the Italian part by Simonetta Capobianco form AIFO, answers to the unanimous
call of the European Parliament for a greater involvement of the persons with disability in the
Development Cooperation Programmes.
Disability creates poverty and poverty creates disability: this is a vicious cycle. In the world there
are 650 million of persons with disability. The 80% of them live in the so called developing
countries and only the 2% is involved in Development Cooperation Projects.
The objective of the Project is to develop new useful tools for the European Governments and
civil society to encourage the inclusion of Human Rights of persons with disabilities through
mainstreaming. These are the four foreseen activities:
1. Mapping the activities implemented by various actors regarding the inclusion of persons with
disabilities with the purpose to create a database to identify “best practices”.
2. Networking Actions: restarting the coordination table “disability and cooperation”, organisation
of seminars with the implication of Universities, addressed to Cooperationofficers.
3. Elaboration of didactic modules for students’ academic courses, colleges and masters in the
field of Cooperation.
4. Publication of didactic materials deriving from the courses.
The international framework is favourable: in August 2006 the first UN Convention on the Rights
of persons with disabilities was approved and officially adopted in December 2006.
The purpose of the Convention, widely explained by Giampiero Griffo, is the promotion of
policies that encourage social inclusion, that is “to protect and ensure full and equal enjoyment
of all Human Rights and fundamental freedom of persons with disabilities and promote the
respect for their dignity. The international Convention introduces a real cultural revolution; it
recognizes the importance of international cooperation and declares that international
development programmes have to be accessible to all persons with disabilities.
Viviana Frisina, from CIRPS, presented the first results of the mapping activity which aimed at
analysing the level of inclusion of disability into cooperation activities.
The sample was formed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Local Institutes, NGOs,
Organizations of Disabled Persons (DPOs), Universities, Centres of documentation and
Research, Banks. 36 Organizations over 66 replied and the results were that 17 NGOs, 1 DPO
and 1 Research Centre do manage directly Cooperation Development Projects directed to
persons with disabilities and 5 Local Institutes fund this kind of projects.
7 NGOs declared to have promoted CBR (Community Based Rehabilitation), meantime only one
Local Authority declared to have funded projects dealing with disability in a wider framework that
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is not only according to a medical approach. The remaining organizations carry out projects in
specific topics: sanitary assistance, physical rehabilitation, basic education and vocational
training.
Among the NGOs which work in Development Cooperation Projects, only 7 declare to know the
ICF (International Classification Functioning, Disability and Health) of the WHO, and 4 of these
use it in project design.
Among the 5 local institutes, 2 know the ICF and fund projects only with its implementation.
12 NGOs are aware of the double discrimination that women with disability face. 8 NGOs have a
particular attention for women and girls with disability, as well as 1 DPO and 1 Research Centre.
1 Region funds this kind of Projects.
Every Organization agrees on the definition of disability as physical and/or psychical condition
that bounds normal activities of daily life ,depending from external circumstances.
The second part was focused on disability-related issues in emergency contexts. In this
direction, the Universal Design is a basic tool for such projects. Andrea Micangeli (CIRPS) and
Fabrizio Mezzalana (FISH) explained that this methodology is based on a deep reflection on the
impact that the environment has on our lives and capabilities. This approach underlines the
importance of the abolition of architectural barriers abolition, with the aim to define the basic
principles for the universal planning: equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use,
perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical efforts, size and space for approach and
use. These principles could be applied to every kind of product and environment (natural,
artificial and virtual), addressed to all persons without specific arrangements related to
disabilities.
The emergency projects related to persons with disabilities are still a restricted number
compared to the existing potentialities. Two benchmark projects were taken as an example of
good practices, realized by AIFO and “OVCI La nostra famiglia”.
AIFO project, called “Disability ed emergency” carried out in Aceh district (Indonesia), was
designed to enforce the social and sanitary local system in the field of disability, trough training
of sanitary staff with technical skills at three levels: central, district and Health Centres.
The main activities are specific education of the sanitary personnel and the sensitization and full
involvement of local authorities. AIFO carried out also identification and monitoring of persons
with disabilities: the first database of such kind after the Tsunami. This study highlighted the
necessity to
involve all actor’s interest, both local and international, to craft an effective
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intervention for all persons with disabilities still living in difficult conditions after the natural
disaster.
OVCI opened a Centre for the rehabilitation of children with disabilities in Juba, south Sudan, a
delicate area from a geopolitical viewpoint. After some years, the activities carried out by the
centre were changed in order to take into account new complex needs: from the evaluation and
medical rehabilitation to education programmes and production of orthopaedic aids, from the
general paediatric problems to a nutritional unit.
Recently, the Antenatal Care Unit for risks related to maternity was opened. At present, it is
managed for 90% by local personnel. The methodology used for the children is to involve their
families and the community within the centre, with several services for the rehabilitation of the
children. Due to the lack of specialised personnel in socio-rehabilitating disciplines, OVCI
decided to open, inside this programme, a strong component of education and professional
empowerment.
Roundtable
After the discussion on disability from different points of view, a Round Table took place to
encourage an exchange of experiences and to establish a dialogue among the different
professionals involved in order to create an effective collaboration among Development
Cooperation actors and Institutes working on disability. The discussion was moderated by
Giampiero Griffo.
Luciano Gonnella, UNOPS/ART Services for International Partnerships, explained the “Art Gold
Programmes” of the United Nations: a framework programme that creates a platform for
negotiation with the National Government, allowing the shifting of the decisional procedure from
central to decentralized levels. The programme starts with creating discussion tables (thematic
groups), and then an exchange among the Partners. These programmes give a great attention
to governance, economic development, most vulnerable groups and fight against social
exclusion.
Such programmes go along with the provisions contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilites, as they include disability among the priority topics of interventions. This
new approach allows to strengthen a converging and synergic action in line with the principles of
social inclusion in developed programmes.
AIFO President, Francesco Colizzi, explained the added value that NGOs can offer to
international programmes on the theme of disability. Their contribution should be taken beyond
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their mission with the purpose of finding the effective synergies among constitutive principles
and the theme of disability.
According to AIFO, the realization of a connection between disability and development
cooperation was a natural process, because the NGO was born with a serious commitment
towards sanitary cooperation in the fight against leprosy, a disease leading to disability.
The new approach has to be to understand that persons with disabilities represent an added
value also in the economic field. They do not hinder the production system or represent a fault
of the mechanism, they can provide innovation and creativity to project design (e.g. Universal
Design), which can be useful for all who might incur in a disability condition in any period of their
lives, after an accident or in the old age. Colizzi underlines that 80% of AIFO’s funding come
from the private sector.
Urbano Stenta confirmed the importance of the Guidelines as fundamental instrument of
intervention of Italian Cooperation dealing with disability in Developing Countries. This document
declares that all the Italian Cooperation programmes have to deal with at least one area
dedicated to disability. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to favour a round table of
meeting and discussion between NGOs and DPOs on projects dedicated to disability.
Although we still face difficulties in include the disability issue in training courses, Andrea
Micangeli, stated that the involvement of University on such themes is very important. CIRPS, in
all the courses offered, gives relevance to the binomial disability-cooperation. One of the
objectives of the Centre is to educate student on the concept of Universal Design to implement
its principles in future projects. The Convention is a UN result, a document coming from the
highest level. If NGOs and Organizations are working in the sector daily, the University gathers
all the strategies and transfers them to future project designers.
Ivo Pazzagli, University of Bologna, shared the experience of decentralised cooperation of the
Emilia Romagna Region with a project for underage with physical or mental disabilities in Bosnia
Erzegovina, implemented by the NGO Educaid. The project aimed at education in Bosnia, with
visits to Italy, internships and other initiatives which might give the chance to the beneficiaries to
compare the Italian reality and to gain more competencies.
Pietro Barbieri, president of the Federazione Italiana per il Superamento dell’Handicap (FISH),
underlined the high risk of poverty that a person with disabilities run, also in Developed
Countries. Barbieri stated that, according to the Italian Ministry of Labour, persons with
disabilities are considered weak actors, like the Associations for disabled people. This leads to a
transfer of competencies to other organizations, like Cooperatives and the third sector in
general, thus hindering the work of the Associations.
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Gino Gravina closed the seminar inviting all the participants to start new approaches towards
disability and development cooperation. We need to go from development projects to
development processes, because projects can only deal with one problem without solving it, a
process instead gives the right instruments to empower local communities to
reach self-
development. This has to be the new culture of cooperation which includes disability between its
priorities.
Nicola Iannuzzo
CIRPS – SAPIENZA Università di Roma
nicola.iannuzzo@uniroma1.it
For more information, please contact:
Simonetta Capobianco
Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau
Ufficio di Roma
Via Ostiense 60/D - 00154, Roma
uff: +39 065745699: cell: +39 3490849117
email: mainstream.eu@aifo.it
web: www.aifo.it
or visit the website: www.make-development-inclusive.org
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