Combining the strengths: Jointly for political and economic empowerment of persons with disabilities – EIDHR
The main objective of the project is to increase political participation of persons with disabilities (PWD) and strengthen the role of disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) in policy development.
This will be achieved through following
- Sensitize the members of the new Parliament on the concept of PWD rights and explore the possibilities of establishing the Parliamentary Caucus on Disability
- Increase participation and influence of PWD on revision and creation of new legislation from disability prospective with particular emphases on economic empowerment of PWD;
- Promote political participation of PWD and support the issue-based dialogue between DPOs and local political parties in three non-developed municipalities in order to promote PWD rights and their political participation..
Target groups in project are members of the parliament, political parties, DPOs and final beneficiaries are persons with disabiities
The main partner in the project is National organization of DPOs Serbia and associate partners are: National Democratic Institute – NDI (international organisation), Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit – SIPRU (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Government of Serbia), CSO “Group 484” (Non-governmental organization)
Main activities in the project are
- Raising awareness and facilitating dialogue with MPs (two trainings, one public hearing, one public event focusing on economic empowerment of PWDs);
- Lobbying for the creation of the Parliamentary Caucus on Disability through organizing meetings with all parliamentary groups and individual MPs;
- Advocacy for the revision of the existing legislation and adoption of the new ones through submition of DPO’s recommendations and amendments from disability perspective to the newly proposed legal acts in the Parliament, particularly in relation with economic empowerment and social economy
- Organizing three public events in Kladovo, Leskovac and Prijepolje with local DPOs and politicians to share best practice on establishing issue-based policy dialogue between DPOs and local authorities and PWD political participation
- Organizing two capacity building workshops for the local DPOs focusing on advocacy related to economic empowerment of PWDs, including familiarization with the concept of social enterprises;
- Transferring the inputs from the local DPOs to the national level to inform the advocacy activities at the national level.
- Media promotion and visibility