About the Inclusive Participation Toolbox

Why?

• Participation is a human right and one of the fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
• Every activity that concerns humans, concerns persons with disabilities as well. The slogan “nothing about us without us” should rightfully say “nothing without us.”
• Far too often only symbolic or ‘fake’ participation (tokenism) takes place. As a result, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups have little or no opportunity to truly bring in their perspective and their needs and to be considered from the beginning.
• Participation is key for ensuring the quality and sustainability of development programs. Disability-inclusive approaches to participation lead to better inclusion of all marginalised groups.

What?

With this toolbox, we want to make participation practical and accessible to all. We do this by providing guidance on:

• WHY participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations (OPDs) is important. This includes a closer look at disability and participation as well as references to international frameworks.
• HOW this can be achieved. This includes key enablers for participation like accessibility requirements or how to ensure participation at each step of the project cycle. It also focusses on language and interaction and introduces the community based inclusive development approach.
• WHO is your partner. This includes a worldwide database with contact details of OPDs which can be filtered by geographic location or area of expertise. It also includes information on the structures and mandates of OPDs.

Every section is accompanied by a collection of supporting material, e.g. checklists, presentations, case studies, a glossary or additional resources.

Background

The Inclusive Participation Toolbox builds on a previous project from CBM and the Global Project on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities at GIZ (Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit), the German national implementing agency for development cooperation. One result of this initial phase of the project is a joint study on the current barriers and enablers for OPD engagement in development cooperation. The study was an important building block for the development of this project. We thank our colleagues in GIZ for their dedication and their further engagement on the Advisory Board.

We would also like to thank our partner studio24 for their professional and personal commitment to the digital implementation of the project and for making sure that the toolbox is user-friendly, accessible and easy to use.