Empowering Persons with Disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality
“Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” is the theme for this year (2018) International Day for Persons with Disability. The UN’s IDPwD is annually observed on 3 December around the world. This year’s theme focuses on empowering persons with disabilities for the inclusive, equitable and sustainable development agenda of SDG 2030. The agenda pledges to “leave no one behind”.
The ambitious plan of the international community is aimed at building a just, peaceful and prosperous world, where the dignity of an individual person and equality among all is the cornerstone. In order to achieve the goal, full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society must become a norm. Hence, the utmost need to create enabling environments by, for and with persons with disabilities. It is important that our policy-making, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of actions is disability-inclusive.
The UN in its report talks about focusing on 4 fronts in terms of development programs to in order to meet SDGs 2030
1.Addressing fundamental barriers causing exclusion of persons with disabilities like discriminatory laws and policies, lack of accessibility in physical and virtual environments, negative attitudes, stigma and discrimination to promote independent living
2. Mainstreaming disability like discriminatory laws and policies, lack of accessibility in physical and virtual environments, negative attitudes, stigma and discrimination to promote independent living
3. Investing in monitoring and evaluation of progress towards theSDGs for persons with disabilities.
4. Strengthening the means of implementation of the SDGs for persons with disabilities like finance, technology, capacity-building, policy and institutional coherence and multi-stakeholder partnerships. Multi-stakeholder partnerships have an important role in the realization the SDGs for persons with disabilities. These partners can collectively ensure that development activities and programs include the perspectives and consider comprehensively the needs of persons with disabilities.
Inclusion is for everybody. As we celebrate the day today, may we all come together and collectively find the way forward for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable world Amen.
About the author – Shashwati is a Diversity & Inclusion Champion at GiftAbled. She is also an environmental enthusiast and loves her food and water. You can reach her at shashwati.p@giftabled.org
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