Projects
People with intellectual disabilities must be included in the projects that organisations lead in our communities
This is not just for organisations that work on disability issues. This is also important for projects that are for everyone, because there are people with intellectual disabilities in every community.
By developing projects that include everyone, we can role model the inclusion we want to see in society.
This includes any work that happens in:
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local communities
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on a national level
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in international development.
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Self-advocates told us:
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Organisations want people with intellectual disabilities to be part of projects, but usually, the activities in the project are not accessible or inclusive.
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Lots of times projects will be planned and at a later stage organisations will think about including people with intellectual disabilities.
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There are sometimes projects just for people with intellectual disabilities, but these are usually not designed by people with intellectual disabilities.
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Budgets for projects are planned without thinking about the time, accessibility or reasonable accommodations that people need.
Parts of projects:
Good examples
As part of the Inclusive Futures project, tech company Benetech worked to create a mobile app about the right to employment for people with intellectual disabilities.
Benetech worked with self-advocates from KAIH (an OPD representing people with intellectual disabilities and their families in Kenya) and a global team of self-advocate leaders from Inclusion International to develop the app.
At every stage of the app development, self-advocates were consulted and their feedback drove the the design and content. The result was an app that was practical and usable by people with disabilities with different support needs in Kenya. Now, self-advocates have a tool that they can use to get more information about their rights to employment, they can report on the advocacy they are doing, and they can report on times when their rights have been violated.