This is the third interview in our “Inclusive Philanthropy: Foundations and Disability Rights” series, where we explore how philanthropic foundations support disability rights and disability advocates.
We interviewed Sif Holst, Vice-Chair of the Disabled People’s Organisations Denmark (DPOD). This organisation of persons with disabilities works in close cooperation with foundations and other organisations that support disability-inclusive development.
Question: How is the DPOD advancing disability-inclusive development? Can you tell us some of the main programmes you support?
Answer: I would like here to focus on how DPOD is contributing to advancing disability-inclusive development globally, as this is relatively unique for a national disability umbrella organisation to engage in. DPOD and some of our member organisations have been engaged in partnerships with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPD’s) in various countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia for more than 25 years.
The partnerships are based on the experience we have of how crucial cooperation between organisations of persons with disabilities has been in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in Denmark. We are convinced that a strong global disability movement is necessary to advance such rights locally and nationally, and increasingly also through cooperation across countries.
Promoting the voices of the Global South in the global debates is increasingly important in the world of today, in all spheres of international agendas and politics. This also goes for the disability movement. For example, organisations of persons with disabilities in the Global South have an important role to play in raising the voices of how climate change is disproportionally affecting persons with disabilities in their countries.
Today, DPOD’s international engagement is much broader than it initially was. Our engagement in international development cooperation is primarily funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the core work is the partnerships between organisations of persons with disabilities in Denmark and similar organisations in countries in the Global South.
DPOD supports two kinds of partnerships. Firstly, DPOD is engaged in a small number of partnerships with national umbrella organisations of persons with disabilities, focusing on supporting the organisational foundation of the disability movement to become as democratic, robust and sustainable as possible, and on supporting the development of a strong advocacy voice to advance the disability-inclusive development. Secondly, around one-third of our member organisations are engaged in similar partnerships with their counterparts in other countries, and DPOD administers a Fund to support this work. In connection with the fund, we cooperate closely with member organisations on strengthening their projects and outcomes, both through a mutual focus on learning and improving and through advising and offering technical support.
Supplementing and drawing on this, DPOD has increasingly worked to amplify our voice and strengthen our role in influencing the broad Danish international development cooperation and humanitarian action sector. We have increased our dialogue with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote a disability-inclusive approach at a strategic level. We are also building relations and cooperating with a range of Danish civil society organisations engaged in the area to foster disability-inclusive development in their programmes, and we are reaching out to political spokespersons to support a disability-inclusive approach in the politically negotiated framework for Danish development aid.
Question : The GLAD Network is a coordination body for donors supporting disability-inclusive international development and humanitarian aid. What are the benefits for the DPOD of being a member of this network?
Answer: DPOD is an active member of the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), which is a member of the GLAD Network. Our membership in this Consortium is one of the ways through which DPOD contributes internationally to the shared global advocacy on disability-inclusive development. IDDC is a platform for cooperation on global disability-inclusive development, and DPOD is one of the few organisations of persons with disabilities in this network, contributing to legitimacy and with the experience of persons with disabilities.
We find that the GLAD network is an important forum as it provides a platform for bilateral and multilateral donors to exchange, inspire and collaborate on disability-inclusive development at a large scale. The voice of IDDC, representing the civil society sector, is important, as is the role of the International Disability Alliance, representing the global disability movement. One of the milestones of DPOD’s dialogue with the Ministry is that Denmark has been a member of the GLAD Network since mid-2022.
Question: How does the organisation involve and collaborate with persons with disabilities (and their representative organisations OPDs/DPOs) when deciding which actions to support?
Answer: Organisations of persons with disabilities are core partners in all of our activities regarding international development cooperation. We work in long-term partnerships because our experience tells us that the organisational connections between us as representative organisations are built over time and allow for ongoing exchange and shared learning processes that can foster actual changes. Building strong organisations and movements takes time. DPOD and our members do not have the answers for other organisations and contexts, and our cooperation always builds on the strategies and organisational setting, which is there in the organisations we partner with.
Question: How do you see support for disability-inclusive evolving in the next few years? What are the topics and regions that your organisation is focusing on?
Answer: The global attention on the need for disability-inclusive development has grown in recent years, with the United Nations leading this to a large extent. The Sustainable Development Goals and its “Leave no one behind” promise, as well as the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, are clear signs of that. However, while there are good examples of disability-inclusive development, the implementation is still largely missing. We are now at a place where, rightly, the Global South demands to have a say. Within the disability movement, there is a growing capacity from organisations of persons with disabilities from the global South to have a seat at the decision-making tables. Organisations like DPOD have a role to play in supporting this process.
The new and accumulated global crises faced by humanity are areas where disability inclusion is needed as well. This needs to be highlighted in order not to be overlooked. This means that DPOD is increasingly focusing on disability inclusion when addressing climate change. Also, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has pushed DPOD and its members to build stronger ties with disability movements in the post-Soviet Eastern European countries. Finally, with humanitarian crises increasing, DPOD is also seeking to direct more attention to engaging with humanitarian actors and promoting connections between those actors and the organisations of persons with disabilities in affected areas. In all these areas, we see our role as promoting awareness of the importance of a disability-inclusive approach among large Danish actors, including the Danish government.