From challenges to solutions: how civil society activists learn to implement advocacy initiatives

A training course entitled “Advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities: humanitarian response” has begun in Kyiv. The event was organized by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine as part of the project “Strengthening the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities during humanitarian response and recovery in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” with the support of the International Disability Alliance (IDA).

Over the course of two days, participants from Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, and Sumy regions will have the opportunity to discuss regional challenges in the field of humanitarian response and recovery, as well as present their advocacy initiatives. The implementation of regional advocacy projects should address a number of issues faced by people with disabilities living in these communities.

The training program also includes a training module consisting of seven sessions. Community activists learn to understand the specifics of protecting the rights of people with disabilities during humanitarian crises, wars, and natural disasters, and to correctly assess the risks that may arise in their communities.

They separately consider the goals and objectives of advocacy, study its features and criteria for work: how to correctly analyze information and formulate the main problem to be solved. They also learn to understand what specific results they want to achieve.

Participants learned the basics of communication and how to formulate key messages. Finally, they learned how to independently develop an advocacy campaign and plan its main activities.

In general, the project, which is being implemented by the NAU together with the International Alliance of Persons with Disabilities, involves a series of regional events in 10 regions of Ukraine, expert assessment of legislation in the field of humanitarian response, nationwide webinars, and coverage of success stories of people with disabilities.

The project “Strengthening the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities during humanitarian response and recovery in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” is being implemented by the NAPD within the framework of a grant from the International Disability Alliance (IDA).