Communicating for Advocacy

Background

Persons with disabilities often lack the communication and advocacy skills necessary to introduce their issues into the government system. As in many countries, they often have no or little access to information and public services especially in the rural areas and also lack the means to voice their concerns.

Equally local authorities often are unaware of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities and how they can assist them. This can become a vicious cycle. The communication gap can hinder well intended actions and can prevent those most in need of support from accessing them. The communicating for advocacy project initiated by  PAfID aimed to find out more about the communication gaps and the information needs of both rural persons with disability as well as local authorities.

One PAfID member standing up and speaking in front of multiple people in a room.
people with disabilities participated in meetings and trainings
0
CDRs and VDRs established and trained
0
villages engaged in the training and research process
0
publications produced
0
Multiple PAfID members in front of a camera, a journalist is asking a question with a microphone.
A group of people seated on the floor during a village meeting.

What we did

The programme was set up in the Pursat province of Cambodia in 2016 to create and train Commune and Village Disability Representatives (CDRs and VDRs) to advocate for inclusion with local partner DDSP.

A four-pronged approach was taken to : 

  1. Create platforms for airing the opinions and concerns of persons with disability,
  2. Create forums for exchange with local authorities,
  3. Provide training to CDRs, VDRs and local government on disability rights and advocacy issues and,
  4. Create a wide research project examining the communication and information experience and needs of persons with disability in rural settings

By 2022, 284 VDRs had been trained and their roles have led to positive changes, including access to service. The VDRs and CDRs are trained on advocacy, disability, and facilitation skills. VDRs are residents voted from each village community, and CDRs are current staff members of the Commune Councils selected to represent persons with disabilities as part of their existing roles. VDRs and CDRs meet with persons with disabilities and their families individually or via village planning sessions and local government meetings to collect information on their needs. They then attend planning meetings at the commune and district level to represent persons with disabilities and to input the collected issues into annual investment plans.

Capacity development at grassroot level to encourage dialogue and promote platforms for information exchange are crucial for supporting persons with disability to access their rights and services at the local level. Investment in two-way communication and practical advocacy skills opens doors for opinions to be raised in a non-threatening way and helps duty bearers achieve their own objectives and encourage both parties to have meaningful dialogue. We are proud to share that two publications were produced — “Communication Matters“ and “Information Matters“. The two research publications have been developed into easy read publications. These need to be disseminated more widely. The model for this project can be easily scalable.

Our other programs
Skip to content