Abilis Foundation is a non-profit established in 1998 that promotes equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities globally. It employs disabled persons and consists of a board of disabled experts and activists. Abilis supports disabled persons' organizations in developing countries, funds small projects up to 10,000 euros annually, focuses on issues like income generation, education, and living conditions, and empowers people with disabilities to act as full citizens and work for human rights improvements.

1. Abilis Foundation
www.abilis.fi

2. Abilis Foundation
• Established in 1998
• Board of Directors consists of disabled
experts and activists (different backgrounds)
• Employs disabled persons – experts, both
in Finland and in the Global South
• Headquarter in Helsinki with 14 staff
members
www.abilis.fi

3. Abilis Board

4. Abilis office staff

5. Abilis Foundation
• Promotes equal rights and opportunities
for people with disabilities (PWDs)
• Supports and empowers PWDs living in
developing countries to act as full citizens
in the society
• Assists this easily marginalized and
minority group to work for human rights
and improvements of living conditions
www.abilis.fi

6. Abilis Foundation
• Has a cooperation contract with MFA
• A 3-year funding agreement
• Present agreement 2013-2015
• Must follow the Finnish Development Policy
Guidelines
• Annual budget has increased steadily
• 2014: 2,8 M€ (2015: 2,9 M€)
• Searches for other funding sources to
secure the continuity of the operation
www.abilis.fi

7. Principles of Abilis work (1/3)
• Support to DPOs in the Global South
• Building of the capacity of DPOs
• Funding for organizations that include disabled
people in their leadership
• During the entire project cycle, in planning,
implementation, reporting and evaluation, PWDs plays
the key role – they are not only beneficiaries
• Funding for small-scale reliable projects of
good quality, 500 - 10.000 € / year
www.abilis.fi

8. Principles of Abilis work (2/3)
• Main focus areas and themes are:
• Human rights of PWDs
• UN Convention on the Rights of PWDs
• Income generation (IG) of PWDs
• Independent life and empowerment of PWDs
• Status, education and IG of disabled girls and
women
• Living conditions of disabled children
www.abilis.fi

9. Principles of Abilis work (3/3)
• Partnership Programmes in 12 countries
(Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Cambodia,
Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Nepal,
Somaliland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia)
• One regional Abilis office (Mekong region)
www.abilis.fi

10. Added value of Abilis work
• Abilis reaches grassroot groups
• Abilis empowers PWDs to work for their
rights and conditions
• Abilis acts as a bridge between the
disability movement in the Global South
and the Global North
www.abilis.fi

11. Grant making of Abilis
• Abilis is a donor agency  funding
development projects
• Open call for proposals where Southern
DPOs can send applications
• Situation in Nov/Dec 2014:
352 ongoing projects in 40 countries
About 70 % of the projects are in Abilis
Partner Countries
www.abilis.fi