Results from our Global Internet Forum for Post 2015 Considerations for Persons with Disabilities in Africa and Asia.

1. EOTO World Global Internet Forum Report
Developing a Post 2015 Agenda for Persons with Disabilities in Africa and
Asia
28 February ­ 10 March, 2013
The following report is only to serve as a synopsis for stakeholders and
beneficiaries of EOTO World. Forums are hosted in accordance with EOTO
World’s project EXCHANGE program that connects Human Rights Activists
around the globe in online spaces to discuss and build skills to affect the
MDGs and a culture of peace. Following every forum, participants receive a
customized resource guide related to the forum theme, designed to continue to
assist global efforts toward anti­poverty and peace.
Please consider the environment before printing this report. If you must print
please choose double­sided printing on recyclable paper.
February 2013 Global Forum Report 1

2. Table of Contents
About EOTO World………………………………………………………….3
Intro & Forum Rationale…………………………………………………….4
Forum Goals………………………………………………............................5
Participation Overview................................................................................5­6
Lens 1: Gaps in the MDGs for PWD.…………………...............................6­7
Lens 2: Relating Post 2015 to Community Needs .………………………...7­8
Lens 3: Linking Post 2015 to Post Rio+20 for PWD…………………........8­9
Ways to Use this Report……………………………………………………...9
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3. About EOTO World
What We Do
EOTO World provides capacity building services for human rights activists across
the globe to strengthen anti­ poverty and peace work. We enable safe spaces for
activists to publish critical analyses, build vital skills, network, and share resources
to transform communities across the globe.
Mission
EOTO World seeks to provide safe spaces for human rights activists to transmit
their knowledge and skills in human rights to a global audience, contribute to global
efforts to address the Millennium Development Goals and promote a culture of
peace.
Vision
To live in a world where there is a culture of peace, no extreme poverty, and human
rights is a norm.
Website and Social Media
www.eotoworld.org
Publications & Presentations to Use and Share
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4. Introduction to Project EXCHANGE
Human Rights Activists around the world often have key challenges to safety that
can include physical, cyber safety, unmitigated access to information and the
freedom to critically analyze current happenings in the field. Concerned with the
many obstacles that prevent full exploration of Activists to transmit knowledge and
skills, in late 2010, EOTO World embarked on a new service to create safe spaces
of resource exchange via global Internet forums. This new service, known as
project EXCHANGE, began with the first forum in June 2011, of what will continue
to be a series of forums to address perspectives and skills that coincide with the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a Culture of Peace (COP).
The MDGs are 8 measureable goals designed by the United Nations (UN) in 2000
to combat known factors that cause extreme poverty. EOTO World believes that
these measures, which have a projected goal of achievement in varying degrees by
2015, should be consistently worked on until poverty is eradicated. Likewise, COP
is a UN concept that suggests that in order to eliminate systematic violence, one
must cultivate peace for the environment, between and within nations, as well as
within the self. Poverty and violence are inextricably linked. EOTO World believes
in promoting a COP to achieve sustainable world peace.
February 2013 Forum Rationale
Given that the 2015 deadline for the MDGs leaves room for desire in the
achievement of goals, there is an agenda to extend the work past 2015. The post
2015 agenda for the MDGs has been underway since September 2012.
Consultations online through myworld2015.org has allowed civil society to come
together and provide feedback on a grander scale than previously attempted
through the United Nations. Whereas the reach of a single online system to capture
civil society organization recommendations can be effective, it can also be
inadvertently exclusive to organizations already familiar with UN updates. EOTO
World seeks to utilize the system to amplify voices of persons and organizations
around the globe that do not have access to the online system and/or do not feel
comfortable using it.
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5. February 2013 Forum Goals
EOTO World embarked on a mission to host a forum on how to develop an
inclusive agenda of persons with disabilities from Africa and Asia post 2015 to:
● Provide an open forum for activists that identify as a person with a
disability or work with the population to share their experiences
● Understand the gaps between what is understood in the international
community and the realities on the ground
And
● Identify solutions that can be integrated in EOTO World’s advocacy
towards the Post 2015 agenda that includes use of the myworld2015
online system.
Forum Participation Overview:
50 individuals/organization representatives had access to the forum space.
Participants were able to view video, text and reference links for their perusal. Some
questions were asked to address each topic. Participants were encouraged to
upload information regarding the state of treatment and thoughts of the way forward
to eradicate poverty for persons with disabilities in their country.
Most participants used the space to gather information about the post 2015
process, including African and Asian organization representatives. One participant
decided to expand the online topic decisions to persons with disabilities and
organizations the participant was in contact with throughout Brazil. This report
includes the participant’s responses within the forum as well as the summary of
responses received from persons within organizations in Brazil and individual
persons that either have a disability or work with people that do.
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6. Whereas we had some response rate for this forum, we caution that the opinions
expressed should not be attribted to voices from our target markets of Africa and
Asia. For this forum, the responses were from Brazilians. Most perspectives given
were presented to speak to the general work that needs to be done for developing
regions as well as some items specific to Brazil.
Highlights of the opinions expressed within the forum are detailed within each lens
that EOTO World posed to the group.
Lens 1: Gaps in the MDGs for Persons with Disabilities
The following list was identified as barriers for people with disabilities as it relates
to the overarching goal of the MDGs to eradicate extreme poverty.
1. Financial constraints
2. Social prejudice
3. Lack of enforcement of laws for persons with disabilities
4. Lack of community participation of human rights organizations connected to
the work of disability to enforce national compliance on inclusion standards
5. Lack of adapting sustainable development practices
6. Less support/ resources for rural areas to address the needs of people with
disabilities
7. Lack of quality education and awareness about disability rights
8. Inadequate government projects/initiatives that support development at the
expense of equal rights
9. Inability of civil society organizations to obtain funds, participate in meetings
and meet deadlines for submission. Organizations also lack technology to
keep their communications up to par.
Solutions to address barriers were identifed as follows:
1. Create universal targets for all persons with disabilities. Global parameters,
indicators and indexes should reference national and international best
practices as well as be topic specific.
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7. 2. Provide awareness of the legal rights of persons with disabilities so citizens
can influence law makers to reform antiquated laws that generate social
injustice.
3. Encourage research via greater access to science, technology and modern
medical treatments. Expertise should include improving transplants,
neurosurgery, prosthesists and physiotherapy.
4. Ensure labor laws that guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities at
work.
5. Train employers on the labor laws guaranteeed to persons with disabilities on
how to integrate these rights as priorities within their administrative routines.
6. Improve the use of trained animals for the blind.
7. Remove bureaucratic barriers that impede quality of life for persons with
disabilities.
Lens 2: Relating Post 2015 to Community Needs
Participants identified the following priorities for education and employment for
persons with disabilities:
1. Strengthen human rights in each country via assistance programs and
professional training at the national, regional and international levels.
2. Keep local access to hospital, libraries, places for the arts, shopping areas,
banks and government agencies open with education materials on disability
rights and support.
Participants identified other solutions to address quality of life for persons with
disabilities, which are outlined in the list below:
1. Promote compliance and improvement of national and international
legislations.
2. Expand the structures of areas already designed to improve access via the
installation of ramps, holding bars, Braille signs, and hearing devices for the
hard of hearing in restaurants, public spaces, transportation systems and
housing.
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8. 3. Promote the participation of persons with disabilities in sports.
4. Establish safe places for children with disabilities to play, including
playgrounds, paraolympic games and community­led events.
5. Provide free schooling for children with disabilities and free psychological
support to families raising children with disabilities.
6. Provide education for families on how to make homes safe for people with
disabilities
7. Establish more social communities on and offline for persons with
disabilities.
Lens 3: Linking Post 2015 to Post Rio+20 for Persons with Disabilities
1. Facilitate greater participation of persons with disabilities in the UN Major
Groups for sustainable development.
2. Encourage effective participation within the UN Major Group processes for
persons with disabilities via associations and discussion groups that address
community questions about disability, the needs of the people and to
cross­check progress on development claimed to be achieved.
3. Ensure jobs for people with disabilities that meet sustainable practices for
external and internal (company) environments. Criteria should include
transportation and accommodation, compliance with quality of life, adequate
treatment and access to health technologies.
3. Encourage social impact projects across sustainable development topics
related to education, technical training and job creation, all with spots
reserved for persons with disabilities.
4. Provide incentives for consumers to buy cars that reduce harm to the
environment with lower costs.
5. Provide government incentives for citizens to be more green with lowered
taxes and adapt safe environmental practices throughout government services
to model behavior.
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9. Ways to Use this Report
Thank you for reading our global forum internet report. We hope that you will use
this information to advance your activism surrounding the topics in ways that
breaks silos and creates a more safe, healthy, decent, peaceful world for all. Ways
that you can incorporate these opinions are to create community dialogue, propose,
initiate, share with policy makers and support solutions suggested in your locality,
country or region.
Onward!
EOTO World
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