A two-day workshop was held recently in cooperation with Wuhan East-lake Institute for Social Advancement (EISA) in Wuhan.
– The workshop was very successful in strengthening the interaction and dialogues among researchers and practitioners working in the field of disability rights in China and for bringing everyone forward in continued dialogues and collaboration in application of human rights research in disability rights polices and advocacy initiatives, says our Senior Programme Officer in China, Chen Ting Ting,
The workshop brought together 25 researchers and advocates from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia, representing academia, DPOs, NGOs and government institutions (Research Department of China Disabled People’s Federation, CDPF).
The major objective of the workshop was to strengthen capacity for research-based advocacy, including an intersectional perspective amongst academia, social organisations, DPOs, and government institutions.
The workshop consisted of three keynote speeches:
- New Partnerships for Change: Reflections on the European Experiences, Research (Ideas), Civil Society (Voice) and the EU (Power), by Prof. Gerard Quinn, Centre for Disability Law and Policy, National University of Ireland NUI Galway; Doing Constructive Disability Research.
- New Exchange Relationships between Research Institutions, Government and Civil Society, by Dr. Rune Halvorsen, Department of Social Work and Social Policy, Oslo and Akershus University College, Norway.
- Personal Assistance – Acquiring Public Expenses and Seeking Self-Management, by Prof. Tateiwa Shinya, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
Each speech was followed by interaction and dialogue among participants and presenters on topics of research including inclusive education policy, equal employment, equal access to justice for persons with disabilities, policy development.
In addition, participants addressed the importance of integrating gender perspective and keeping UN human rights monitoring mechanisms in mind, including reporting processes, when carrying out disability rights research.