IDPP Program Associate Ms. Della Leonor participated in the General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA)’s General Election for Disability Access South Asia Conference held from 28-29 January, 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The two-day conference featured panel discussions and presentations on a wide range of topics within the field of universal election access and political participation with the aim of raising awareness and promoting full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in democratic election processes.
The event also provided a unique networking opportunity for disability advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and academics from the ASEAN region and around the world.
As the IDPP’s representative at the conference, Ms. Leonor actively participated in the conference’s proceedings,where she gained valuable insight on regional, national, and local strategies in supporting universal political rights, setting media guidelines on elections, designing inclusive registration processes, and others.She also participated in the BRIDGE “Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections” training on elections and disability rights.
She also interviewed several leading disability advocates for the IDPP Voices podcast series, including Ms. Risnawati Utami, Executive Director of Organisasi Handicap Nusantara OHANA; and Atty. Rene Vergara Sarmiento, Member of the Presidential Human Rights Committee of the Philippines.
Ms. Leonor was also pleased to meet with several IDPP colleagues and faculty during the conference, including Dr. Irwanto, IDPP faculty member and director of the Center for Disability Studies in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Indonesia; Mr. Joni Yulianto, executive director of Asana Integrasi Advokasi Difabel (SIGAB); Mr. Christian Dirk Donn, project manager for AGENDA; and Ms. Virginia Atkinson, IFES Access and Inclusion specialist.
One of the many highlights of the event was the Closing Remark Speech of Her Excellency Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Minister of Social Affairs of Republic of Indonesia, in which she iterated Indonesia’s support of universal election access by signing the Bali Declaration.
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Source: http://www.aseanidpp.org/?q=idpp-participates-3rd-agenda-regional-dialogue