On September 28-29, the General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) conducted a two-and-a-half-hour intersectional coalition-building training for organization of persons with disabilities (OPDs) partners in Southeast Asia. The training was facilitated by IFES Senior Inclusion Specialist Rebeca Aaberg, IFES Program Manager Maya Jacobs, AGENDA Disability Rights Advisor Tolhas Damanik and AGENDA Program Manager Erni Andriani. AGENDA OPD partners learned the importance of building allyship through intersectional coalitions with civil society organizations (CSOs) to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups. These coalitions aim to address cross-sectoral issues and the various barriers and challenges faced by persons with disabilities with multiple identities. OPD partners learned about the concept of intersectionality, identifying power dynamics and identifying the basics of a coalition on the first day of the training through brief presentations and group exercises. On day two of the training, OPD partners formed groups based on country and then collaborated to identify potential CSOs to build coalitions within their respective countries. Participants then practiced developing talking points to use when reaching out to other CSOs. Twenty-two OPDs representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam participated in the training.
