Human Rights Training and Advocacy for the Fulfillment of Disability Aids in Bali

In April, human rights training was provided for members of the Bali Disability Assistance Task Force, to gain a correct and good understanding of Human Rights for the purpose of advocating to the government and other stakeholders.

This task force, which is made up of a number of DPOs (Disabled Persons Organisations)), the Annika Linden Centre and other leading entities within the centre, was established as part of a project initiated by UCP and Puspadi, and supported by Inspirasia Foundation.

Through this training, the Task Force is expected to have the ability to understand and conduct good and effective advocacy.

What is advocacy and why is it important?

• Advocacy is a form of persuasive communication, which aims to influence stakeholders in making policies or decisions

• Attempts to influence public policy

• Efforts to shape public opinion through campaigns (mass media, demonstrations) with the aim of influencing public policy makers

• Individual or community efforts aimed at obtaining political commitment, political support, social acceptance and system support to achieve certain goals

Why is it important to advocate for disability aids in Bali? This is because there are conditions that are not or have not been ideal as expected, such as:

• Persons with disabilities have not received assistive devices

• The tools received are not feasible

Some of the advocacy techniques that can be used are as follows:

• Lobbying - seeking to influence (politicians or public officials) on an issue

• Dialogue -  question and answer directly

• Presentation - speaking or communicating in front of many people to convey an idea, material, and as a resource person or other things

• Seminar - a meeting or trial to discuss a problem under the leadership of an expert

• Comparative Study - study which involves comparing something with something else

• Development of Caring Groups - forming groups that provide emotional support to one another

• Use of mass media - broadening the reach of information

Referring back to the Basic Concept of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Article 20 concerning personal mobility and Article 25 concerning Health, then Law Number 8 of 2016 and Regional Regulation Number 9 of 2015, it is necessary to carry out effective advocacy efforts to influence public policy makers in Bali to make policies that support the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities to adaptive aids.