Our Mission
To organize and continue to strengthen national assemblies through democratic, gender-balanced, cross-disabilities based process and to partner with UN, other international development agencies and governments toward the equalization of opportunities and full participation of persons with disabilities in their own development and development of other communities.
We envision
- A person with disability as one who is educated, socially secured, economically productive and happily living with his/her own family in a barrier-free environment.
- A DPI-AP National Assembly as an effective, democratic, self reliant organization of men and women from all disability groups, able to work for the full participation and equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities in every DPI country.
- A DPI-AP as an effective, democratic and gender-sensitive regional organization able to partner with governments and other international agencies for the mobilization of technical and other resources for its members, relentlessly expanding in terms of cross-disability and country representation.
Background
Mr. Eita Yashiro
First Chairperson
Asia Pacific Regional Council
DPI Asia–Pacific was founded at almost the same time as Disabled Peoples´ International in 1981. It has membership in 26 countries in the region with its Regional Office based in Bangkok, Thailand.
It has, for more than a decade as a continuing effort, organized activities such as the Annual Regional Leadership Training Seminars to hasten the empowerment of persons with disabilities and promotion of new leaders, particularly in the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific Region.
DPI has a UN special consultative status and DPI Asia–Pacific works closely with the UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) including other international development agencies such as ILO, FAO, UNESCO and many other INGOs, the partnership of which facilitated the launching of the Asia-Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002. DPI has been actively advocated for the extension of the Decade 2003-2012 and implantation of BMF.
History
Regional Development Office was moved to Metropolitan Bangkok Area in 1999 to further promote disability movement in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Recent selected regional activities
- 1998
- The 6th Regional Assembly in November, 1998 at Nadi, Fiji
- Launched project titled "Supporting Self–help Organization of the Disabled in Asia-Pacific Region" in September, 1998
- 1999
- The 1st National Assembly, 19–21 May in Vientine, Lao
- 17th Regional Leadership Training, 13–17 September in Columbia, Sri Lanka "Toward the Recognition of Disabled Leaders & Disabled Community Development as Implementers of the Asia–Pacific Decade of Disabled Person, 1992–2002"
- Regional Council Meeting, 7–8 December at Galadari Hotel, Columbo, Sri Lanka
- The 17th Asia–Pacific Regional Leadership Training Seminar, 6–10 December in Columbo, Sri Lanka
- 2000
- Supported Vietnamese people with disabilities in their Leadership Training Seminar, 25-27 May in Hanoi, Vietnam
- 18th Regional Leadership Training Seminar, 15–19 November, Laos
- 2001
- Leadership Training Seminar for People with Disabilities, June, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Launched Wheelchair Assistance Project, March
- 1st Mission trip to Myanmar, 25–28 May
- The second Leadership Training Seminar for Vietnamese Disabled, 31 July, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Oceania Leadership Training Seminar, 27–31 Aug, Port Vila, Vanuatu
- 19th Regional Leadership Training Seminar, 5-9 November, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
- 2002
- The 6th World Assembly was held in Sapporo, Ja
- 2003
- Supported the 1st National Leadership Training Seminar of Persons with Disabilities, 16–19 Aug, in Kabul Afghanistan
- Mission trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan, 29 June to 11 July
- First Mission trip to Nepal, 15–18 July
- DPI co–organized "A Training Workshop on Capacity Building for Self-help Organizations of People with Disabilities (SHO)" with APCD, 10-20 September, Bangkok, Thailand
- 2004
- Capacity Building for Self help Organization of People with Disabilities, 13–17 February, Kathmandhu, Nepal
- The 3rd Regional Leadership Training Seminar of Woman with Disabilities, May, Indonesia
