The roundtables, which took place from Autumn 2004 to Spring 2005 in Malawi, India and Cambodia, had a practical focus and looked at how to move forward on linking disability policy and practice.

The overall aim of the roundtables was to share learning and research about the relationship between disability and poverty, and mainstreaming disability in development. The roundtables provided an opportunity for decision makers to learn from disabled people, CBO’s and organisations and institutions working on disability in the South. Participants also came up with practical ideas for taking forward a disability agenda.

The practical focus of the roundtables looked at how to move forward on linking disability policy and practice as well as the role of disability in the Millennium Development Goals and good practices for inclusive education.

A positive aspect of the roundtables was that they encouraged face-to-face communication between the various groups and created the opportunity for learning through all stakeholders sharing experience of their work in disability and development. These discussions also took place before, during and after the roundtables as an electronic forum. A direct result of the roundtables was the creation of networks between these various disability players especially those previously marginalized like parents of the disabled children and those DPO’s who lack capacity to link with policy makers.

The roundtables were also significant in the development of the research prospectus that emerged in the form of the thematic research (see the thematic research section). The prospectus covers a wide range of topics from disability statistics in the developing world, whether disabled people have a voice in the development process, the impact of the tsunami on disabled organisations, education for children with disabilities and mainstreaming disabilities into development.

Healthlink Worldwide organised the roundtables, in collaboration with three southern-based disabled people's organisations. The three themes are explained below:

1. Disability, poverty and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), held in Lilongwe, Malawi and hosted by the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA)

The aim was to highlight the links between poverty and disability and the relevance of disability to achieving the MDGs. It focused on the African Decade of the Disabled 2000-2009, and was integral to the development of the disability research prospectus that forms a central part of the Disability KaR programme (See disability research section for more details on the seven research projects).

Find out more about the participants who attended the Malawi roundtable>>

Read about the different activities that took place at the Malawi roundtable>>

2. Mainstreaming disability in development, held in Ahmedabad, India and hosted by the Blind People's Association (BPA).

'How to' mainstream disability in development was central to the three days, and the experience of the Biwako framework for an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for people with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region was discussed. Many ideas were shared to find ways to meet the challenges faced by DPOs and governments.

Find out more about the participants who attended the India roundtable>>

Read about the different activities that took place at the India roundtable>>

3. Disability mainstreaming in practice, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and hosted by the Disability Action Council (DAC).

The event focused on the example of disability mainstreaming in education. Building on the UNESCO regional conference celebrating 10 years since the Salamanca Statement, it examined the development of inclusive education, and shared lessons from the Lao PDR and recent initiatives in Cambodia.

Find out more about the participants who attended the Cambodia roundtable>>

Read about the different activities that took place at the Cambodia roundtable>>

The roundtables provided an arena for reflection, exchange of experiences, learning and ideas, and discussion of current issues with policy-makers and donors. Their informal nature made it possible to bridge the communication gap between disabled people, disabled people's organisations, other organisations and institutions working in disability practice on the ground, and policy makers.