leadership

An International Summit Conference on Independent Living
Washington, DC
September 21-25, 1999
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Leadership Development

The philosophy of Independent Living and the activities associated with its implementation in the community require the understanding and active involvement of the disability leadership as well as the general membership of disability organizations. Most disabled leaders in North America and Europe have been exposed to Independent Living Philosophy and the history of its implementation in their own regions over the last 30 years. This has occurred because of the frequent exchange of information through international conferences, published articles and professional visits. This high volume of informational exchange and professional networking has been possible due to the greater resources available both personally and professionally to disabled people and their organizations in these regions. In addition, on a more concrete level, a few European, Japanese and North American organizations dedicated themselves in the early 1980’s to promoting and facilitating the international exchange of Independent Living experience.
In the Southern Hemisphere and Asia, a few disabled leaders began learning about Independent Living in the 1980's through their participation in international conferences and their professional visits to North America and Europe. The ability of these few disabled leaders to widely disseminate the information that they had gathered back to their own countries has been severely restricted due to the language, cultural and social infrastructure differences contained in the predominantly English language publications available about Independent Living.
These language and cultural restrictions were certainly a factor in the creation of regional conferences in Southern Africa and Southeast Asia on Independent Living that facilitated the exchange of ideas and experiences from within a similar cultural and political context. This has created over the years a regional expertise in Independent Living programs based on each region’s unique evolution and application of IL philosophy. For example, in southern Africa, there has been much success in the political recognition efforts of the national disability organizations. In the Philippines, early intervention activities with disabled children has created a greater understanding in their communities of the independent living needs of disabled adults. Also while Japan has been helping to spread the independent living philosophy to other countries in their region, they have been actively challenging the policy of institutionalization of disabled children and adults.
The international Independent Living timeline was vastly enriched by many of the participants during the IL Summit. It clearly shows that while these disabled leaders were bringing back to their countries their first experiences with Independent Living, they were also faced with the immense obstacles and tasks involved in creating effective disability rights organizations. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia, the principles and activities of Independent Living have been merged with the principles and activities of the greater struggle for integrating disabled people into their societies.
It should be noted that the Summit participants were in agreement about the need to more aggressively educate disabled people in their own countries about the principles and activities of Independent Living. In most of the countries, only a handful of the disabled leadership has personal experience with observing Independent Living in action in a community. This general lack of practical knowledge within disability organizations about how to implement Independent Living programs and activities negatively impacts the development of organizational strategies for the successful removal of physical and attitudinal and legislative barriers to the integration of disabled people in their communities. A wider understanding of Independent Living principles and programs by the disability membership can also lead to the establishment of democratic relationships within the disability movement, rather than an authoritarian leadership.
International Exchange Programs
Participants at the conference repeatedly indicated that exchange programs to enable disabled leaders to have the opportunity to observe Independent Living activities in other countries was the single most effective method for leadership development. These exchange programs needed to be of sufficient duration to allow for the cultural immersion and understanding to occur. Participants recommended that:
• Exchange programs be available between countries in a region and across regions;
• Young disabled leaders and women be especially recruited for exchanges; and
• Foreign assistance development agencies recognize and support international exchanges by disabled leaders.
A range of views follows:
Asia: “We should promote exchanges between countries in our region, and information about good programs should be exchanged.”
Eastern Europe: “People also recommended exchanges between different countries, especially where there would be equal partnerships such that it wouldn't be a one way information flow from one country to another.”
Western Europe: “Exchanges should be sought which are long-term and inclusive. “
Africa: “We need exchange programs for persons with disabilities from developing countries. We should go to each others' countries and learn from different cultures their ways of living independently, so that the knowledge could be used to develop the way we run our programs.”
Communications Technology
Participants recognized the value of emerging communications technology and the Internet for increasing access to model programs and information about Independent Living activities in other countries. Participants recommended that disability organizations in every country train their membership to use this technology.
The conference participants from Latin America recommended the establishment of an international database on Independent Living that would allow them to exchange information on Independent Living programs and ideas and customize a model for their own country.
The Latin American discussion group stated: “The development of an international database on Independent Living will allow us to exchange information on Independent Living programs and ideas that could be tailored and customized to our needs. We should adapt models of Independent Living from other countries instead of copying them. Learning from our own successes and failures will be more constructive.”
Participants from Asia indicated their desire to establish an information clearinghouse on Independent Living that would utilize the Internet to disseminate information and facilitate access by disability organizations in other countries in their region.
The Asia Pacific discussion stated that: “The Asian Center on Disability should be the core center for disseminating Independent Living for the Region. Asian countries must share information. We need to create a network that will share information on how to do advocacy and send this information to all of the countries in our region at least twice a year. This information network should concentrate on education, employment systems and innovative technology and focus on specific programs that work.”
While all of the Participants recognize the usefulness of an international database on independent living programs being available through the Internet, there remains the problem of how to sort through hundreds of pages of information in different languages and identify what could be useful for any particular country. Everyone would benefit from a regular compilation of ‘best practices’ being published and disseminated through the Internet. Such a publication could be created with regional editors who would contribute information that has been analyzed and distilled from within their own regions and then sent to a central editor for worldwide dissemination. This type of publication would give disability leaders confidence that they were receiving quality information about independent living programs from a source that they trusted.

©1999 ILRU Program. All rights reserved.