What's in store in 2010?

2010 promises to be MDAC’s busiest year so far. Together with our NGO partners, we will continue our strategic litigation and advocacy work in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and Estonia. This year, MDAC is stepping up our focus on implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). A project funded by the UK Government will start in April 2010 to research how governments in Europe are setting up independent bodies to monitor the implementation of the CRPD. In addition, funding from the Zennström Philanthropies will enable us to deepen our focus on legal capacity, one of the key issues of the CRPD. Zennström Philanthropies is also supporting a new project on assessing the ways in which inspectorates are monitoring mental health and social care institutions, and MDAC will be able to assist them to strengthen their competencies in this area.

We are also developing an educational training package on key CRPD issues which we will use to develop the advocacy skills and technical knowledge of civil society organisations. We also have some additional funding from the Open Society Institute to develop the capacity of litigators taking cases under the Optional Protocol to the CRPD, as well as to attend the sessions of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Furthermore, we are developing our Africa programming. The projects, focusing on legal capacity and democratic participation rights, are being developed in conjunction with local NGOs and other experts. We will keep you posted about these project developments. Please contact us if you’d like any more information, and please become a fan on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mental-Disability-Advocacy-Center/65790724...).