Description
In order to ensure country's population needs-based social policy development, active participation of people,especially vulnerable groups, in decision-making processes is essential. Project aims to strengthen capacity of the association and ensure its regular involvement in development, implementation and monitoring of social policy and decision making processes in order to promote equal rights of persons with disability to live a full and civic active life in the society. By implementing the project the association will be actively involved in development of social policy, monitor quality of the State services for persons with disabilities, organize citizen forums to foster active citizenship of persons with disabilities and their relatives, create e-participation platform as a tool for stimulating participation process, attract new members to join an international NGO coalition. Main project target group is persons with disabilities and their relatives.
Summary of project results
Objective of Programme proposal was to strengthen the institutional and human capacity of association „Latvian Movement for Independent living” (hereafter– LATMIL) and to ensure regular and sustainable involvement of LATMIL in the development, implementation and monitoring of social policy and decision making processes, in order to promote equal rights of persons with disability to live in the society with full inclusion and participation in the life of society. Project have been implemented in the premises of association in Riga, but activities of Program took place in all planning regions of Latvia. During the implementation of program association have been actively involved in the development of social policy to promote the beginning and implementation of deinstitutionalization process of persons with Disabilities in Latvia. Through the citizen forums association have fostered active citizenship of vulnerable group – persons with Disabilities and relatives taking care of persons with Disabilities on daily basis. During the implementation of project, 184persons with disabilities and 128family members of persons with disabilities have been involved in different activities. The particular attention was paid for the involvement of persons with mental retardation living in long term care institutions. At the same time skills to participate in decision making processes have been given to these vulnerable groups. E-Participation platform, created in the framework of Programme will serve on the long term as tool to stimulate the engagement of civic society in decision making processes. E-Participation platform gave opportunity for the persons who are not able to be present in formulation of opinion or position, to participate in decision making processes. It has also provided this marginalized group with actual information on the activities of association in participatory democracy. During the implementation of Programme association have performed the watchdog role and have monitored the quality of States long-term care institutions for persons with disabilities. There have been done quality of life assessments in 10 long term care institutions and results of assessments have been presented to the Ministry of Welfare .At the same time LATMIL have strongly advocated for the rights of persons with severe disabilities who are segregated in the long term care institutions.
Summary of bilateral results