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Driving change: launching the six principles for inclusive development

December 2024

To mark International Day of People with Disabilities, Inclusive Futures and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) jointly hosted an event on Tuesday 3 December 2024, as part of the global launch of the six principles for inclusive development.

The event was introduced by Dom Haslam, Deputy CEO of Sightsavers – the organisation that leads the Inclusive Futures consortium alongside the International Disability Alliance. It featured Diana Dalton (deputy director and head of gender and equalities at FCDO) and a video message from the Rt Hon. Anneliese Dodds MP, (UK minister for development and minister for women and equalities).

Senior BBC reporter and presenter Paul Carter moderated a panel discussion at the centre of the event, focusing on how mainstream development organisations can put the six principles into practice. Paul spoke to six panellists who have direct experience of Inclusive Futures’ work:

  • Sally Nduta, CEO, United Disabled Persons of Kenya
  • Kavita Prasad, director of Sense International
  • Susannah Rodgers, disability inclusion technical adviser (climate/disability lead) at FCDO
  • Lydia Rosasi, youth disability rights activist based in Kenya and former participant of the Inclusive Futures programme
  • Alasdair Stuart, senior adviser and senior researcher, BBC Media Action
  • Johannes Trimmel, Inclusive Futures programme director – disability inclusive development, Sightsavers
A woman sits opposite a window using a sewing machine. She has a physical disability which affects her hands.

Six principles for inclusion

We’ve created six guiding principles to help NGOs and donors design and deliver inclusive development projects.

Read the full report
A photo of the panel at the event. Susannah, Alasdair, Paul, Kavita and Johannes are sitting on stage in front of the audience, and Lydia appears on a projector screen.
Our panel at the event. From left to right: Susannah Rodgers, Alasdair Stuart, Paul Carter, Kavita Prasad, Johannes Trimmel and Lydia Rosasi (on screen).

After the panel discussion and the premiere of our new video introducing the six principles, Penny Innes (head of FCDO’s disability inclusion and LGBT+ rights teams) and Caroline Harper (CEO of Sightsavers) closed the event with a call to the action to organisations and donors across the development to embed the principles throughout their work.

Penny Innes highlighted in her closing remarks:

“The ambition is really important… we want to get disability into every part of international development, into broader diplomacy as well so that we are really changing systems. Because that’s what’s really going to make a difference.

“When we’re trying to be bold, when we’re trying to get into the mainstream, we have to work together and have a united voice. And this programme demonstrates how to do that.”

The six principles for inclusive development are based on extensive learnings from the Inclusive Futures programme and listening to partners and people with disabilities. They seek to offer a practical roadmap for embedding disability inclusion in programmes and services.

Watch a recording of the event from Tuesday 3 December 2024.

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