MIUSA’s Empower Partnerships: Opportunity to collaborate with US organizations

MIUSA (Mobility International USA) has launched the ‘Empower Partnerships for Inclusive Communities Professional Exchange Program’ which seeks to reduce barriers and forging sustainable international partnerships to promote inclusive communities.

The Empower Partnerships project is a two-way international exchange program for organizations working on or interested in working on disability-related issues and inclusion as articulated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This project aims to create sustainable organizational partnerships between U.S. and international organizations, expanding the capacity of each organization to promote disability inclusive communities, and to advance disability rights. MIUSA will select and match organizations from the U.S. and 20 other countries, and will provide ongoing technical assistance, opportunities for international exchange, small grant support to implement collaborative projects, and foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

The objectives of the Empower Partnerships project are to:

•        Remove barriers to community opportunities and resources;

•        Support the ability of individuals and organizations to serve as leading disability advocates and promote policies and programs benefiting people with disabilities;

•        Promote civil society by enabling individuals and organizations working with people with disabilities to share best practices and facilitate cross-sector cooperation through two-way professional exchanges;

•        Ensure that people with diverse disabilities and their families and communities benefit from the transformational power of international exchanges; and,

•        Build or expand sustainable networks of individuals and organizations serving people with disabilities.

Twenty partner teams will be selected by MIUSA and each will include three organizations: one U.S. organization and two organizations from another country. Non-U.S. organizations will include one focused on disability inclusion such as a Disabled People’s Organization (DPO) and one non-disability-specific institution for which disability inclusion is a priority. The 20 international partner teams will share knowledge and expertise through reciprocal exchange programs to maximize outcomes of collaborative projects and ongoing partnerships.

Participating Countries- Australia, Argentina, Albania, Algeria,  Burkina Faso, Brazil, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma, China, Cyprus, Croatia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, Japan, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Libya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Morocco, Mali, Malaysia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Mexico, Mongolia, Maldives, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Nigeria, Philippines, Pakistan, Romania, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, Thailand, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Ukraine, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Yemen and USA.

The deadline to apply is 7 January 2013. For more information, visit this link.