Inclusive political participation is fundamental to making democracy work for all people.

VoteLGBT

THE PARTNER

VoteLGBT is an LGBTQI+ activist organization that seeks to promote LGBTQI+ rights and representation in Brazil, with a focus on political representation. The organization conducts surveys to gather data on the LGBTQI+ population, campaigns to promote LGBTQI+ demands and candidates every election cycle, and has a long history of partnering with other NGOs and collectives to promote human rights.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

Building on its history of increasing representation of the LGBTQI+ community through political advocacy and research, VoteLGBT has conducted an LGBTQI+ Census on all political parties, interviewed LGBTQI+ elected officials to understand their experiences, tracked LGBTQI+ candidate performance, reported on the outcomes, and created a political participation toolkit for LGBTQI+ people. VoteLGBT has disseminated the lessons in the toolkit through webinars and a communication campaign.

Divers'Unité

THE PARTNER

Divers'Unité is a collective of LGBTQI+ community members and allies founded in 2020 following the high-profile trial of a lesbian woman persecuted for her relationship with her partner in the name of a discriminatory law in Madagascar's penal code that applies an age of sexual consent seven years higher for same-sex partners than for heterosexual partners. Since then, Divers'Unité has been working with other CSOs as part of an intersectional umbrella organization, prioritizing psychological and legal support for LGBTQI+ people in Madagascar, with a particular focus on young people.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

Through financial and technical support provided by the ERA Fund, Divers'Unité is conducting a census of safe spaces with the aim of establishing a national directory of LGBTQI+ friendly organizations in Madagascar. To help achieve this, Divers'Unité has set up a community center as a pilot project, where members of the community have access to a variety of resources, including counselors and a listening unit. Divers'Unité also runs a media campaign aimed at raising awareness among the Malagasy population on LGBTQI+ issues and to combat discrimination both online and offline. With the support of the ERA Fund, Divers'Unité was also able to organize a strategic planning workshop to outline a roadmap of future actions to benefit the LGBTQI+ community in Madagascar.

Divers'Unité

Más Igualdad Perú (MIP)

THE PARTNER

Founded in 2017 by a group of lesbian and bisexual women, Mas Igualdad is now a diverse team of queer identified people that works to promote LGBTQI+ equality in Peru through research and targeted action. The organization achieves this by raising community awareness of their rights and supporting LGBTQI+ individuals to become agents of political and social change.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

Mas Igualdad’s work with the ERA Fund seeks to address the ongoing obstacles, prejudices, and discriminatory attitudes toward LGBTQI+ political candidates. During the 2020-21 election period, the organization worked to monitor campaign media, tracking the positions of political leaders, studying the electoral behavior of LGBTQI+ individuals, and supporting LGBTQI+ candidates through their coordinated campaign, “Diversidad al Bicentenario.”

Fundacja Interakcja

THE PARTNER

Fundacja Interakcja was founded in 2020 as the first intersex-led organization to advocate for the rights of intersex people in Poland to self-determination and equal protection under law. Fundacja Interakcja’s advocacy reaches both urban and rural communities in Poland through provision of vital information and resources in the Polish language on intersex human rights as well as organized peer support groups for parents and families of intersex children.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

With support from the ERA Fund, Fundacja Interakcja worked with intersex activists and legal experts on the first-ever translation of a legal toolkit on intersex human rights from English into Polish. The translated legal toolkit serves as a conduit for raising awareness among and providing credible, non-pathologizing information and best practices on intersex issues to community members and stakeholders, including members of parliament, human rights lawyers, and other local, national, and international actors. Fundacja Interakcja also conducted a strategic planning session to design a framework for longterm programming and organized training workshops to increase staff knowledge and skills in monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

Fundacja Interakcja

Venasa T Network

THE PARTNER

Venasa T Network was founded by activists in 2015 to create space and a voice for transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming (GNC) communities within the broader LGBTQI+ movement in Sri Lanka. As the first Sri Lankan organization to serve transgender communities exclusively, Venasa T Network connects community members with psychosocial and legal resources and support in addition to engaging stakeholders in government, healthcare professions, as well as other human rights activists in sensitization workshops and inclusion training.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

With support from the ERA Fund, Venasa T Network seeks to eliminate barriers and discrimination experienced by transgender people resulting from amended birth certificates which disclose without consent sensitive information about one’s gender transition, identity, and expression. Venasa T Network therefore works with transgender, nonbinary, and GNC communities and the organizations that support them across key provinces to draft recommendations for amending the Birth and Deaths Registration Act by removing discriminatory language and stigmatizing practices, ultimately laying the foundation for expanding equal protection under law of transgender Sri Lankans.

Venasa, "To Protect and Enable Rights of Transgender Community"

Tonga Leitis Association (TLA)

THE PARTNER

The Tonga Leitis Association (TLA) is Tonga’s pioneer organization supporting transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming communities and has been active for almost 30 years. TLA was established to eliminate discrimination by effectively addressing health rights and wellbeing of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and to provide an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity in all forms. TLA organizes high profile awareness raising events such as the Miss Galaxy Queen Pageant alongside advocacy initiatives and human rights training.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

Last year, TLA hosted a Rainbow Family Convening, the first of its kind in the South Pacific region. With the help of the Fund, TLA plans to build on this experience to conduct activities that it hopes will promote a common understanding among the general public about proposed amendments to the Criminal Offence Act, build trust and support among potential allies, and create momentum for the passage of the proposed amendments. This includes outreach and discussions with LGBTQI+ communities across Tonga to validate the draft amendments.

Colectivo Vida Independiente

THE PARTNER

Colectivo Vida Independiente (El Colectivo) was established in 2004 as an intersectional disability rights advocacy group that works to amplify the voices of people with disabilities, including women and LGBTQI+ persons with disabilities, and to engage diverse communities to achieve common goals. El Colectivo is a founding member of the Central American Network of Organizations of People with Disabilities and their Families (REDODICEC), a member organization of Guatemala’s Women’s Sector Political Alliance, and an active member of the Metropolitan Referral Network to End Violence Against Women, a coalition that brings together sister organizations across Guatemala and which is chaired by the Public Ministry - the chief prosecuting body in cases of gender-based violence.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

With support from the ERA Fund, Colectivo Vida Independiente has held regular advocacy meetings with decision makers and other DPOs on adopting the language in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for Guatemalan law. El Colectivo also organized a series of capacity-building workshops for community leaders, DPOs, government officials, etc on disability inclusion best practices. El Colectivo also completed internal strengthening activities through the ERA Fund’s support such as conducting a strategic planning retreat and creating a new communications framework.

Group photo during Strategy Planning session

Association of People with Disabilities of Padang City (PPDI)

THE PARTNER

Established in 2011, the Association of People with Disabilities of Padang City (PPDI) is a pioneer organization in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province of Indonesia. Their mission is to encourage and ensure the full and equal participation of people with disabilities within the province in all aspects of public life through continued advocacy, lobbying, and public awareness campaigns. Since its founding, the association has educated the community and policy makers on the importance of a paradigm shift to a rights-based approach to disability and eliminating barriers to the full participation of people with disabilities in public life.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

Through collaboration with the ERA Fund, PPDI is working to ensure the participation of people with disabilities in the musrenbang process in which Indonesians come together to discuss community needs and set priorities. PPDI is organizing trainings on advocacy, leadership and public speaking skills for grassroots disability activists and disabled women's groups, as well as trainings on understanding the local government development planning and budgeting system. Additionally, they are working to advocate for a Disability Action Plan for the provincial government to facilitate disability inclusive development planning and budgeting process as well as to push for disability inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level.

Filles à Besoins Speciaux pour la Reforme (FIBESR)

THE PARTNER

Filles à Besoins Speciaux pour la Reforme (FIBESR) is a grassroots organization which empowers and defends the rights of women and girls with disabilities in Haiti. Its mission is to contribute to improving the living conditions of women and girls with disabilities in Haitian society and to strengthen their voices in decision-making mechanisms. T0 achieve these objectives, FIBESR implements programs focused on five fundamental pillars: capacity building and participation in political life; gender equity and social justice; housing and social assistance; education; accessibility and inclusion.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

With support from the ERA Fund in 2022, FIBESR established an accessible community educational and cultural center for people with disabilities equipped so that users are able to benefit from it independently and equitably and where various resources are made available for capacity building of community members. The center has enabled the continuous support of around twenty young women with disabilities survivors of violence through psychosocial and recovery support. The center also serves as a venue for organizing awareness-raising activities with key government and civil society actors to provide them with technical support and guidance on how to properly take disability into account through the various phases of organizational and community planning. FIBESR is also responsible for building the capacity of its staff to develop and improve their skills in the areas of organizational management, communications, strategic planning, and the management and monitoring of cases of violence against women and girls with disabilities.

FIBESR meeting

Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CDPD)

THE PARTNER

The Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CDPD) was established in 2006 and played a key role in advocating for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Moldova. Since then, CDPD monitors Moldova’s commitments under the UN Convention, and provides legal aid and political engagement training to people with disabilities from across Moldova. Despite ratification of the Convention, accessibility in public spaces remains a core challenge for people with disabilities in Moldova.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

With support from the ERA Fund, CDPD is working to hold authorities accountable to their commitments to accessibilty through organizing local working groups and training people with disabilities on best practices for engaging local government institutions on questions of accessibility. These efforts will ultimately culminate in a multi-year national action plan designed to increase and improve accessibility for people with disabilities across diverse facets of Moldovan society.

Sheyaw Organization for Youth and Vulnerable People Development

THE PARTNER

Sheyaw is a non-governmental, non-religious and non-profit Iraqi organization that advocates for youth with disabilities. Sheyaw aims to create a culture of human rights, participate in strengthening principles of democracy, and reduce the stigmas that vulnerable populations face, especially people with disabilities. To do this, Sheyaw has built a strong network of DPOs across Iraq and encourages youth with disabilities to join advocacy organizations.

OUR WORK TOGETHER

With support from the ERA Fund, Sheyaw is conducting capacity-building workshops and trainings for other disabled persons organizations in the region. Sheyaw is also holding trainings for youth with disabilities on topics such as project planning, management, and other skills in order to prepare the next generation of disability leaders. Sheyaw will also organize interactive sessions on gender-based violence and disability leadership for women with disabilities.

Sheyaw meeting