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Networking in Disability for Development: Introducing the African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD)

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Disability & International Development

Abstract

This chapter argues for the importance of networking to promote the human rights of persons with disability. The nature of relationships between people in a community can be seen as a key indicator of the well-being of that community. The global village can try and maintain the distant and sometimes difficult relationships between vulnerable groups through the imaginative use of networking, thus providing not just an opportunity, but an obligation to use such technologies to promote social capital, social inclusion and social participation. Networks offer a means of supporting and achieving these aspirations for persons with disabilities. We introduce the African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD) and argue for its timeliness.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ubuntu: “The heritage of the philosophy that comes to us through our traditional African roots is Ubuntu: morality, compassion, care, understanding and empathy. It is one of share and hospitality, of honesty and humility. Simply put, it is the ethic and interaction that occurs in the extended family. In Africa, it draws in all people. In the “family” there is a community of shared values and equality” (Boon, 1996).

  2. 2.

    This dilemma is not unique to disability activism. In the history of struggles for national liberation there have been debates, for example, as to whether the advancement of equality for women or for sexual minorities should be delayed in the service of the broader national liberation agenda.

  3. 3.

    Within African culture, children belong to and are the responsibility of all adult village people.

  4. 4.

    Weber (2005) quoting Sydow (1999)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Rehabilitation Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Gubela Mji, Siphokazi Gcaza, Natalie Melling-Williams & Malcolm MacLachlan

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  1. Gubela Mji
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  2. Siphokazi Gcaza
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  3. Natalie Melling-Williams
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  4. Malcolm MacLachlan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Malcolm Maclachlan

  2. Dept. Psychiatry, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa

    Leslie Swartz

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Mji, G., Gcaza, S., Melling-Williams, N., MacLachlan, M. (2009). Networking in Disability for Development: Introducing the African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD). In: Maclachlan, M., Swartz, L. (eds) Disability & International Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93840-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93840-0_5

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