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Advocacy | top of the page |

Support or argument in favor of a cause, policy or idea. It is undertaken to influence public opinion and societal attitudes or to bring about changes in government, community or institutional policies. The process of actively speaking out, writing in favor of, supporting, and/or acting on behalf of oneself, another person, or a cause.

Accessible | top of the page |

Easy to approach, enter, operate, participate in, or use safely, independently and with dignity by a person with a disability (i.e., site, facility, work environment, service or program).

Beneficiaries | top of the page |

The men and women, communities, or organizations expected to benefit from the project or program.

Capacity building | top of the page |

Capacity building refers to the development, fostering and support of resources, to upgrade general or specific skills and organisational strengthening. On a macro level, capacity building refers to investment in people, institutions, and practices that will, together, enable countries in the region to achieve their development objective.

Civil society | top of the page |

The web of associations, social norms and practices that comprise activities of a society as separate from its state and market institutions. Civil society includes religious organizations, foundations, guilds, professional associations, labor unions, academic institutions, media, pressure groups and political parties.

Community | top of the page |

Community-Based Services | top of the page |
Services designed to help people remain independent and in their own homes.

De-institutionalization | top of the page |
Policy which calls for the provision of supportive care and treatment offering a wide range of services for medically and socially dependent individuals in the community rather than in an institutional setting with the principle of choice and decision.

Disability | top of the page |

The term disability means a disrupted relationship (communication) between the person with impairment and the society. The term person with disability means an individual that, due to a significant and long-term disruption of physical, mental and sensory functions, is unable or is significantly limited in ability to realise one or more daily activities.

Disability Creation Process | top of the page |

The Disability Creation Process (DCP) adopts a very comprehensive approach to disability. It defines the “Handicap” (more commonly called the “Disability” by English speakers) as a disturbance in a person's life habits as a result of a dynamic interaction between personal factors ( impairment or disability ) and environmental factors ( obstacles ). Disability is therefore not a fixed state, but a dynamic process that varies according to the context and to the environment. According to this model, several types of actions can be undertaken to modify these interactions and achieve social participation: reducing impairment ( medical care ), developing capabilities ( rehabilitation ), as well as adapting the environment ( elimination of physical obstacles, anti-discrimination and accessibility policies ).

Disabled People's Movement | top of the page |

All those disabled people who, regardless of the type or severity of their impairment, consider they are disabled by the structures and attitudes in society, and are therefore subject to a common oppression.

Disabled People's Organisation | top of the page |

Empowerment | top of the page |

Is the expansion of assets and capabilities of vulnerable people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives. In its broadest sense, empowerment is the expansion of freedom of choice and action. It is a participatory process which places or transfers decision-making responsibility and the resources to act into the hands of those who will benefit. This can include (I) capacity building for stakeholder organizations; (II) strengthening legal status of stakeholder organizations; (III) stakeholder authority to manage funds, hire and fire workers, supervise work, and procure materials; (IV) stakeholder authority to certify satisfactory completion of project and establish monitoring and evaluation indicators and (V) support for new and spontaneous initiatives by stakeholders.

Equal Employment Opportunity | top of the page |

Nondiscrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, promotion, recruitment, training, and other terms and conditions of employment regardless of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin or disability.

Equal opportunities | top of the page |

Absence of discrimination, as in the workplace, based on race, color, age, gender, national origin, religion, or mental or physical disability

Impairment | top of the page |

Impairment is the loss or limitation of physical, mental or sensory function on a long-term or permanent basis.

Inclusion | top of the page |

means people with disabilities and/or learning difficulties being included in mainstream society

Integration | top of the page |

This term means that disabled people can access mainstream services, but these do not adjust or restructure to remove barriers. All forms of integration assume some form of assimilation of the disabled person into mainstream structures, which remain largely unchanged.

Independent Living | top of the page |

The concept of independent living involves the belief that individuals with disabilities have the same rights and responsibilities as other people in society. Thus, services provided to the public should be accessible to persons with disabilities, and systems of support should be made available to help individuals with disabilities live within the community and lead more independent lives.

Institution | top of the page |

Public or private structure with a permanent mandate defined by the state at a central or local level, which provides different kind of services (social, medical, educational, employment).

Full Participation | top of the page |

A process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them. It is a process which can improve the quality, effectiveness and sustainability of projects and strengthen ownership and commitment of government and stakeholders.

Lobbying | top of the page |

Efforts to influence legislation by influencing the opinion of legislators, legislative staff and government administrators directly involved in drafting legislative proposals.

Mainstreaming | top of the page |

Mainstreaming disability is the process by which the State ensures that people with disabilities can receive the support they need within the ordinary structures of education, health, employment and social services. It implies that disability is taken into consideration in various sectors' legislation and reforms.

Medical Model | top of the page |

In this model, disability is considered as an individual pathology to be cured or rehabilitated by medical specialists.

Non-government organization (NGO) | top of the page |

As the term indicates, an NGO is not a governmental organisation, therefore basically independent from governmental control. NGOs often differ from other organizations in the sense that they tend to operate independent from government, are value-based and are guided by the principles of altruism and voluntarism. The objectives of NGOs are non-profit. NGOs can generate revenues from their activities, but these go towards forwarding the organisation's goals. Essentially, an NGO does not belong to shareholders but to society at large.

Organizational capacity | top of the page |

the ability of people to work together, and organize to solve problems, mobilize resources, resolve conflicts, and network with others to achieve agreed-upon goals.

Rehabilitation | top of the page |

Rehabilitation is a comprehensive process aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric and/or social functional levels, thus providing them with the tools to change their lives towards a higher level of independence. It may include measures to provide and/or restore functions, or compensate for the loss or absence of a function or for a functional limitation. It includes a wide range of measures and activities from more basic and general rehabilitation to goal-oriented activities, for instance vocational rehabilitation

Self help | top of the page |

The act of aiding, improving one's self, without depending or relying on the aid of others .

Social model | top of the page |

In this model, people with impairments are seen as disabled by their environment, the attitudes of others and the policies, practices and procedures of organisations. Not much can be done to change impairments. A great deal can be done to get rid of barriers and create a more equal society in all aspects of life. This is the struggle for disabled people's rights.

Social services | top of the page |

Services generally provided by the government that help improve people's standard of living; examples are public hospitals and clinics, good roads, clean water supply, garbage collection, electricity, and telecommunications.

Social integration | top of the page |

is the ability of different groups in society to live together in productive and cooperative harmony and to accommodate differences within a framework of common interest to the benefit of all. Social integration implies justice for the individual and different social groups. It means implies access to institutions for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

Social issues | top of the page |

examples of social issues are differential access to land and other resources; conflicting demands on the same resources for conservation and economic development of traditional users; marginalization of women; religious or ethnic tensions; winners and losers in privatization and reform programs; structural exclusion of social group; poor governance, adverse social impacts, etc.

Targeted population | top of the page |

They represent the key stakeholders and are persons or groups who are affected by or can affect the outcome of a project. This includes the poor, low-income, vulnerable and excluded social groups as well as local organizations, NGOs and government authorities.

Unified voice | top of the page |

Integration of several different messages into a strong integrated unique message to provide strength and power in delivering the unique common message in front of

Vulnerability | top of the page |

This denotes a condition characterized by higher risk and reduced ability to cope with shock or negative impacts. It may be based on socio-economic condition, gender, age, disability, ethnicity, or other criteria that influence people's ability to access resources and development opportunities. Vulnerability is always contextual, and must be assessed in the context of a specific situation and time. Good practice in World Bank projects indicates that development interventions and support mechanisms should assess vulnerability, and target interventions to be appropriate and reduce risk for those deemed as vulnerable.