FUNDING for Conference Participation from Developing Nations
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Every year there are dozens of international disability-related conferences. These conferences allow thousands of participants to network with colleagues around the world, forge partnerships across national and professional boundaries, and enrich their knowledge and understanding of the work they do with disabled people in their home countries.
But every year, there are also thousands of people from developing countries who are cut off from these opportunities because most conferences do not take their financial limitations into account. Usually the easiest expense for conference organizers to control are the registration fees. But many do not even have discounted fees for participants from developing countries. Even those that do usually don’t, or cannot, help reduce the cost of travel or lodging. So where can would be conference-participants from developing countries turn for assistance?
Although limited, a few options may be available to you depending on your country of origin, the location of the conference, the goals of the organization that you represent, or the purpose of your trip. Try exploring one of the following three organizations. (Note that the AJ Muste Memorial Institute and the Inter-American Foundation are primarily for people in the Latin American region. Only the Ford Foundation addresses the needs of people from all or most regions.):
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation has 12 country offices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Russia. The country offices have travel grant monies which may be usable for attending international conferences. Go to their contact us page to find and contact a regional office near you. Also try looking at their grants page for more information on applying for Ford Foundation grants in general.
AJ Muste Memorial Institute
The AJ Muste Memorial Institute has a number of different grants for projects that promote nonviolence means for achieving social justice, particularly in areas such as peace and disarmament; social and economic justice; racial and sexual equality; and labor rights.
This includes the NOVA Travel Fund (in Spanish), which makes grants of up to $1,500 to help base-level activists from Latin America and the Caribbean attend regional conferences and meetings. Grant recommendations are made by a committee of advisors representing different regions of Latin America. Their next deadline is February 1, 2008 for trips that would begin after March 15, 2008–but check back at their web site for future deadlines.
Follow the links for the NOVA application form in html format or to download the NOVA application form in RTF format (in Spanish).
Inter-American Foundation (IAF)
The IAF funds the self-help efforts of grassroots groups in Latin America and the Caribbean to improve living conditions of the disadvantaged and the excluded, enhance their capacity for decision-making and self-governance, and develop partnerships with the public sector, business and civil society. The IAF does not identify problems or suggest projects; instead it responds to initiatives presented. Projects are selected for funding on their merits rather than by sector. IMPORTANT: The IAF only supports projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The above links to the IAF web site in English, but their web site is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, and Creole:
IAF in Spanish
IAF in Portuguese
IAF in Creole
Also see the web page on IAF’s involvement with Disabled Peoples’ Organizations (DPOs).
Grant requests need to come from organizations, not from individuals. The IAF has supported disability rights activists from Latin America in attending the Ad-Hoc Commitee meetings at the United Nations and also in attending meetings in Panama for the Latin America Decade.
Some of the text in this blog entry is taken from the relevant web sites describing the grant funds in question. Thank you to Diana Samarasan at the Fund for Global Human Rights–Disability Rights Initiative for alerting We Can Do to these funding sources. Anyone who is aware of additional resources relevant to DPOs in developing countries is urged to please let me know. You can leave a comment in the comments area below, or you can email me at ashettle [at] patriot [dot] net.
[Edited 16 January 2008 to correct links to Ford Foundation web site and to add a sentence amplifying that two of these foundations are primarily oriented at the Latin American region. People from other regions will want to look at the Ford Foundation.]
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Apart from the financial constrain, there exist other barrier to participant from developing countries on getting visa to attend these conference. Even when they have paid the conference fees and have invitation letter from the organiser to attend. what a shame to the world. Lets provide for the lest developed countries in all ways to help to meet to worlds challenges
simeon Raye
3 December 2007
Simeon Raye:
As you point out, there are many barriers beside conference fees. I also had an interesting conversation via email with someone who pointed out to me two things:
1. It’s not only people from developing countries who are kept out by the high expense of attending conferences–people with disabilities in all countries, including rich countries, are more likely to be poor and therefore are also less likely to be able to afford high conference fees and travel and lodging expenses. Though the gap is not quite as large for them, it’s enough to keep them out.
And, 2. It’s not only the people who can’t afford to attend conferences who lose out. The people who DO go to the conference lose out too because then they don’t get to learn from the different perspectives that can be offered by people from developing nations, or from disabled people generally. The person who made this point to me was very correct and I should have said so in this post in the first place. I remember when I attended the Deaf Way II conference some years ago, being very disappointed that so many presentations that could have been very interesting had to be cancelled because the presenters (Deaf people from defveloping nations) couldn’t afford to come to the conference after all.
Andrea Shettle, MSW
3 December 2007
Having all this opportunities for developing countries ,many dont have access to the internet.What hope what future ,we most work hard to bridge the gap despite the opportunities available.
ADAMS PETER ELOYI
4 December 2007
Adams Peter Eloyi:
As you correctly point out, many people don’t have Internet access. One organization, http://www.kabissa.org, is working to bridge that gap in Africa. In the meantime, I’m hoping that people who read We Can Do will help share pertinent information with their contacts who do not have access to the Internet.
Andrea Shettle, MSW
4 December 2007
The IAF has supported disability rights activists from Latin America in attending the Ad-Hoc Commitee meetings at the United Nations and also in attending meetings in Panama for the Latin America Decade.
Can this also support African organisations?
Mojalefa Ntlatlapa
4 December 2007
The Inter-American Foundation is focused on the Latin American region. For people outside of the Latin American region, I would point you to the Ford Foundation (the first one listed) as the most appropriate fit.
Andrea Shettle, MSW
4 December 2007
i am also a disable development worker who strives a lot in attending some of these conferences abroad with my delegates from Africa, but it seems fruitless, in which most of these foreign visa consular offices refused from given us visas,after obtaining all requirements.One can say such frustrating act makes the least developed countries stay away from such useful events.Then what is the fate and the work of such organizations are doing in their propagations in which the least or developing nations have no access at all. Still our voices are not recommended or being signifies as we also among the participants and citizens who also needs a wing of change.
musa m. jagne
11 December 2007
[...] from a developing country who would need funding in order to attend this or other conferences? Learn about possible limited funding sources for participating in conferences [...]
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Forum on Women’s Rights and Development « We Can Do
16 December 2007
this website is useful. it will be good if number of sponsorship gained through this weblink is also mentioned.
LUBNA
23 December 2007
Lubna:
I agree it would be good to know if representatives from DPOs in developing countries have been successful in obtaining funding from one of these three foundations. Unfortunately, I don’t have an easy way to access that kind of information. I do know that some people have been clicking on the links to the various three foundations. But any further communication that happens beyond that is then between the DPOs and the foundations themselves so I don’t have a way to know what happens after that.
If anyone reading this has had experience with one or more of the potential funding sources listed in this post or any other post at We Can Do, please do post a comment so I and others can know of it. (Click on “Funding” under “categories” in the right-hand navigation bar for more funding sources for other activities).
Andrea Shettle, MSW
24 December 2007
Dear Andrea,
I just would like to thank you and others involved in this initiative to encourage the local organizaitons to attend the international relevant events.
Firoz
Afghanistan
Firoz
6 January 2008
Dear Sir,
We work speciffically for the empowerment of persons with disabilities in Nigeria. Please us information on how to assess funding for our projects.
Thank you
Innocent Kalu
10 January 2008
Dear Sir,
Foubd Foundation website cannot be access on fundinf for conference participation from the delevelping countries.
Innocent Kalu
16 January 2008
Dear Sir,
Ford Foundation website cannot be access on fundinf for conference participation from the delevelping countries.
Innocent Kalu
16 January 2008
Innocent Kalu:
Apologies for the inconvenience. I have now fixed the links to the Ford Foundation page.
Andrea Shettle, MSW
16 January 2008
I m Thakur Pd Simkhada. Im a volunteer in a local non governmental organization. I want to join disability seminars / conference. If your organization can sponsor for me this will be good to work further in future.
Thakur Pd Simkhada
6 May 2008