24/09/2026
What happens when organisations of persons with disabilities have the resources and freedom to lead the change we all want?
Across eight ASEAN countries- Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam- IDA and the ASEAN Disability Forum, with funding support from Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Stronger Movements, Stronger Futures initiative, support OPD-led initiatives built around collaboration, collective leadership, and locally defined priorities.
The approach is simple but important: follow priorities rather than impose priorities.
The change starts locally, where people live, and systems are shaped.
This means OPDs decide what changes their communities need, how to use resources, and whom they want to work with. Rather than funding organisations in isolation, the initiative supports OPDs to collaborate and transform systems and services for and by persons with disabilities.
More than 194 OPDs are working through partnerships and consortiums across disabilities, generations and communities, bringing different experiences and perspectives together, identifying shared priorities and developing solutions collectively.
This intersectional approach matters. Persons with disabilities do not experience exclusion in the same way. Gender, age, disability, Indigenous identity and other factors can intersect to create different barriers, and those most affected need to be part of shaping the solutions.
From inclusive education and employment to health, climate resilience, access to justice, political participation, digital inclusion, and responsible AI, OPDs set the priorities.
Through the Inclusion Solutions Center, IDA is investing in organisations and projects but, more importantly, in the leadership, agency and collective power of persons with disabilities.
This is authentic OPD leadership, effective representation and collective advocacy translated into sustained solutions for all.
Creating a stronger disability movement and stronger futures for persons with disabilities across the region.
ASEAN Disability Forum Pacific Disability Forum of Australia In Timor Leste