Our Partnership Approach with DPOs and universities in the Global South aims to:
1) Disrupt the colonial relationships embedded within research relations by creating participatory spaces for Southern partners to develop their capacities and build their political agency;
2) Create potential for academic and non-academic partners to engage and develop their academic/activist networks in support of women and girls with disabilities in the global South.
3) Supporting DPOs in the global South to take a lead in the development of the partnership and implementation of the project in a culturally relevant manner;
4) Enhance leadership roles that promote collective learning and recognize diverse perspectives of girls and women with disabilities in the global South.
5) Provide a contextually relevant frame of reference that will create new ways of doing and engaging with Southern knowledges.
Principles of Partnership:
Our partnership principles are based on collaborative, inclusive; respectful, decolonial, and reciprocal relationships between and among researchers, activists, communities, disabled girls and women, and institutions in the global North and South.
- Collaboration: Working with partners to develop collaborative and inclusive practices; identifying and eliminating barriers to participation and engagement; creating accessible spaces for local partners to engage in the project;
- Inclusivity: Understanding how the local context shapes partner values, perspectives, and positions;
- Respect: Respecting the partners’ diverse ways of thinking and doing; creating and enhancing opportunities for respectful dialogues among partners;
- Decolonization: Recognizing complex relationships between and across academic and non-academic institutions, and between the global North and South; recognizing colonial and neo-colonial implications during the research process; working to enhance partners’ voices, leadership, and participation by involving them in decision-making;
- Reciprocal relationships: Creating opportunities for partners to engage based on mutual respect, relationships, and benefits.
Please visit Decolonial Partnership Project (DEPA) which is apart of The Learning with and from the Global South: Opportunities for Engaging Girls and Young Women with Disabilities Across Southern Spaces (ENGAGE) partnership project.