Over 200 people representing Sudanese disability associations participated in an initiative organized jointly by the Italian Embassy in Khartoum, the Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the NGO OVCI to celebrate the International Day of People with Disabilities. The venue chosen for the event was the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ open space, a free-loan area granted near the University of Khartoum, where friends of Italy and of Italian culture and traditions meet.
Introductory remarks were made by Badredeen H. Amedm, Secretary General of the National Council for Disability and Fabrizio Lobasso, Ambassador of Italy to Sudan. The Italian ambassador highlighted the role Italy is playing in the African country in promoting full rights and inclusion for people with disabilities. An action which is being carried out also thanks to a hybrid diplomacy that brings together institutional and semi-institutional bodies in bilateral and multilateral political actions in favour of the more vulnerable members of the population.
Italy’s commitment in Sudan currently amounts to about 7.4 million euro. It comprises various programmes: AICS bilateral initiatives for the promotion of the social inclusion of abandoned children with disabilities; the Tadmeen program for inclusive development of educational models; the EU Bridging-the-Gap programme, implemented and co-financed by AICS for the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities and their access to work; and the OVCI NGO programmess – financed by AICS and the Ministry of the Interior – that focus on inclusive education, identification and mapping of disability case studies, community rehabilitation and applied physiotherapy.
