The 3rd International Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD 2006) brought together 30 women leaders with disabilities from around the world who are new and emerging leaders in a unique opportunity to strengthen leadership skills, exchange wisdom and strategies, create new visions and build networks of support to improve the lives of women and girls with disabilities internationally.

 Diverse participants from around the world:

•  Spoke 26 spoken languages and 7 sign languages
• Were from 30 different countries, representing Albania, Armenia, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Gambia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mali, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, USA, Vietnam and Zambia.
• Included grassroots activists, teachers, students, mothers, coordinators, social workers, artists, musicians, a chemist, counselors, directors, translators, administrators, advisors, and volunteers.
• Had diverse disabilities – blind or low vision, Deaf or hard of hearing, Deaf/Blind, mobility disabilities due to polio and spinal cord injuries, congenital miopatia, osteogenesis imperfecta, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, leg amputation, arm impairment, and cerebral palsy -- and some walked with crutches or canes and used wheelchairs.

Women with disabilities need leadership opportunities and skills to address poverty and discrimination

Women with disabilities have historically made up the poorest of the world’s poor, encountering double discrimination based on both their gender and disability. During the Institute, the women empowered themselves to counter discrimination by sharpening skills for effective leadership, including project development, policy and legislation, and using the media. In interactive seminars, participants developed action plans to address priority issues for women with disabilities such as employment, health care, economic empowerment, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, education, and human and civil rights.

Gender, Disability and Development Institute: Partnering with International Foreign Aid Agencies

Delegates also took part in the Gender, Disability and Development Institute, a three-day intensive workshop that brought the international delegates together with US development professionals such as Oregon-based Mercy Corps and Holt International Children’s Services to exchange “best practices” as well as challenges in their efforts to be inclusive of people with disabilities in development programs. WILD delegates returned to their countries and organizations with new collaborative relationships, and specific plans to benefit women with disabilities in local communities and internationally.

While in Eugene, WILD delegates participated in team building activities such as an outdoor challenge course and white-water rafting, and they learned more about U.S. culture by staying with local homestay families in the Eugene and Springfield communities. If you are interested in being a host family for future programs, please contact MIUSA at info@miusa.org.

The Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability is made possible through the generous support of the WK Kellogg Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, The Rotary Club of Eugene, International Labor Organization (ILO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Fund for Women, Marriott Residence Inn, Hilton Hotel, Mobility International USA, and by donations from individuals and businesses in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon and throughout the US.