| International Projects: Examples of long distance partnerships at work: |
| Planning and Organizing International Children's Congresses: Since 1991 Counterparts has planned and run eight international children's congresses held in four different countries (the U.S., Canada, Argentina, and Norway). These congresses bring together families and youth with disabilities, policymakers, ministry officials, health, education, and social service professionals, leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community representatives from over 50 nations in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Their purpose is to discuss international human rights declarations, national policies, and local programs that help children and youth with special needs become accepted and contributing members of their home communities. We work with national planning teams to design, find funding for, and run these meetings. |
| Sustaining a Multinational Steering Committee: From 1995 to the present, Counterparts has served as the Secretariat to a multi-national Steering Committee that plans biennial International Children's Congresses. This committee's membership includes: UNICEF, OECD, WHO/PAHO, the U.S. Departments of State, Health and Human Services, Education, Social Security, USAID, and representatives of several national family advocacy organizations. We have served as the center point for this committee's work by organizing regular planning sessions and teleconference calls, recruiting resources that support the committee's international activities, and helping the committee mentor countries that step forward to host the Children's Congresses. |
| Running a Symposium on Inclusive Education: Working with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Counterparts planned and conducted a multinational meeting for international educators from Europe, the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. Participants exchanged ideas about systems reform in education and to shared information about teacher training programs focused on the inclusion of youth with special needs in regular school programs. |
| Fundraising: U.S.- Hungarian, Czech, and Slovak Science & Technology Grants: In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Counterparts wrote a grant proposal that received funding for communities in three Central European countries to develop improved services to support children and families in their local communities. We then organized consultations over a three-year period, designed training programs, planned site visits, and conducted the evaluation of these projects. |
| Facilitating a Global Workshop on Children with Disabilities in Developing Countries: At a multinational conference sponsored by the Academy for Educational Development (AED) in the late 1990s, Counterparts designed and then facilitated workshops focused on including children with disabilities and their families in the global economic agenda. Participants included 30 countries, donor organizations, and NGOs involved with children's issues, including the World Bank, USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank, UNICEF, and the U.N. |
| Helping the U.S. National Council on Disability Develop a Strategic Plan for International Advocacy Work: Counterparts has consulted with the National Council on Disability since 1999 to help it define its international mandate and to begin to build within the U.S. a network of grassroots disability organizations willing to work with other countries to develop a United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities around the world. We facilitated a three-day NCD retreat in 1999 and a national summit of grassroots organizations in 2002. |
| Creating Assistive Technology Cyber Cafes: Counterparts has created and conducted workshops in Canada, Argentina, and Norway. These workshops instruct persons with mental and physical challenges on the use of computer technology which can enable them to become a part of a wider community and workforce. The workshops are in Spanish and English. |
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