On July 23, 2020, about twenty representatives from various associations, centers, NGOs, and universities working in the field of disability and human rights from Turkey and Armenia held an online roundtable meeting combined with small group discussions on disability and human rights as part of the Turkey-Armenia Dialogue Programme series. The meeting aimed at experience the sharing of actors working in the field of disability and human rights and discovering long-term and sustainable cooperation opportunities between two neighbouring countries.

The roundtable meeting was set up as a result of the interest that came forth out of the webinar “Disability rights, challenges and solutions” part of the online discussion series "Civil society during and after the pandemic", which was simultaneously interpreted into Armenian within the framework of the programme Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process.

Participants also had the chance to meet a special guest speaker from Serbia Dr. Damjan Tatic - former vice chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, who shared a detailed overview of the legal situation and applications in both countries and mentioned some good practices of regional cooperation in the Balkans, by providing a guidance for possible initiatives from Turkey and Armenia regarding disability and human rights.

The specialists working namely with such categories as visual, speech and hearing impairments, autism, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, as well as areas like mental, orthopedic, chronic and rare diseases, had the chance to meet their counterparts from the neighbouring country, share their experiences, discuss field-specific questions in small groups, and discover the current situation and the developments in both countries. 

The specialists had discussions in the following thematic directions: human rights of individuals with disabilities and the legal framework in Armenia and Turkey, accessibility, and inclusive education. The meeting paved a way for the specialists to get to know each other and to touch upon possible cooperation ideas. The Hrant Dink Foundation will continue its efforts towards the establishment of institutional cooperation and networking. 

The Dialogue Programme took place within the framework of the programme
“Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalization Process: Stage 3" funded by the European Union
in cooperation with Gyumri Youth Initiative Centre and Eurasia Partnership Foundation in Armenia