Through the Leadership and Empowerment for Action on Disability (LEAD) Initiative, Handicap International in partnership with MEPI and their local partner “Le Collectif Tunisien pour La Promotion des Droits des Personnes en Situation de Handicap,” is training more than 1,000 Tunisian civil society advocates in Tunisia’s 24 governorates. The overarching goal of LEAD is to transform a disenfranchised community of 700,000 Tunisians with disabilities into civil society leaders who will advocate for the interests of persons with disabilities and marginalized popu-lations.
With U.S. support, the LEAD project developed and finalized the Tunisian Pact for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This pact was signed by more than six Tunisian organizations and gained the support of the United Nations Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. To secure political party signatures, a national campaign was launched through social networks using the hashtag #signezlepacte. There was also a billboard campaign and awareness walk (Yellow Walking Day) held in ten governorates. Eleven political parties signed the pact.
