Our journey
The establishment of AIDRAN is a result of a series of activities involving Australian and Indonesian disability advocates, researchers, and institutions since 2015 supported by various Australian aid programs. The first key event was an international conference on the role of Islamic educational institutions in promoting inclusive education in 2015, followed by another international conference in 2017 on Diversity and Disability Inclusion in Muslim Societies.
Both events were funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Justice (AIPJ) and Program Peduli. The later conference led to the establishment of AIDRAN. The Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI), a partnership between the Australian and Indonesian governments that supports better use of evidence policy making, supported the official launch of AIDRAN in October 2018 at La Trobe University, the establishment and the development of the network.
Our aims
Through a range of network activities, AIDRAN aims to create sustainable links between Australian and Indonesian counterparts in order to:
- Facilitate sharing of knowledge on effective approaches and good practices to promote disability-inclusive policy and practice;
- Build the capacity of Indonesian researchers and disability advocates to collect quality data on disability issues, produce policy-relevant knowledge, and effectively advocate for disability-inclusive policy;
- Build coalitions and solidarity to advocate for social transformation.
Knowledge Sector Initiative Support
The support from Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) in a form of seed funding has enabled AIDRAN to achieve:
- An expanded and strengthened network with disability researchers, advocates and policymakers as well as the general public;
- Effective sharing of knowledge through interaction and collaboration between disability researchers, advocates and policymakers;
- Policy reform using evidence-based research including through policy briefs, government policy, and consultative meetings;
- Attracting funding from sources other than KSI, including for core support for the network.