Leadership
The International Disability Alliance is governed by its full members and through the IDA Board, which is made up of representatives from each of its full members. All IDA members are organizations majority-led by and composed of persons with disabilities and their families. The Alliance's day-to-day activities are carried out by the IDA Secretariat, made up of fourteen people, based in New York and Geneva, [3] that oversees and guides the agenda. The leader of this secretariat is its Executive Director Vladimir Cuk. According to LinkedIn, Cuk has a Master's degree in disability studies, and previously held the position of director of the New York Secretariat of the IDA. [4]
Vladimir Cuk has been extensively involved with the U.N in its mission to better implement practices that improve lives of people with disabilities. In a speech to the U.N. Cuk outlined problems in the way the U.N was classifying people with disabilities, worried that it would give countries the ability to not follow through on implementing new reforms. "If we cannot give clear recommendations, member states have an excuse not to disaggregate data. So for us it is a red flag, and we are gravely worried we are witnessing these disagreements within the U.N. system." [5]
Cuk also attended a meeting of the International Committee of the Red Cross in which he lobbied for countries to put in place measures to take care of individuals with disabilities during natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Cuk said "In both wealthy and poor countries, we are getting reports that people with disabilities are the last to be reached and the last to be rescued. This results in a significantly disproportionate number of deaths for people with disabilities." [6]
Current projects
Through the World Federation of the Deaf the IDA is receiving funds from the Finnish government to provide resources for the deaf in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
Member organization Down Syndrome International is working on creating an international cardiac health protocol for individuals with Down Syndrome. This would give doctors around the world a set of guidelines on how to treat people with Down syndrome.
Member organization Inclusion International has filed a third party intervention in the Romanian court case Stoian v Romania in order to advocate for more inclusion in the Romanian school system.
The IDA along with the United Kingdom have plans to host a global summit, with world leaders and businesses, in order to further the cause of rights for individuals with disabilities. [10]
In January 2018, the IDA met with other disability advocates, and presented case studies of people with disabilities in various countries around the world. They did this both to highlight deficiencies in how countries are handling issues of inclusion, and to highlight growth in cases where good changes have taken place. [11]
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