From October 14 to 16, 2018, as part of USAID’s Expanding Participation of People with Disability program, BlueLaw International, LLP and its partners organized the first of two conferences for the 7 disabled people's organizations (DPOs) from 7 districts selected through a competitive application process. At the conference, BlueLaw oriented small grantees on their small grant award requirements, distributed copies in traditional and accessible formats of the DPO Advocacy Handbook and Lawyers Technical Manual, and workshopped their advocacy proposals to promote implementation of Bangladesh’s Disabled Persons Rights and Protection Act, 2013 at the district level. Over the three days, the small grantees also interacted with prominent Bangladeshi disability rights leaders, including Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, Vashkar Bhattarcharjee, Nazma Ara Begum Popy, and Nasrin Jahan.

Photo Caption: Participants at the first small grantees conference gather underneath the program banner for a final group photo.