Who We Are
Transforming Communities for Inclusion (TCI) is a global Organisation of persons with psychosocial disabilities [an OPD]. TCI forecasts a future in which all human rights and full freedoms of persons with psychosocial disabilities are realized.
We contribute to the realization of the CRPD by elaborating on the pedagogy and the practice of Article 19 of the CRPD (Right to Living Independently and being included in Communities). We advocate for the practice of Inclusion and dream to see it manifest in all national policies and laws of the world.
TCI, in 2020, began to have a vision for the movement for the inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities beyond the Asia Pacific region. It is presently in the ‘regional-going-global’ phase.
In a recent Steering Committee meeting of 2020, the Steering Committee members agreed, in a significant move, that, “TCI remains uniquely positioned and strengthened itself as a post CRPD movement of persons with psychosocial disabilities, working from the core of the cross disability discourse worldwide, differentiating itself as the ‘inclusion’ movement’”.
TCI remains uniquely positioned and strengthened itself as a post CRPD movement of persons with psychosocial disabilities, working from the core of the cross disability discourse worldwide, differentiating itself as the ‘Inclusion’ movement.
Another qualifier of TCI is that, using programmatically organized strategies (Fellowships, DPO support grants, Microgrants, Country Mission visits and Multistakeholder Meetings), TCI empowers national organizations: TCI builds organizations of persons with psychosocial disabilities at the national level.
Our Vision
Our vision is the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for persons with psychosocial disabilities, as guided by the CRPD vision.
Our Mission
To provide a global platform for people with psychosocial disabilities to create a common vision for advocacy for our inclusion at the national level.
To mobilize persons with psychosocial disabilities and cross disability supporters, to advocate for our inclusion within disability and development through well formed program instruments including Fellowships, Microgrants, Country Missions, Multi-stakeholder platforms, etc.
To lead, partake of and contribute to global advocacy on the full realization of our human rights, particularly Article 19 (Living independently and being included in the community), by collaborating and influencing various INGOs, think tanks, co-operations, academia, and efforts by UN agencies, for transforming all development sectors and actors for our inclusion.
To support and encourage multi-national, multi-regional, south-south and north south collaborations and to facilitate and participate in sub-regional, regional thematic consultations, plenaries and global plenaries of DPOs of persons with psychosocial disabilities and our cross disability supporters.
To develop status, white and strategy papers for advocacy actions with respect to laws, policies, and institutional relationships in the region, to facilitate an enabling environment, for the full inclusion of people with psychosocial disabilities
To envision and enable human rights-based, CRPD compliant community mental health and inclusion services, for persons with psychosocial disabilities, by capacity building of DPOs in the creation of violence-free social habitats, “building back better”, community support systems and expanding choice in the realm of wellbeing services and inclusion practices.
OUR ORIGIN
A group of persons with psychosocial disabilities, and some cross disability supporters, in Asia connected and met regularly, since 2012, with the support of the Bapu Trust, Pune (www.baputrust.com) and the International Disability Alliance (www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org). The group took the name of “TransAsian strategy group” (2012-2014), eventually becoming, “Transforming Communities for Inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities – Asia” (TCI-Asia Pacific ), in Bangkok, in November of 2014; and TCI Asia Pacific in Bali, August of 2018.
The motivation for this strategy group was a CRPD moment in the history of the Bapu Trust and IDA. IDA offered an orientation to the CRPD in 2010, in India, followed by a full fledged year long intensive training program, called “ToTAL CRPD”. Bhargavi Davar was admitted into this training, as a representative of a person with psychosocial disability / user survivor. Facilitated by the trainer at the time, Alexandre Cote, Bhargavi travelled widely in the Asia Pacific region, to verify if her experiences of “unsound mind” in a post colonial India, matched that of other peers in the regions. She did find several persons with unnamed identities, facing high restrictions of participation and denial of the right to full inclusion, in several countries. They also faced psycho social stress, distress, disturbance and disabilities. For many, this was a new and inviting identity position. She experienced also, at the same time, the peculiarities of a Commonwealth legacy on lunacy in some countries. She felt relieved and liberated that, in many countries, not colonized by the British, such medico-legal institutions did not exist; nor did the mental health laws. However, human rights violations happened in families, neighbourhoods and communities.
Hence, the name, “Transforming communities for Inclusion” and the focus on Article 19, that gives a universal guidance on what needs to happen for the right to Inclusion (Article 19) to be realized.
OUR ADVOCACY MANIFESTO
In August 2018, TCI adopted the Bali Declaration at a TCI Plenary in Bali, Indonesia. 21 countries and over 70 people from across the disability movement from the region came together to make a strong advocacy, for the “recognition that the inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities involves a paradigm shift and reframing of policy environment from medical model to social model; mental disorder to psychosocial disability; public health to inclusive development; institutionalization to inclusion; treatment to support systems, evoking the guidance of CRPD and the SDGs to bridge such reframing”.
In congruence with the ethos of the TCI , our advocacy, while firmly challenging the growth of mental asylums and their regulatory laws legitimizing coercion and criminalizing our lives; makes enduring strong, experience based request for reframing all questions of policy, program and practice from “Mental health” to “Disability Inclusion”.
WHERE WE WORK
TCI presently has participation from 33 Asia Pacific countries, TCI also has a small, emerging presence in the Pacific Islands kingdoms and nations. We will be expanding our networks globally in the coming years.