Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD)

The Southern Africa Regional Round Table Forum 2022

Organized by the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), the Southern Africa Disability Round Table Forum brings together various actors on triennial intervals to reflect and evaluate the work of SAFOD and the disability movement over the past three decades. The first forum was held from June 20 to 23, 2017 at Holiday Inn Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Running under the theme “Reflecting on 30 years of Disability Advocacy & Activism in Southern Africa”, the 2017 Roundtable Forum sought to create a regional platform where various stakeholders in the disability sector could reflect upon the achievements or milestones during the 30-year period, discuss the challenges which had been experienced throughout the same period, and dialogue on how delegates, including development partners, could effectively support both SAFOD and the entire disability sector in sustaining the gains that had been made so far. For more information about teh 2017 Roundtable Forum, view or download the report here 

The next forum will be held from 21 to 23 November 2022.

The 2022 Disability Regional Roundtable Forum will be held at the same venue as in 2017.

This time around, the forum will be held under the theme: “Leaving no one Behind: Collaborating for a sustainable disability mainstreaming and inclusive development in Southern Africa.”

Under the main theme, there are three more sub-thematic areas identified as follows:

  • Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR): Learning from national and community-based good practices to enhance preparedness for risks amongst persons with disabilities.
  • Inclusive Education: Learning from national and community-based good practices in Inclusive Education, including in inclusive and holistic Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE).
  • Making a Case for a Regional Disability Protocol: How having in place a regional blueprint will guide and harmonize regional approaches in promoting disability mainstreaming and inclusive development in the SADC.

How to register for the event?

Participants are encouraged to register online here. Please feel free to inquire about any additional information about the event by emailing programs@safod.net, and include in your subject line "Roundtable Forum." 
 

Side Events 

The forum will play a significant role in raising awareness about disability mainstreaming within DRR and inclusive education sectors, as well as in all other sectors generally through the proposed SADC Disability Protocol. This will be achieved not only through the presentations, keynote address/speeches, and deliberations during the main event of the forum, but also through several side events that are being planned to be organized not only by SAFOD but also by various actors in the region. The side events will provide more insights into issues affecting the disability sector in the region.  SAFOD partners and other stakeholders are free to submit an Expression Of Interest (EOI) to organize a side event. There will be a total of three side events per evening, each targeting approximately 60 participants. They will take place in the evenings of the forum, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, on Monday 21 November, and Tuesday 22 November 2022. 
 
For an EOI to qualify, it must be aligned with any of the three thematic areas of the main forum. Partners whose EIOs have been accepted should meet the costs for organizing the side event. Before or after sending the EOI, partners may contact and engage with the SAFOD Secretariat to further discuss the costs related to the side events.
 
Interested in organizing a side event? Please download the Expression of Interest Form here.