Disability champions from Nepal visit Australia for professional development
Posted: 29 November 2024
Two disability advocates from Nepal recently took part in an Australia Awards professional development opportunity that reflects the theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities: ‘Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’.
Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia supported Neera Adhikari and Bishwamitra Bhitrakoti to take part in a 10-day professional development opportunity in South Australia at the end of November, in advance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. During the visit, they learnt how different sectors in Australia work together with people with disability to provide the best outcomes for the people for whom they are providing services. Activities included site visits, presentations from government agencies and non-government organisations, and meetings with local people with disability.
Neera and Bishwamitra were among a group of 11 participants representing five countries. All participants were chosen on the basis of being people working in policy and advocacy within the disability sector in their home country. Neera is Undersecretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, as well as the leader of an independent organisation of blind and visually impaired women named Blind Women Association, Nepal. Bishwamitra, who is Deaf, is Vice-President of Dalit with Disability Association Nepal. In this role, he collaborates with various stakeholders to address the intersectional challenges faced by Dalit communities and people with disabilities, focusing on empowerment, education and social inclusion.

From L to R: Bishwamitra, his sign language interpreter Dinesh, Neera, and her carer Prakriti, overlooking the beach at North Brighton.
The two Nepali participants, each accompanied by a Nepali support person, travelled to Adelaide, South Australia, on Wednesday 20 November. From 21 November to 30 November, Australia Awards facilitated a diverse series of learning opportunities for all 11 representatives from South Asia. With more than a full week of activities, there was much for Neera and Bishwamitra to experience and learn from.
The activities began on Thursday 21 November with the team from Palladium’s disability access and inclusion service Maven presenting an overview of the disability system within Australia. The team also discussed the work Maven does across Palladium’s international development programs and with external clients. People with disability make up the core advisory team who design, deliver and evaluate all of Maven’s work, the goal of which is to change the way society views people with disability, by breaking down barriers for inclusion in mainstream society.
A highlight of the activities was a site visit to the beachside suburbs of Glenelg and North Brighton on Tuesday 26 November. This allowed the Australia Awards team to familiarise participants with facilities such as accessible beach equipment (including beach wheelchairs), a Changing Places facility (offering the highest level of accessibility to ensure people with disability with complex needs have access to safe, suitable and specialised bathroom facilities in their community) at Bouchee Walk, Minda social enterprise INC Cafe (an inclusive venue that provides employment for people of all abilities and caters to different dietary needs) and accessibility innovations at Glenelg Library. The extensive tour concluded with guided reflections and a wrap-up of the day’s activities.

Neera walks on the wheelchair accessible beach path at Glenelg Beach
A significant element of the experience in Australia involved the participants learning about Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which funds reasonable and necessary supports associated with significant and permanent disability for people under 65 years old. For example, on Thursday 28 November the group took part in a site visit to VIVA Mutual, an Adelaide-based registered NDIS provider. VIVA Mutual’s founder and Managing Director, Dr Guy Turnbull, led the visitors through the fundamentals of disability and entrepreneurship, a Case Study of social care, and a discussion of what good support looks like.
For Bishwamitra, this part of the program was particularly impactful. “I gained valuable insights on business idea generation during my visit to the VIVA Mutual site”, he says.
On the evening of Friday 29 November, the participants enjoyed a cultural experience in the form of AMPLIFY 2024!, a production of three new theatre pieces from important South Australian theatre company No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability. Presented at the State Opera Rehearsal Studio and including audio description for the visually impaired, AMPLIFY 2024! brings 35 disabled performers together to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This annual end-of-year performance sees the theatre ensemble devise new works out of their performers’ own thoughts, ideas and creativity.

Bishwamitra and his interpreter Dinesh at Glenelg Library.
Bishwamitra and Neera returned to Nepal full of new perspectives that they can bring to bear in their advocacy roles back home.
Before the experience began, Neera said she was interested in learning how Australia has been working to promote the rights of people with disability and what types of policies and laws the Australian Government has adopted to empower people with disability to ensure their rights. She noted that her exposure to Australian policies and programs to support people with disability will strengthen her contributions to formulating disability-related acts, regulations and guidelines, and support her in guiding her staff in correctly implementing disability policies. “I have learnt so much,” she says. “The Australian Government has been implementing anti-discrimination laws, which we do not have in Nepal. I will try to amend the law in Nepal to reflect what we saw in Australia.”
“I found that in Australia, the government and community worked together at the local level to support people with disability. Community engagement is very important for inclusion and in Nepal we need to have coordinated work at the local level [like in Australia] to expand support for people with disability.”
Bishwamitra set out to Australia with the aim of strengthening his advocacy efforts further, by gaining new perspectives on disability inclusion and sharing details of his work in Nepal. He says the program has assisted him in that goal “by exposing me to best practices in accessibility, assistive technology, inclusion and community engagement.”
“Seeing Australia’s commitment to inclusive infrastructure, such as accessible roads, parks, playgrounds, hotels, museums and public spaces, has inspired me to push for similar improvements in Nepal,” he says.
Returning home, he wants to broaden the impact of his work in the disability sector. “I am committed to applying these learnings in my community to promote inclusion, accessibility and equity in Nepal,” he said. Bishwamitra is confident that his recent Australian learning experience will help him—and the rest of the visiting disability advocates—continue to dismantle barriers and promote equity for all individuals with disability.