On 9 November 2017, twenty three (23) alumni of the Disability Rights Scholarship Programme met at Saint George Hotel in Pretoria following the culmination of the 5th Annual African Disability Rights Conference. The purpose of the alumni meeting was to establish and form a platform for the alumni to network, share information about the scholarship programme, prospects for academic advancement and collaborate on issues pertaining to regional and country progress on disability rights.
As one of the meeting outcomes, the name ‘African Disability Rights Alumni Network’was approved by the alumni and will be officially adopted at the general assembly to be announced in due course. An interim steering committee was appointed, alongside two sub-committees who will be responsible for drafting the network’s constitution and strategic plan. It was agreed that, the drafts of the network’s constitution and strategic plan will be circulated to all alumni for inputs on or before the end of March 2018. In the interim the network has entrusted the Centre for Human Rights with the administration of the affairs of the network until such a time when the Alumni network is officially registered and leadership officially adopted through a general assembly.
The meeting was co-chaired by Florence Ndagire of Uganda and Peter Ngomwa of Malawi (both 2013 alumni) who are both part of the steering committee. The members will be kept informed of the events of the network through the steering committee with the support of the Centre for Human Rights.