Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicap InternationalOn January 24th 2018, the global Handicap International network changed its name and became Humanity & Inclusion. This was done "to communicate more effectively on the diversity of its activities, which are not confined to supporting people with disabilities." In addition to the expanded scope of the organization's activities, the term "handicap" had been rejected by the people it was applied to because it had been imposed on them by social workers. See For a discussion of the history of the term, see ) is an international

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

. It was founded in 1982 to provide help in refugee camps in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Headquartered in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, since its creation, it has opened branches in six other countries : Switzerland,

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is an organization which aims to help

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, s ...

and

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

people in situations of poverty and

exclusion Exclusion may refer to: Legal or regulatory * Exclusion zone, a geographic area in which some sanctioning authority prohibits specific activities * Exclusion Crisis and Exclusion Bill, a 17th-century attempt to ensure a Protestant succession in En ...

, conflict and disaster. More than 3,500 field staff are currently located in more than 60 countries worldwide.

History

The organization was founded in France by two French doctors in 1982 to help people affected by landmines in Cambodian refugee camps. The first orthopedic centers were set up in refugee camps in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma and Laos. Simple, locally available equipment was used to provide immediate, effective and practical aid, and local teams carried out the work. In 1986, Handicap International Belgium was set up, and the organization began to extend its work to other countries. It is one of the 6 founding members of the

International Campaign to Ban Landmines The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations whose stated objective is a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their right ...

which received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

in 1997. Since February 2005, the organization has also been calling for a ban on

cluster munitions A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...

and conducting research documenting the human impact of these weapons. Humanity & Inclusion is a founding member of the

Cluster Munition Coalition The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is an international civil society movement, which campaigns against the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. Cluster munitions, a type of munition stockpiled by more than 80 state ...

, an international civil society campaign that works to erase the production and storage of all the munition. In February 2006, Belgium became the first country to enact such a ban as a result of Handicap International's public awareness and advocacy efforts. Handicap International has been a vocal advocate of the

Convention on Cluster Munitions The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) is an international treaty that prohibits all use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of cluster bombs, a type of explosive weapon which scatters submunitions ("bomblets") over an area. Additionally, ...

(CCM), an international treaty banning the use, transfer and stockpile of these weapons adopted on 30 May 2008 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Ireland. There are currently 68 states that have ratified the CCM and 43 non-ratifying signatories. BrokenChair

Humanity & Inclusion won the prize of the 2011 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, a $1.5 million prize, for its commitment to disabled people living in situations of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse < ...

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

or natural disasters. It is also a member organization of the International Disability and Development Consortium. The Brazilian football player Neymar Jr. became an "ambassador" of Humanity & Inclusion on 15 August 2017 until April 2019. The organization was ranked the 8th best international NGO in the world in the

NGO Advisor A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

2017 rankings. The organization changed its name to Humanity & Inclusion in January 2018 to better communicate "the diversity of its activities, which are not confined to supporting people with disabilities." This new identity, change of name and logo, was led by Cossette, a marketing agency in Canada. With this new name, Cossette launched the campaign "Be a lifeline" which was directed by Olivier Staub, Canadian filmmaker and photographer. This campaign won a bronze lion at

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

in the design category in 2018.

List of "ambassadors"

* Ross Wilson - table tennis Paralympian *

Jack Hunter-Spivey Jack Hunter-Spivey (born 11 May 1995) is a British Paralympic table tennis player. He won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and bronze at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, both in the Men's individual class 5 event. Personal life H ...

- table tennis Paralympian * Eddie Ndopu - disability rights advocate

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1982 Charities based in France 1982 establishments in Europe Disability organizations based in France Organizations based in Lyon Nansen Refugee Award laureates

History

List of "ambassadors"

Notes

See also

References

External links