About Us

Who We Are

The Ethiopian Association of Journalists with Disabilities is a professional association of journalists who primarily focus on the issue of disability in various media. The association was registered with the Federal Civil Society Organizations Authority on January 06, 2014, under Proclamation No. 1113/2011 and obtained legal licence to operate in the country. On September 11, 2015, an extensive program on the establishment of the association and the official launch of operations was successfully organized in Adama City.

Experienced Journalists Driving Disability Inclusion

The association of Journalists with disabilities has been established by journalists that are working on disability and related issues. The association members have more than 15 years of experience in addressing the issue of disability through 9 local mainstream medias with different languages. Moreover, the association members have a proven experience in organizing inclusive events, workshops, trainings and related issues with the objective of realizing the mainstreaming of disability in all walks of life. The well-established collaboration that has nurtured through time is the asset of the association to handle the responsibility of addressing the issue of disability with attractive formats. Currently the Association has more than 50+ active members who engage in different matters.

Mission

Promote community radio and the use of various media outlets to raise awareness about people with disabilities.
Enable qualified journalists with disabilities to be competitive.
Ensure that relevant stakeholders pay the necessary attention to disability and capacity building activities.
Strive to make information available to people with disabilities in accessible format

Goal

Vision

The association of Journalists with disabilities aspires to see people with disability became active participants and play crucial role in social, economic and political affairs using the mass Medias of the country.

Bridging the Gap in Disability Representation in Media

Even though media is a crucial tool to create awareness and bring change in attitudes in relation to disability, the result was very slow due to the lack of attention to disability both in print and electronic media. If there is a need for change in the sector, it is believed that media professionals who focus on disability should come together and collaborate. Media knowledge and full motivation to work on the issue is the need for journalists with disabilities and non-disabled journalists to come together and work together in one umbrella to work on a common issue and make a difference.

Challenges

The following below is discussed challenges during the two years journey,

Availability of an office to perform daily activities and work
Access to advanced technology and materials needed for journalists with Disabilities
Insufficient space for planned training and capacity-building programs
Lack of willingness for collaboration or partnerships from various organizations
Funding challenges to cover expenses such as office rent, salaries and training costs