Following a localisation trajectory NLR Mekong -a regional branch of NLR, a Dutch-based international civil society organisation striving for a world free of free of leprosy has now become a Vietnamese NGO called Research Centre for Inclusion. The mission has stayed the same to combat stigma against people with disabilities in Vietnam.

Cambodia and Vietnam have adopted various international legal conventions and policy frameworks committed to working for people with disabilities. However, the gap between such policies and their implementation, in reality, remains significant; all persons with disabilities, including the deaf community, do not actually benefit from the policies or have opportunities to see their human rights fulfilled in these two countries.

The Empowering Cambodian and Vietnamese deaf project led by the Inclusion Research Centre (previously NRL Mekong) working closely with HandSpeak and DDSP, focuses on two key issues currently affecting the deaf communities in the region:

• lack of (self) confidence and leadership skills;
• and the lack of safe spaces and opportunities to discuss their concerns and challenges to influence for positive changes in their communities.

The overarching objective is empowering the deaf people in Cambodia and Vietnam to stand up for their human rights and fight against discrimination. These challenges are addressed by

1) Providing training on leadership, policy influencing, and communication skills for the deaf;

2) Enabling the deaf to become more self-confident through workshops to work on their self-esteem; and

3) Organising linking and learning exchange visits to promote solidarity between deaf communities across borders.

The deaf project participants themselves are also guided to collect information for documentation of stigmatisation (on areas of employment and within the political sphere) that is used in evidence-based papers for policy influencing and for developing future projects.

This project is building on Brightening Vietnamese Sign Language, the first NOW-Us! winners of 2018.