Behinderung und Entwicklungs­zusammen­arbeit e.V.

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Our Guiding Principle

Our guiding principle consist of our vision, our goals and our way of working.

Our Vision

bezev is committed to a just, social and sustainable world in which all people have equal opportunities for development and participation. bezev promotes inclusive development and strengthens equal participation of people with impairments and disabilities in development and humanitarian initiatives. Based on the responsibility of all for sustainable development, bezev is committed to education for sustainable development/global learning.

Our Aims

The most important goal of the work is to contribute to a sustainable improvement of the living conditions of people with impairments and disabilities, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The responsibility for sustainable development is the responsibility of all people, including people with impairments and disabilities. bezev is committed to ensuring that people with impairments and disabilities in the Global North and Global South can also become actors in sustainable development. Every human being has a right to development - this right is indivisible and universal!

Our Work Method

As there is a need for action on many levels and in many different areas, bezev mainly works in the field of awareness raising, information and knowledge transfer as well as political lobbying. With targeted activities, bezev tries to reach the relevant actors in order to achieve the greatest possible effect. One example was the commitment to ensure that the topic of inclusion of people with disabilities is included as substantially as possible in the new sustainable development agenda - the 2030 Agenda with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. In many places, too little information is available on the topic of disability and development. bezev counters this by developing information materials or organising conferences and seminars. With these, new thematic areas are also taken up again and again, in which people with impairments and disabilities have been neglected so far. Examples include: Migration and disability, HIV/AIDS and disability, (in)dignified work and people with disabilities in humanitarian emergencies. In order to make important concerns accessible to a broader public, bezev conducts campaigns. Exhibitions, for example, provide information on the links between the Global Sustainability Goals and people with disabilities, while at the same time campaigning for their equal participation in the implementation of these goals. With a documentation centre and a literature database and reference library, bezev provides subject-specific information. Furthermore, bezev publishes the 'Journal for Disability and International Development', the only specialist journal on this topic in the German-speaking world.

bezev conducts expert consultations on the topic of 'Disability and Development' for development cooperation professionals.

bezev supports projects abroad for and with people with impairments and disabilities. bezev is a recognised sending organisation for the development policy volunteer service weltwärts. bezev designs the volunteer service inclusively.
Volunteers are active supporters of the partner organisations abroad and promote intercultural and professional dialogue. 
The voluntary service is a learning service. It contributes to the personal development of young people and supports the acquisition of competences in the sense of education for sustainable development/global learning. 
Returning volunteers are important multipliers and are invited to work together with bezev to shape a sustainable and just world.

In order for people with impairments and disabilities to become actors for sustainable development and to actively shape the future, bezev creates inclusive materials and conducts training on the implementation of inclusive education for sustainable development/global learning. 

Networking and cooperation with other organisations and in networks is an essential part of the work. bezev is a member of the Association of German Development Non-Governmental Organisations (VENRO) and is involved in the working group "Disability and Development".
Furthermore, bezev is a member of the One World Network NRW.  
At the international level, bezev is a member of the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC).
bezev is a registered non-profit association (VR 4061 at Essen District Court, last notice of exemption dated 06.05.2020).

Here you can find our entire guiding principle to download as a PDF

Here you can find our statutes for download as a PDF