Culture, Disability and Inclusion (CDI) Project

CDI logo. To the left is a circle with a mosaic design in yellow, orange, blue and black. To the right is bold, capital text that reads: "Race and Disability Canada's Culture, Disability and Inclusion Project."

What is the CDI Project?

The Culture, Disability and Inclusion (CDI) project, is a research and capacity building initiative led by Race and Disability Canada, in partnership with L'Arche Canada and Humanity & Inclusion Canada. The objective is to learn how disability is understood across cultures by conducting community-led research in Canada and 10 global locations across Africa, Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, and South America. 

Our Partners

L’arche Canada

Humanity & Inclusion Canada

  • The CDI Working Group: Community-Led Global Disability Research

    Based on the 10 countries chosen, the CDI research project will recruit 10 Indigenous, Black and racialized people with disabilities from across Canada with strong community ties in Canada and in their representative countries, as community based research consultants who will collectively contribute to the development and delivery of the research.

  • Co-Creating Research

     Using a Community-based Emancipatory Disability Research approach, the community based research consultants will collaborate with RDC researchers and representatives from L’Arche Canada and Humanity and Inclusion Canada to form a working group that will draw on lived experience and expertise to co-create and inform the research.

  • Bringing Cultural Awareness to Disability Policy and Services

    The findings will aid the development of innovative resources and tools to better equip and inform disability policy, services, and programming within the disability sector in Canada and will highlight the cultural nuances of disability within the diversity of Canadian communities.

What are the objectives of the CDI Project?

Better understand the lived experiences of Indigenous, Black and Racialized people with disabilities and how disability is understood across various cultures and within their cultural context

Highlight the culturally relevant accessibility practices and requirements of Indigenous, Black and racialized people with disabilities

Enhance the organizational capacity and cultural competence of Canada’s disability sector to better serve Indigenous, Black and Racialized people with disabilities 

Amplify the lived experience and expertise of Indigenous, Black and racialized people and their communities in Canada and globally

Address the intersectional challenges and barriers among racialized people with disabilities in Canada, including immigrants and refugees

Advocate for and support systemic change in Canadian policy, the mainstream disability sector and among disability serving organizations