Ipul Powaseu OBE | Disability Advocate

The QUT Alumni Team sat down with Ipul to ask how she is building leadership capacity in her roles as Co-Chair of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Assembly of Disabled Persons and Senior Program Manager - Disability Inclusion of the PNG Women Lead Program, her inspiration and career highlights and what can individuals without disability do to be a better ally to the community.

You spent close to 30 years as renowned agricultural scientist and socio-economic researcher, what was the impetus to move into disability advocacy?

In 2006, I was invited to attend a women with disability workshop and heard the many challenges that women with disabilities were faced with such as lack of access to health care, market services and the transport system. It was then that I realised that as a person with disability I am lucky to be recognised for my professionalism and not discriminated against despite my impairment. I was approached by my workshop peers to be their voice to government to recognise the rights of people with disability. In 2009, I was also approached by the then Minister for Community Development, Dame Carol Kidu, who was looking for persons with disability leader and so I consented to be that person.

What are some of your career highlights?

I spent most of my professional career time within the agricultural research sector in PNG, mostly building up the capacities of the information centres of the many of our agricultural research institutes, providing support to build research capacities of agricultural scientists in scientific writing and publishing. I built agricultural information systems across the National Agricultural Research Institutes’ information centres and the Coffee Research Institutes information centre as well linking with the main Department of Agriculture and Livestock information systems.

The PNG Government ratified the Convention on the Rights of persons with disability (CRPD) in 2013. Has this helped to remove some of the barriers around inclusion and participation?

The ratification of the CRPD by the PNG Government provided a strong leadership to ensure that development plans align with the National Policy on Disabilities. Disability is now being discussed more than about ten years ago.

As a Co-Chair of the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons (PNGADP) can you tell us more how you are using the role to help upskill and build leadership capacity?

In 2009, after setting up the PNGADP, the first thing I did was conducted a series of sensitisation training for leaders of the provincial affiliates of PNGADP. In 2011, I sent 10 of our provincial DPO leaders (five males and five female) for a one month leadership training in Melbourne mentored by CBM Nossal Partnership. For 10 years leading the organisation, from 2008 to 2018, I mentored and provided training in CRPD and research skills for both emerging and existing leaders within the disability sector. I have now taken a back seat and am letting young women and men to take up the leadership role and providing mentoring to them in technical areas as well as leadership.

Can you tell us what emerging issue/s will have the greatest impact on the disability community in the next 5-10 years? This can either be national or international.

Climate change is becoming a major concern for people with disabilities as we are a seriously affected group when disaster strikes. However, impact of climate changes is quite varied and in most cases we tend to focus on disaster mitigation only. We need to look at impact of climate change for people with disabilities in the areas of food security, access to water, displaced people due to high sea rise and inundations of shore lines. As an environmental scientist by training, I have tried to consider this as an important area that intersects with disability and is very important for the country to take actions on. Gender based violence is another concern for me as a women and with a disability. In my current role as Senior Program Manager - Disability Inclusion in the new PNG women lead program funded by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), I am working around institutionalising disabilities in other areas such as discussed above.

Have you found that technology has assisted with the delivery of services and resources

Yes the COVID-19 pandemic had provided the opportunity for technology to help connect the geographically remote areas of PNG which poses issues for people with disability due to the terrain and the lack of accessible infrastructures. Many children with disabilities are not attending schools, women with disabilities are not accessing market and health services. Technology can bridge that gap and allow us to do business wherever we are and access services such as education and health.

What is one skill you couldn't live without and why?

For me, I like to mentor young and emerging people. In order for us to make changes and be change agents we need a mentoring spirit so that we all can have a collective voice to advocate for greater change.

What is one goal you'd like to achieve - professionally or personally - in 2024?

My one goal to achieve professionally and personally is that we can start to streamline disability into government sectoral policies and institutionalise this. I would like to achieve this by starting with our gender policies and strategies with regards to gender based violence, health care services and informal sector policies through the PNG Women Lead Program that I am working on.

Can you name some disability advocates who you think are doing great work or inspire you?

I have people who are doing great works as great disabilities advocates and I look up to such people as Graeme Innis (Disability Discrimination Commissioner 2005-2014), Hon Bill Shorten MP, the late Judy Heumann (Mother of the Disability Rights Movement), Catalina Devadas (DRF Executive Director) and many more around the world whom I have rubbed shoulders with.

What can individuals without disability do to be a better ally to the community?

Recognise disability is not something that is with a person but rather is influenced by societal values, systems, cultures and perceptions of people towards people with disabilities as needing help rather than as equal partners in development.

Do you have a question for Ipul? Connect with her on LinkedIn

Photo courtesy of the Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea.