The Latvian Umbrella Body for Disability Organisations SUSTENTO was founded 2002. At the moment it has 32  national member organisations representing about 50 000 people with disabilities 

The general objective of SUSTENTO is to take care of the common interests of the member organisations.

The aim of our organisation is to promote opportunity of equal participation for all members of the society, to enable protection of rights of people with disabilities in order to provide inclusion of them in to society.

In order to reach its aims SUSTENTO is working in different fields:

Structure of the organisation

The members of SUTENTO are non-governmental organisations of persons with disabilities and/or chronic illness patients. They are all engaged in activities on national and regional level – and some are engaged on local level.

The highest body in SUSTENTO is the annual meeting. It meets once per year.

The annual meeting elects an board of the organisation with seven members (one chairman/woman, one vice chairman/woman one executive director and four board members).

SUSTENTO also has Meeting of Representatives. It is composed of the chairpersons of each member organisation or its authorised representatives, who represent interests of their organisations and have a single voice.

Chairperson of the Meeting of representatives is also chairperson of Board.

Work direction and activities

Promotion of advantages in the policy of government and local municipality, as well as influencing process of adopting positively set legislation for people with disabilities.      

·         To promote policy, which protect rights of the people with special disabilities;

·         To cooperate with different agencies on national and local level; 

·         To provide systematic monitoring of legislative proposals concerning people with special disabilities;

·         To promote participation in the decision making process on all levels to protect interests of participating organisations;

·         To participate within its competence in drafting laws and other normative acts and provides opinion on them.

Activities

·         Representatives of the organisation are included in the work groups of Latvian Ministry of Welfare and Latvian Ministry of Health to develop new legislation which will be based on principles of antidiscrimination and equal rights.

·         Representatives of the organisation are included in the work groups for/of wheelchair users of Riga city municipality to develop wheelchair friendly city policy and provide accessible environment.

·         Special attention is paid to

o       employment policy – together with International Labour organisation and Latvian Association of Disabled women ASPAZIJA will be made research on level of employment for people with disabilities.

o       educational policy – together with Latvian ministry of Education and Sciences and NGO “Agency of Easy-to-Read “ training  programmes are developed and run to start implementation of the policy of inclusive education.

Cooperation with NGOs in Latvia and abroad:

·         To develop international cooperation with similar organisations (coalitions of organisations)

·         To give support to other organisations, which work in the field of integration of people with disabilities.

Activities on international level

·         Close co-operation is started with Europe Disability Forum. Sustento is Phare project partner organisation and work in order:

o       to strengthen dialogue between organisations of disabled people and governments in the accession countries;

o       to strengthen dialogue between different organisations of disabled people within accession countries;

o       to promote dialogue and networking between organisations of disabled people in the EU/EEA and accession countries.

·          Representative of our organisation also participate in the ad hoc committee meeting to develop disability rights convention.

Activities on national level

·         Our organisation started closer co-operation with other NGO’s in our country which are not directly connect with issues of disability – gender equality, patients rights protection etc.

Information and training

·         To publish informative and educational materials. 

·         To organise training seminars.

·         To raise awareness of the Society to the problems of people with special needs.

Activities

·         At the moment circle of training seminars are organised on fundraising and project writing;

·         Our organisation has good contacts with regional and national mass media and it works to promote positive image of people with disabilities.