The Australian High Commission said here Wednesday that in a first for the Pacific, AusAID's Disability Reference Group (DRG) will hold high level meetings in Fiji in recent days with national, regional and international stakeholders working to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

As an advisory group of senior international and Pacific leaders, including people with disabilities, the DRG helps to shape AusAID's implementation of its strategy, Development for All: Towards a Disability-Inclusive Australian Aid Program 2009- 2014, and to ensure that Australia is informed by the voice of people with disability.

The Australian High Commission said in a release that members of the DRG group are invited on the basis of their standing in the disability community, their knowledge and practical experience in disability-inclusive development, particularly in the Pacific and Asia regions.

According to the release, the DRG will meet with senior stakeholders in the Pacific, including the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Pacific Disability Forum and UN Partners.

Meetings with the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons, representatives from the Australia-Pacific Technical College new Disability Studies Centre, and the Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific will be key to efforts to promote education opportunities for students with disabilities in the Pacific.

In welcoming the international delegation, Australia's acting High Commissioner Glenn Miles said, "over the next three days the group will engage with senior stakeholders in the Pacific. We expect these meetings to draw attention to the importance of people with disability benefiting from development efforts in the same way as others."

"We also look forward to the insights that AusAID's Disability Reference Group will give the Australian Government on how to ensure that our aid program includes and benefits people with disability in the Pacific."

Pacific Disability Forum CEO Setareki S. Macanawai hailed that "this week Pacific countries and development partners can showcase good-practice and learn from international development practice that benefits all people. This really is the first opportunity for a public and open discussion on disability and rights in the Pacific involving international experts and leaders, most of whom are people with disabilities themselves."