IDEA Nepal holds a Peace Rally each year in Kathmandu, to celebrate IDEA's International Day of Dignity and Respect.

IDEA fosters the empowerment of people in their daily lives-socially, physically, psychologically and economically.  Once empowered, people can advocate for themselves and their communities.  Examples of IDEA's empowerment activities include the following.

Psycho-social support for individuals and their family members in Brazil, with a focus on women who are newly diagnosed or have completed their medical treatment 

"There is a great need to help families support their relatives who are ill so they can help them heal. People are very insecure about family members. Due to lack of information, relatives in some families think the person with Hansen's disease cursed.  At the same time the person experiencing Hansen's disease reactions has real difficulties working. People in this situation are generally poor, working in the city dump, as bricklayers, or in domestic employment, all jobs that require physical strength.  We find fathers and mothers in despair for not being able to work and generate financial support for their family. For many, because of the neurological sequelae caused by Hansen's disease, they have to rethink life at the expense of work. They must risk learning other ways of working according to physical possibilities--a difficult task for those who do not have vocational training and are almost illiterate.

But with psycho-social follow-up, it is possible to help people reorganize their emotional and working lives, giving them emotional security so that a person can cultivate a desire to learn other skills and find other ways to generate income." 
--Zilda Borges, psychologist and Alzira Rodrigues, facilitator

Sewing workshop for women to learn a new skill to support their families, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Self-sustaining programs to promote independence; ensure the ability of individuals to support themselves and their families; and regain self-esteem
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​Empowerment Workshops in Brazil, Angola, China, India, Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria,  where individuals came together to discuss shared experiences and challenges, and ways to work together to address them

Women’s Empowerment Workshops in Nepal, India and Brazil, and and internationally in Seneca Falls, New York, where women can openly discuss, and find strength and understanding, in sharing their unique experiences

​Self Care Groups to maintain independence and the ability to participate in activities of daily living

International Day of Dignity and Respect established by IDEA in 1999,  an annual celebration to raise awareness and promote respect for all human beings
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Participation at International Meetings where people contribute their expertise as equals with physicians, researchers, government officials and administrators, to provide important personal perspectives 

Participatory Research to effectively educate people about their rights

Participants at a workshop in Niger learning video techniques in the human rights participatory research project being conducted in Niger, Nigeria and Mozambique.