"El Puente do los Suspiros," "The Bridge of Breath," which symbolized an individual's last gasp of freedom. It is located at the entrance of Agua de Dios, Columbia, established in 1870 for people with Hansen's disease. Today, 16 of the buildings are protected as National Heritage Sites.

Hansen's disease Heritage 
IDEA is a founding member and Secretariat of the International Coalition of Historic Sites of Exclusion, Resistance and Resilience, which promotes the memory of individuals once forced into isolation because of public health policies related to Hansen's disease.  The Coalition provides an international platform for Hansen's heritage sites, people who lived at these sites, heritage specialists and related organizations to bring this important history into the discussion of local and international human rights issues, as well as efforts that use history to create social change.  

Oral History
Oral history is often described as a means through which to “democratize history” -- a way of adding new information and personal perspectives to documented history, as well as a process through which people are empowered and enabled to assume their rightful place in history.  In association with the ILA Global Project on the History of Leprosy, IDEA initiated a comprehensive oral history project which IDEA has continued after the completion of the Project.   More than 220 people from 38 countries speaking in more than 20 languages have been interviewed.  These interviews encompass people long isolated from society because of the disease, to people in modern times who are cured of Hansen's disease.  Excerpts from these interviews are used in exhibits, public education presentations, newsletters and other publications. 

​"I want to tell this story to people in society because I am a survivor of this history."  
Chang Wen Bin, Resident of Lo Sheng for close to 60 years. Lo Sheng is a facility in Taiwan where people diagnosed with Hansen's were sent prior to a cure.

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Publications
Throughout history there have been profound examples of individuals who have refused to be labeled by society.  These men and women have raised their voices, sometimes in protest, but more often in poetry, music and art, to defy society’s stereotypes, labels and limitations.
 
This legacy of creativity and inspiration provides powerful tools and strategies with which to eliminate the stigma associated with Hansen's disease, which can also be applied to other international efforts to eliminate discrimination, and reaffirm the humanity and basic rights of every human being.  These efforts counteract the traditional focus on the physical effects of Hansen's disease that contribute to perpetuating the stigma.  To this end, IDEA has produced a series of booklets that contain inspiring words, artistic talents, and other ways of self-expression, to replace outdated images and stereotypes, with a holistic understanding of individuals whose lives have been challenged by Hansen's disease.
 
Education
​IDEA members educate local, national and international communities about Hansen's disease, to enhance an understanding of the lives of people who have experienced the disease; decrease discrimination related to the disease; and increase awareness of the disease.