China Vision

About China Vision

China Vision was founded in London in 1999 by a group of individuals concerned about disability, human rights, civil society and open media in China. This group included educators, disability rights activists, media professionals and China specialists, all of whom recognized the severe problems faced by visually impaired people seeking equal access to education and employment in China. China Vision was registered as a UK charity in 1999, with the specific purpose of supporting education for people with visual disabilities in the People’s Republic of China. As our work has grown, we have recognized the need to engage more broadly in disability rights in China, so our remit now covers other areas of disability, including intellectual and psychosocial disability.

China Vision is also alert to all human rights concerns which might affect the lives and livelihoods of people with disabilities, including discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, religion or sexuality. Initially we supported study visits to the UK by visually disabled teachers, provided a variety of reading materials and equipment to blind people across China, and facilitated exchange between individuals engaged in disability rights and education in China and the UK. Since 2005, China Vision has become more directly involved in rights-based advocacy in China, supporting the development of independent media production by blind and other disabled people. Since 2008 China Vision has managed and monitored over a dozen disability rights projects, covering Disabled People’s Organization capacity building, media production, monitoring implementation of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), rights advocacy, inclusive education and supported employment. These projects have all been inspired by our partners in China and developed jointly by Chinese disability rights activists and China Vision.