A/HRC/43/27 50. Attitudes are built on the outcomes of the positive or negative experiences that we have when engaging with other people and as a result of observing and associating. Direct experience tends to better inform attitudes towards other people and to give a better source of information on how we should behave in the future towards such people. As humans, we tend to create categories based on our experiences and these categories lead to generalizations about a group. The more we engage with persons with disabilities, the broader is our understanding of this group and the better we can assess its diversity and our own attitudes towards it. In order to change attitudes towards persons with disabilities, it is necessary to present the diversity of experiences that persons with disabilities live and the commonalities within that group of persons; to present it as a group but one consisting of very different lived experiences. 51. Understanding and portraying the diversity of persons with disabilities is crucial in designing an awareness-raising programme to change attitudes towards such persons. As mentioned above, stigmatization of persons with disabilities is context specific and the representation of lived experiences is impairment based. For example, low expectations of persons with disabilities vary according to their impairment and the cultural context. Persons with physical impairments tend to be better accepted as parents, employees and students than persons with intellectual disabilities, who face greater negative attitudes in the same roles. D. Mobilizing action 52. Awareness-raising programmes should lead to action being mobilized and go beyond simply providing a rational explanation of the lived experience of disability or the human rights consequences of disability-based discrimination. Combating discrimination against persons with disabilities and awareness-raising programmes to change attitudes require the active engagement of persons with disabilities and the communities that are targeted in such actions. Their active involvement not only provides for their recognition but builds a collective belonging that is crucial in presenting a scenario in which persons with disabilities are recognized as equals from the onset and the social problem under discussion is presented as an issue that affects the whole community and not only persons with disabilities. 53. As mentioned above, a rational understanding of disability-based discrimination is usually not enough to change attitudes and promote effective change. It is rare for people to show animosity towards a group of persons with disabilities, who are often perceived as victims of their impairments and condemned to less valuable lives. Consequently, awareness-raising programmes aiming at eliminating attitudinal barriers should appeal emotionally to a community for it to see disability-based discrimination and exclusion as unfair or unjust for the community itself and not just “others”, in this case persons with disabilities. 54. Identifying what motivates change is key to an effective awareness-raising action. Depending on the objective, top-down action can be effective (e.g. implementing an internal policy in a hierarchical structure), while in other cases, bottom-up actions would be better (e.g. improving interpersonal relations in a working environment). Also, awarenessraising action can vary according to the objective, for example limiting awareness-raising activities to a certain hierarchy in an organization (e.g. building the capacity of school directors in charge of implementing reasonable accommodation) or to a broader population (e.g. increasing the involvement of the school community – teachers, students, parents, directors and school staff – to support inclusive education). Mobilizing action most commonly requires a multi-stakeholder approach, involving the media, community leaders, persons with disabilities and their families, religious leaders and others. 11