We are almost there! Four years after the first Global Disability Summit (London, 2018) and several COVID-19 imposed postponements, the international community will gather online for the Second Global Disability Summit on 16 and 17 February.

To see the evidence base grow and ensure that the focus is where people with disabilities have the greatest needs, IDA, its members, local, and regional partners, organised and coordinated one regional and 27 national GDS consultations. These consultations took place in 26 countries in Africa, Asia, Latina America, Middle East, North Africa, and the Pacific.

The International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the Atlas Alliance, in consultation with the Civil Society Reference Group (CSRG) are organizing a Civil Society Forum under the auspice of the Global Disability Summit 2022.

The 2018 Global Disability Summit in London was intended to start a new wave in the disability rights movement. The impact already felt, and the likely impact of the delivery of further commitments remain exciting and transformative. With the planning for a second Global Disability Summit already underway, the GDS+2 Years report is a timely resource, to inform not only important aspects of its planning, but also the national and regional consultations with organizations of persons with disabilities that will inform the next Summit’s themes, priorities and preparations. In total, 20 workshops are planned across all regions of the world.

The Arab Organisation of Persons with Disabilities (AOPD) and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) concluded three days’ workshop in Cairo, Egypt, that took place from 14 to 16 February 2021, with 15 participants, including representatives of Egyptian organisation of persons with disabilities and was opened by Mr Nawaf Kabbara, Chair of AOPD, Ms Jahda Abou Khalil, AOPD Director, and Mr Tarek Alnabulsi, Director of the Department of Social Policy and Development at the Arab League States. 

On December 2020, IDA coordinated with local and regional partners 4 (four) GDS consultations involving persons with disabilities in AfricaLatin America and Asia. These were the beginning of a series of more than 20 workshops that IDA is planning with partner organizations in different parts of the world, to assess progress made against national commitments adopted in 2018, discuss thematic priorities, and plan events, discussions and training for the run-up to the main GDS event in Oslo.

The International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Latin American Network of Non-Governmental Organizations of People with Disabilities and their Families -...

  July 23, 2018

In consultation with civil society partners, the International Disability Alliance called for the Civil Society Forum, as an addition to the Summit, to leverage the...

On 23 July 2018 (London) over 600 representatives from Organisations of Persons with Disabilities also referred to as DPOs, Civil Society, Governments, Multilateral Organisations, and the Private Sector met to...

A note prepared by Libor Stloukal, Policy Officer in the Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division of FAO, Rome, Italy.
*Disclaimer: the piece does not represent an official position...

The International Disability Alliance, the Government Norway and the Government of Ghana hosted the second Global Disability Summit on 15 - 17 February 2022 (GDS2022). The Summit was held virtually due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and to allow for wider participation. 

The event was live streamed on the Government of Norway website here

The Summit mobilized efforts for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the principle of leaving no one behind and on building back better and more inclusive with regards to Covid-19.

The first Global Disability Summit (GDS18), held in 2018 in London, was a historical moment for disability inclusion and the rights of persons with disabilities. GDS18 generated an unprecedented level of focus on and commitment to disability-inclusive development. GDS2022 was built on the results achieved at the first Summit, to further accelerate much-needed progress towards the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide.

With more than 7,000 participants, and 1420 new commitments made by over 190 stakeholders, the virtual two-day summit witnessed the announcement of new policies and funding, as well as ground-breaking initiatives to support people with disabilities in education, inclusive health care, in the job market and in gender rights. In addition, commitments were also received on the Summit’s two overarching themes of ‘Meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities through their representative organisations’, ‘Building back better and more inclusive after COVID-19’ and ‘Gender’ as a cross cutting theme. There were also pledges to ensure that the voices of Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs) were heard, and that there was meaningful consultation with them when vital decisions were taken. Meaningful OPD participation was a theme that resonated strongly through the two days at the Summit and among many of the side-events. This was reinforced by the launch of the GDS discussion paper on OPD engagement.

The two-day event saw the participation of the UN Secretary General, high-level government representatives and directors of UN agencies, along with representatives of multilateral development banks, the private sector, OPDs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), academia, and businesses.

GDS2022 was preceded by a Global Disability Youth Summit(GDS Youth), held on the 14th of February 2022, the world’s first Global Disability Youth Summit, co-hosted by IDA, UNICEF, and the Atlas Alliance, represented by Youth Mental Health Norway and a Civil Society Forum, held on the 15th of February 2022 and organized by the Civil Society Reference Group (CSRG), in consultation with other relevant partners. GDS2022 also further entrenched the mechanism regionally and mobilized efforts for commitments with 5 Regional Summits, 4 Thematic Workshops, 2 Thematic Roundtables, and 91 side events held in parallel to the GDS22.

IDA's Role as Co-Host to the Global Disability Summit

What does the co-hosting of International Disability Alliance, an Alliance of organisations of persons with disabilities, mean for the Global Disability Summit and the rights of persons with disabilities? Read our briefing here.

Logo of Global Disability Summit