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 opportunity to amplify the voice and participation of persons with disabilities.
Global Disability Summit
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...
Moderator: Mr. Terry Riley, World Federation of the Deaf
Terry Riley, OBE, is a Board Member of the World Deaf Federation and of the International Disability Alliance. Terry has a wealth of experience in the media, with over 23 years. Terry was the first Deaf editor and CEO of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust. Terry has held numerous leadership positions including Chair of the British Deaf Association for over 9 years.
Ms. Ana Lucia Arellano, International Disability Alliance
Ana Lucía Arellano Barba is the Chair of the International Disability Alliance. Ana is originally from Quito, Ecuador, is a Latin American human rights activist and advocate for the rights of Persons with Disabilities for almost 23 years. Ms. Arellano is also the President of the Latin American Network of Non-Governmental Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and their Families (RIADIS).
Mr. Anderson Gitonga, Kenya Disability Caucus
Anderson Gitonga is from Kenya and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the United Disabled Persons of Kenya and Secretary to the Caucus on Disability Rights Advocacy. Anderson has been a Community Development specialist with a focus on disability rights for the last 20 years and held numerous key programmatic and leadership functions in various organisations.
Ms. Ummy Nderiananga, Global Disability Summit Youth Group
Ummy Nderiananga is from Tanzania and graduated from University of Dar es salaam with Hon Bachelor Degree in Political Science and Public Administration. Ummy is the Chairperson of Tanzania Federation of Disabled Peoples Organisations (SHIVYAWATA), a trainer for entrepreneurs, motivational speaker and youth advisory panellist at DFID.
Moderator: Ms. Laura Kanushu, Legal Action for Persons with Disabilities Uganda
Laura Kanushu is a lawyer and advocate for progressive policy realization and legislative approaches towards social justice for all based in Uganda. Founder and current Executive Director of Legal Action for Persons with Disabilities of Uganda. Laura has held leadership positions with Legal Aid Service Providers Network, the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum and other national organizations.
Hon. Minister Dr. Jean A.N. Kalilani, Government of Malawi
Hon. Minister Jean A.N. Kalilani, is a Malawian Minister and MP, Principal Secretary for Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare. She has previously led the National AIDS Program and worked as the designated Representative of WHO Director-General and Regional Director for the African Region. A holder of numerous university degrees, she has six children and raised 22 orphans.
Mr. Geir Jensen, World Federation of the Deafblind
A 75-year-old deafblind Norwegian, holding a Cand. Mag. degree in Law and current President of the WFDB; 59 years of national disability advocacy; 23 years of international deafblind advocacy; 13 years in the WFDB with 5 years as President. 6 years as IDA board member. A football and Chess enthusiast.
Ms. Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, CRPD Committee, Ghana
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame is an international advocate on disability and gender issues, a resource/technical person on programming with focus on disability and a mentor. She is the Global Advocacy Advisor-Social Inclusion at Sightsavers, was recently elected unto the CRPD Committee and also holds leadership positions in various national, continental and global organisations.
Ms. Simone Aspis, Alliance for Inclusive Education, UK
Simone Aspis is Campaigns and Policy Coordinator for the Alliance for Inclusive Education in the UK. Simone leads ALLFIE’s campaigns and is active on current policy and legislation issues. Also, she successfully helped with gathering evidence for Reclaiming Our Future Alliance to present at the UN Disability Committee in Geneva.
Mr. David Constantine MBE, Motivation
David Constantine is the co-founder of Motivation, an organization which works to improve the quality of life of people with mobility impairment. His inspiration to design wheelchairs started when he joined IBM and met industrial designers after completing his degree in Computing & Accounting/Finance. In 2010, he was awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to people with a disability.
Moderator: Dr. Ola Abu Alghaib, Leonard Cheshire Disability
Ola Abu Alghaibhas almost two decades of experience in the field of disability, development, and inclusive social policies in low and middle income countries. Her responsibilities have encompassed policy analysis, program design, management, evaluation, formulation of advocacy strategies, capacity development, use of qualitative methods, and research with the World Bank, UN agencies (WHO, ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF), NGOs and INGOs.
Hon. Minister Ms. Nalule Safia Jjuuko, Government of Uganda
Hon. Minister Nalule Safia Jjuuko is a Member of the Uganda Parliament. She is the National Woman Member of Parliament representing persons with disabilities and a renowned ecologist.
Mr. Edson Ngirabakunzi, National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda
Ngirabakunzi Edson is Executive Director, National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda, an indigenous umbrella organization of persons with disabilities in Uganda. Edson holds a master’s degree in human rights from Makerere University, where he is currently pursuing PhD. He is a disability activist and has worked in the disability sector for the last 15 years.
Mr. Dominic Haslam, International Disability & Development Consortium
Dominic Haslam has worked in international development for over twenty years, is Director of Programme and Policy Strategy at Sightsavers and recently became Chair of the International Disability and Development Consortium. In the SDG arena, Dominichelped get the Beyond 2015 campaign up and running and played a role in the process to ensure the 2030 Agenda was inclusive of persons with disabilities.
Ms. Nelly Caleb, Pacific Disability Forum
Nelly Caleb is currently the National Coordinator of the Vanuatu Disability Promotion & Advocacy Association, Co-Chair of the Pacific Disability Forum and Board member of the International Disability Alliance. Nelly was previously Project Officer of the Department of Women’s Affairs in 2003-2007, Secretary and Care taker of the Sanma Rural Women’s Council from 1998-2003, and a Politician from 1991-1997.
Mr. Action Amos, Federation of Disability Organisations Malawi
Action Amos is Executive Director for the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi FEDOMA, chair of the In-Country CSO UNCRPD Taskforce, member of the National Mainstreaming Strategy Taskforce in Malawi, Board Director for African Disability Alliance, Secretary for Pan African Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, and Board Member of African Deafblind. He has lived experience of epilepsy for the past 22 years.
Dr. Abul Hasnat Monjurul Kabir, UN Women
A.H. Monjurul KABIR, is Senior Programme Adviser and Chief of Section, Asia-Pacific, LDCs, and SIDS at UN Women HQ. He co-chairs UN Women’s Global Taskforce on Disability and Inclusion and is Global Lead for South-South Cooperation. Dr. KABIR, a Governance, Rule of Law, and Public Sector Management expert, formerly held positions with UNDP, and UN in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and, countries in Europe and CIS region.
Moderator: Ms. Nadia Hadad, European Disability Forum
Nadia Hadad a human right activist since young age, civil engineer, human ecologist. She works in development cooperation. She’s on the board of European Network of Independent Living, GRIP, EDF-executive committee, advisory panel of the Belgian CRPD monitoring-mechanism, Fundamental Rights Agency and the Academic Network of European Experts on Disability.
Mr. Mika Kontiainen, Government of Australia
Mika Kontiainen is Director Disability at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia. His team manages Australia’s global disability partnerships and provides DFAT with policy advice and technical assistance on disability, which is a cross-cutting priority for Australia’s international engagement on development, humanitarian assistance and human rights.
Ms. Pratima Gurung, National Indigenous Disabled Women Association Nepal
Pratima Gurung is a faculty member of Padma Kanya College and an activist to ensure the rights of indigenous persons with disabilities. She serves as General Secretary for Indigenous Persons with Disabilities Global Network. She is president of National Indigenous Disabled Women Association Nepal and is an advisory member of Disability Advocacy Rights Fund.
Mr. Hector Minto, Microsoft
Hector Minto is Senior Technology Evangelist (Accessibility) for Microsoft. Hector worked in the field of Assistive Technology, Alternative Communication and Special Educational Needs for 20 years, focusing on emerging technology and how to maximize its effectiveness across the wide range of people with physical, learning and sensory disabilities.
Ms. Mohua Paul, Access Bangladesh Foundation
Mohua Paul is a Co-Founder of Access Bangladesh Foundation. At the age of 12 she developed transverse myelitis and very quickly became paralysed. She worked for 35 years in the different disability-oriented organizations and has received several awards from the government of Bangladesh for her outstanding contribution in disability development.
Mr. Michele Falavigna, Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO)
Michele Falavigna studied political sciences and diplomacy. Michele worked with the UNITED NATIONS as Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad and Niger. He is a specialist of disability inclusion in humanitarian aid and an Advisor to the NGO AIFO and the Italian Network on Disability and Development on capacity building of Organizations Representing Persons with Disabilities.
Moderator: Ms. Catalina Devandas Aguilar, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Catalina Aguilar is a lawyer and human rights advocate originally from Costa Rica, who has worked extensively on disability issues at the national, regional and international level. Catalina currently services as the first Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities and previously worked for Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, United Nations Secretariat and the World Bank.
Mr. Gerard Howe, Government of United Kingdom
Gerard Howe is the Head of the Inclusive Societies Department in DFID’s Policy Division. The Department has responsibility for a range of policy issues and programming, including leading on disability inclusion, gender equality, preventing violence against women and girls, civil society, LGBTI, social protection and Leave No One Behind.
Mr. Danlami Basharu, CRPD Committee Nigeria
Danlami Basharu from Nigeria currently serves as Vice-Chairperson of the CRPD Committee and is Director of the Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind, Lagos. Danlami was previously president of the umbrella body of persons with disabilities, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities until 2012. He is a trained lawyer, teacher, clerical officer and television producer.
Ms. Sue Bott, Disability Rights UK
Sue Bott, a person with visual impairment from birth, has been active in the UK disability movement for many years. Sue is currently Deputy CEO at Disability Rights UK and previously was Chief Executive of the National Centre for Independent Living. She was made a CBE in 2014 for services to people with disabilities and their families.
Ms. Charlotte V. McClain-Nhlapo, World Bank Group
Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo is the Global Disability Advisor for the World Bank Group. A human rights lawyer by training; she was appointed by President Obama as USAID’s Disability Coordinator in 2011 and in 1998 by President Nelson Mandela as Commissioner to the South African Human Rights Commission. She previously worked for UNICEF.
Moderator: Ms. Tapiwa Gwenlisa Marange, Alive Albinism Initiative
Tapiwa Gwenlisa Marange is the Founder and Executive Director of Alive Albinism Initiative in Zimbabwe. She graduated from Kanthari Institute of Social Entrepreneurs, was a member of the think tank in the Office of the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of the rights of Persons With Albinism and a Mandela Fellow at the Young African Leadership Initiative at the University of Nebraska.
Rt Hon. Lord Bates, Minister of State for International Development
Lord Bates was appointed as a Minister of State at the Department for International Development on 14 October 2016. He was previously a Minister of State at the Home Office from May 2015 until March 2016. Lord Bates is a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Hon. Minister Mr. Ukur Yatani, Government of Kenya
Hon. Minister Ukur Yatani is Cabinet Secretary for Ministry of Labour & Social Protection in Kenya, having been appointed in 2018. He was the first Governor of Marsabit County, and has over 25 years of experience in public administration, diplomacy and governance. He has held high ranking positions with the United Nations.
Dr. Samuel Kabue, Kenya Disability Caucus
Samuel Kabue serves as the Chairman of the Caucus on Disability Rights Advocacy in Kenya and is a member of the UN Committee of Experts on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Sam has worked for the Government, National Council of Churches of Kenya and the World Council of Churches.
Miss Devika Malik, Global Disability Summit Youth Group
Devika is a psychologist currently pursuing her PhD, the first Indian to be pursuing academic research in the field of disability sports for women in India. She is co-founder of the Wheeling Happiness Foundation and has competed as an international para-athlete.
Mr. Abraham Abdallah, International Disability Alliance
Abraham Abdallah is the President of the Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities, an IDA board member, has served as a Member of the Executive Committee for the National Council on Disability in Lebanon and was previously Dean of Inclusive Education at Al-kafaat University. Abraham Abdallah has extensive experience working in the field of human rights and disability.