Participants from cross-disability constituencies from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan attended. They discussed GDS Youth, the Call for Action and the UNCRPD.

Since its early years of existence, IDA has been supporting disability activists to engage in advocacy and develop their skills and experience, including through accessing exposure to international human rights...

Since its early years of existence, IDA has been supporting disability activists to engage in advocacy and develop their skills and experience, including through accessing exposure to international human rights...

Under the Catalyst Project, IDA newly started so-called ‘No One Left Behind’ grants, in order to support its global member organizations to engage in activities aimed at supporting the implementation...

Bridge CRPD-SDGs is an intensive training programme that aims to support organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) and disability rights advocates to develop an inclusive (all persons with disabilities) and...

IDA’s Youth with Disabilities Flagship

Youth with disabilities and the intersectionalities of age is one of the focus areas of the work of the International Disability Alliance (IDA)

Since 2010, IDA has always included youth with disabilities in our workshops and the CRPD Committee review processes. In 2015, with the launch of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training Initiative, IDA established their systematic inclusion, including facilitators through the ToT trajectory.

In 2012, those efforts were further consolidated through a UNFPA funded project on youth with disabilities (2016-2018). The project aimed to contribute to the promotion and inclusion of the rights of youth with disabilities in international human rights and development frameworks. More specifically, this project enabled youth with disabilities to learn more about CRPD reporting processes, NY-based UN mechanisms such as COSP, UNGAHLPFHRCSocial ForumDemocracy Forum, the Global Humanitarian SummitIASC consultation processes, and COVID-19 related discussions.

IDA also has created the Bridge Fellowships that have the mission to support the effective implementation of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs initiative and enjoy peer-learning and mentorship from the ToT team of persons with disabilities. 

In 2020, following decisions from the IDA’s Board and PC meeting, IDA members decided to include the issues and realisation of rights of youth persons with disabilities into IDA's Strategic Framework 2020 - 2023. Across our programs, we are applying a twin-track approach to the issues and rights of youth with disabilities and cross-youth movements. 

Still in 2020, we produced a number of events and workshops promoting youth and issues and rights of youth with disabilities before the UN as well as on the COVID-19 situation. IDA also supports the Community of Practice linking up with partners. For instance, two youth from the Global South participated in a webinar discussion with the Office of the UN Special Envoy on Youth and the UN Major Group for Children and Youth ‘Asia Pacific Researchers, Practitioners and Policy-makers in Dialogue with Children and Youth’ Project, selected two youths with disabilities, from underrepresented groups to participate in their work.

In the same year, IDA held a global webinar with youth with disabilities on the COVID-19 situation which was proposed by the WBU Youth Committee.

During the global webinar, youth with disabilities asked us to create a ListServ where they could meet and exchange. The email address for this ListServ is youth-list [at] ida-secretariat.org. It is an open network. We plan to update our webpage and invite more people to register in this ListServ. 

In January 2021, IDA created the Youth Fellowship opportunity, and in March 2021 established the Youth Committee with youth representatives of our members and Bridge alumni. 

IDA and its Youth Committee are planning a number of activities ahead and around the Global Disability Summit 2022, including national consultations involving youth with disabilities, webinars, and the Youth with Disabilities Summit co-hosted with Norway and the Atlas Alliance, supported by their member the Youth Mental Health Norway.  

While there is a fruitful field of advocacy by youth, particularly around the SDGs, still, movements led by youth with disabilities are highly underrepresented both in the youth and the disability movements. IDA has been working hard to address this power imbalance, including by identifying youth leaders including from underrepresented groups and creating opportunities for mentorship and leadership within the movement.

It is time for the change! We count on your support! 

  • For further information, please, contact rgalarza [at] ida-secretariat.org  and Guler Koca gkoca [at] ida-secretariat.org.
  • Read our News about Youth Committee (PDF version here)

In collaboration with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), IDA is undertaking a project to contribute to the promotion and inclusion of the rights of youth with disabilities in international human...

  March 15, 2017

The International Disability Alliance, thanks to a project supported by the UNFPA, had the pleasure to bring two youth members’ representatives to the United Nations...