The Global Disability Summit
Yannis Vardakastanis, Chair of IDA, said: “OPDs need to be recognised as meaningful partners. The motto of the disability movement is ‘nothing about us, without us’. But every possible agenda is about us. So simply, we are asking for nothing without us”.
GENEVA, Switzerland (PRWEB)
February 18, 2022
This news was announced at the close of the second and final day of the Global Disability Summit, which saw ambitious commitments from world leaders and organisations from across the world to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
Hosted by the governments of Norway and Ghana along with the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the virtual two-day summit announced new policies and funding, and ground-breaking initiatives to support people with disabilities in education, inclusive health care, in the job market and in gender rights.
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 91 side-events. This was reinforced by the launch of the GDS discussion paper on OPD participation.
Yannis Vardakastanis, Chair of IDA, said: “OPDs need to be recognised as meaningful partners. The motto of the disability movement is ‘nothing about us, without us’. But every possible agenda is about us. So simply, we are asking for nothing without us”.
Announcing the third Global Disability Summit, Hon. Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development, Norway, said: “What we started in London in 2018, continued in Norway in 2022, will not end here. The movement will go on until we have equality for all”.
His Royal Highness Prince Mired Raad Zeid Al-Hussein, President of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Jordan, said: “We believe that it is the solemn right of people with disabilities to live a life of dignity in which all their unalienable rights are respected. We thank Norway, Ghana and IDA for their support, and congratulate them for their efforts”.
Dr Barbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, said: “By continuing the Global Disability Summit, together with Jordan, in 2025 we contribute towards the goal described, we want to hear as many different voices as possible, including global civil society”.
Dr Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director, International Disability Alliance, said: “We are so excited to be welcoming the Governments of Jordan and Germany. We will continue to write this history. The Global Disability Summit is an unstoppable movement”.
The second Global Disability Summit occurred virtually over two days, 16-17 February 2022, and was live-streamed from Norway.
Notes to editors
A full list of the commitments will be made public on the Global Disability Summit website in the coming weeks.
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