Regional Summits, Thematic Workshops & Roundtables

All Regional Summits, Thematic Workshops and Roundtables were organized in the week leading up to the GDS22, between 8 and 18 February, 2022. All organizers of Regional Satellite Summits were invited to prepare a statement to be read at the GDS22.

We believe in the importance of building upon the momentum created by the Global Disability Summit (GDS), both in the lead up to it and in its aftermath, worldwide. To this extent, International Disability Alliance (IDA), will be facilitating the organization of regional satellite summits & roundtables in connection with the Global Disability Summit 2022 (GDS22). Regional Satellite Summits will aspire to entrench the GDS mechanism at the regional level, through channels such as the Arab League, the African Union, the European Union etc., with the objective to facilitate the organization of summits in the future.

Regional Summits & Thematic Workshops 

1.  Thematic Pre-Summit: Disability Inclusion in the Health Sector
12 January 2022, 3.00 PM - 5.00 PM CET 

The Government of Norway, the Government of Ghana, and the International Disability Alliance (IDA), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), co-hosted a Thematic Pre-Summit on Disability Inclusion in the Health Sector which took place on  12 January 2022 from 3.00 to 5.00 pm CET under the auspices of the Global Disability Summit 2022 (GDS22).  If you want to learn more about this event, you can access a recording here and you can read about it in this article.

2.  Thematic Workshop on Assistive Technology
14 January 2022, 2.00 PM – 5.00 PM CET

The workshop was organized by ATscale and was held on  14 January 2022 from 2.00 to 5.00 pm CET. Over 500 people from 94 countries joined key stakeholders and decision-makers to discuss how we can better work together to enable people to live more healthy, productive, independent, and dignified lives through access to Assistive Technology. Stay informed on ATscale through their website (https://atscale2030.org/)

3.   Inclusive Education Thematic Workshop
20 January 2022, 09.00 AM – 10.30 AM ET

The workshop was organized by Global Campaign for Education and partners, and was held on 20 January 2022, 09:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada). Here you can find all information about the workshop held: the video recording of the event, social media toolkit (including messages that can be adapted for posting after the event), event program, speaker bios and slides, event summary, links, and resources from the workshop, and event evaluation form that can be found here on the event page.

4.  Thematic Workshop on Community Inclusion: What Can We Do to Build Back Better for Community Inclusion? 
27 January 2022, 3.00 PM - 4.00 PM CET 

The workshop was organized by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, UNICEF, OHCHR, IDA, and IDDC and was held on  27 January 2022, from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm CET. You can access a recording of the event in English here and in Spanish here.

5.  High Level European Regional Disability Summit: Perspectives on Pan-European International Cooperation
8 February 2022, 10.00 - 13:00 CET

The European Regional Disability Summit was held on 8 February 2022, 10:00 – 13:00 CET (Geneva time) with 1008 registrations and 637 actual attendees from all parts of the world and in particular Europe, including representatives of the disability movement, civil society, donors, governments, United Nations (UN) agencies and their country teams in the region. You can find the article of the Summit on the European Disability Forum’s website, as well as the Outcome Document (English version; Russian version). The event has been recorded and will soon be available on EDF's website. The Summit and the Outcome document were presented yesterday by Gunta Anca, EDF’ Secretary, on the first day of the Global Disability Summit.

6. High Level Latin America and the Caribbean Summit
10 February 2022, 09.30 AM -  04.00 PM (Panama time) 

The Government of the Republic of Panama, the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDDIS), the International Disability Alliance, the Latin American Network of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and their Families, and the ONCE Social Group, organised the Latin American and Caribbean Satellite Summit, that was held on February 10, 2022, from 09.30 to 16:00 hours (Panama time). You can access and view the details of the Summit here.

7. African Regional Satellite Summit
14 February 2022, 10.30 AM - 12.10 PM GMT

African Regional Satellite Summit -  Barriers and potential solutions to the challenges of Inclusive Development in Africa was held on 14 february 2022 from 10.30 am to 12.10 pm GMT. The event have visited 164 participants.

8. High Level Regional Summit for Asia: Sustainable and Inclusive Employment of Persons with Disabilities after COVID-19
16 February 2022, 4.00 - 7.00 PM KST

Disabled Peoples, International Korea held the online High-Level Asian Regional Disability Summit on Sustainable and Inclusive Employment of Persons with Disabilities after COVID-19 together with International Disability Alliance (IDA) and ASEAN Disability Forum on 16th February 2022 from 4.00 to 7.00 PM KST. 
The Summit discussed the outcomes which should showcased opportunities and challenges to inclusive employment, hopefully paving the road to reduce employment gaps and overall stigma around the employment of persons with disabilities. The event had 130 registrations and 67 actual attendees from all parts of the world and in particular Asia, including representatives of the disability movement, civil society, donors, governments, United Nations (UN) agencies, and their country teams in the region. The event welcomed 10 high-level speakers and moderators, covering the Regional Disability Summit in Asia, the UN, organizations of persons with disabilities, and other important stakeholders. The discussions focused on disability-inclusive development across education and work and employment. You can find the recorded video of the Regional Disability Summit in Asia here.
You could register here. You can download the invitation for the Regional Summit for Asia here. You can download concept note for the Regional Summit for Asia here. You can download the flyer here.

9. High Level Pacific Regional Summit
16 February 2022, 01.00 PM Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands

Australia and New Zealand, with Pacific regional partners the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), hosted a Pacific Satellite Summit on 16 February 2022 in the lead up to the Global Disability Summit. You can see recording from the main room here. You can watch the session Inclusion in Situation of Crisis and Conflict, including a focus on Climate Change here. You can watch the session on Inclusive Education here. You can watch the session on Capacity - Strengthening of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities here.
Download the Pacific Islands Forum Statement at the Global Disability Summit.
You can download the concept note for the event here. You can download the agenda here. You can download the poster here.

Roundtables

1. WeThe15 Roundtable, Key Learnings to Date and what Comes Next
16 February 2022, 6.00 – 7.00 PM CET

By bringing together the biggest coalition ever of international organisations from the worlds of sport, civil society, human rights, policy, business and arts, and entertainment, WeThe15 increased awareness that 15% of the world’s population are persons with disabilities to record levels, provoking global conversations at all levels of society. On 16 February, WeThe15 hosted a roundtable to hear from some of the key protagonists behind the WeThe15 movement. You could register for the event here. You can download a concept note for the event here.

2. Private Sector Roundtable, Disability is Everyone's Business
17 February 2022, 01.00 - 02.00 PM CET

Sightsavers, The Valuable 500, International Labour Organization and Business Disability International organized a roundtable, where leaders from the private sector and leaders of the disability movement came together to highlight examples of innovative partnerships with businesses in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. You can download the recording from the event here. You could register here. You can download the flyer here.