The Asian Regional Disability Summit, co-organized by the ASEAN Disability Forum (ADF) and the International Disability Alliance (IDA), with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), UNICEF, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and Inclusive Futures, took place from 14–15 February 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.
As part of the Regional Pre-Summits series for the GDS 2025, this summit aimed to embed the GDS mechanism at the regional level by fostering collaboration with regional and local stakeholders. It addressed Asia’s unique challenges and opportunities for advancing disability inclusion while aligning the GDS themes and objectives with the region’s specific context.
The plenary sessions focused on:
- Disability-inclusive development and international cooperation
- Gender equality and the inclusion of women and girls, including SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights)
- Poverty alleviation and disability-inclusive social protection
- Inclusive employment
- Climate change and disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction
- Access to health, including recovery in the aftermath of COVID-19
- Driving regional change by translating GDS commitments into action, reflecting on the Asian Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, and advancing the implementation of the CRPD in Asia
The full agenda can be found below.
At the conclusion of the event, the co-hosts produced an outcome document that will serve as a call to action, outlining concrete commitments for GDS 2025 and next steps to drive progress for disability inclusion in Asia. Building on key regional instruments such as the Incheon Strategy, the ASEAN Enabling Masterplan 2025, and the Asia-Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, the outcome document calls for strengthened regional cooperation, improved data collection, and sustained financial and technical support for OPD-led initiatives to drive long-term progress on disability inclusion. You can read the full outcome document below.
