The International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Government of Norway, and the Government of Ghana hosted the second Global Disability Summit on 16 and 17 February 2022 (GDS2022). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure inclusive participation at the Summit, the event was held on a digital platform.
The International Disability Alliance, the Government of Norway and the Government of Ghana hosted the second Global Disability Summit on 15 – 17 February 2022 (GDS2022). The Summit was held virtually due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and to allow for wider participation.
The event was live-streamed on the Government of Norway website here.
- You can download the Chair’s Summary here
- Watch the recordings of the GDS2022
- Click here to download the program for GDS22
The Summit mobilizes efforts for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the principle of ‘Leave No One Behind’ and on building back better and more inclusive with regards to Covid-19.
The first Global Disability Summit (GDS18), held in 2018 in London, was a historical moment for disability inclusion and the rights of persons with disabilities. GDS18 generated an unprecedented level of focus on and commitment to disability-inclusive development. GDS2022 was built on the results achieved at the first Summit, to further accelerate much-needed progress towards the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide.
With more than 7,000 participants, and 1420 new commitments made by over 190 stakeholders, the virtual two-day summit witnessed the announcement of new policies and funding, as well as ground-breaking initiatives to support people with disabilities in education, inclusive health care, in the job market and in gender rights. In addition, commitments were also received on the Summit’s two overarching themes of ‘Meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities through their representative organisations’, ‘Building back better and more inclusive after COVID-19’ and ‘Gender’ as a cross cutting theme. 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 side-events. This was reinforced by the launch of the GDS discussion paper on OPD engagement.
The two-day event saw the participation of the UN Secretary General, high-level government representatives and directors of UN agencies, along with representatives of multilateral development banks, the private sector, OPDs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), academia, and businesses.
GDS2022 was preceded by a Global Disability Youth Summit (GDS Youth), held on the 14th of February 2022, the world’s first Global Disability Youth Summit, co-hosted by IDA, UNICEF, and the Atlas Alliance, represented by Youth Mental Health Norway and a Civil Society Forum, held on the 15th of February 2022 and organized by the Civil Society Reference Group (CSRG), in consultation with other relevant partners. GDS2022 also further entrenched the mechanism regionally and mobilized efforts for commitments with 5 Regional Summits, 4 Thematic Workshops, 2 Thematic Roundtables, and 91 side events held in parallel to the GDS22.
Additional information
>> Click here to download the brief report on GDS Consultations in PDF
>> Click here to download the brief report on GDS Consultations in WORD
>> Click here to view figures about GDS Consultations – October 2020 to April 2021
For questions, please write to summit@ida-secretariat.org
