Across the Global Disability Summit process, one message is becoming increasingly clear. Youth with disabilities are not waiting for systems to catch up. They are already shaping how accountability, follow-up, and implementation work in practice. The Youth Call to Action is no longer just a statement of priorities. It is evolving into a living tool for follow-up, reflecting how young persons with disabilities understand representation, participation, and change.
This shift came into sharp focus on Human Rights Day, when the International Disability Alliance (IDA) convened a global, youth-led dialogue on how the Youth Call to Action can be used to monitor and advance implementation after GDS 2025. The discussion moved quickly beyond questions of visibility. For many young persons with disabilities, the real challenge is follow-through, and the Call to Action is increasingly understood to intervene in how decisions are made after the Summit. As Carly Fox, International Chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and moderator of the discussion, reflected, “In crisis and unprecedented times, youth are not merely the future but the present. Youth are prepared to work and lead. What we need is space and support.”
Youth advocates are using the Youth Call to Action across regions to frame conversations with governments and partners. It is not aspirational. It is directional. Their emphasis is on action that reaches communities, not commitments that remain at a global level. This is why the Call is grounded in the CRPD and linked to the Amman-Berlin Declaration. It gives youth a shared political language to insist that participation leads to change, not just presence. As Antonio Palma, member of the IDA Youth Committee and representative of the RIADIS Youth Network, explained, the Call to Action exists to ensure that “our opinions are transformed into actions, and that these actions are transferred back to us.”
Accountability needs to be usable
Given youth engagement in monitoring is often reduced to consultation, young leaders are asking for access to information they can act on. Commitment data that shows who is responsible, where progress is stalling, and what leverage exists at national and local levels. Esther Nagetey, Youth Fellow at IDA, conducted an interactive assessment to gauge global awareness of the Youth CTA, which indicated a significant level of familiarity among participants, with a striking 82% expressing awareness of the initiative. However, the assessment also revealed knowledge gaps, which prompted the youth participants to view the CTA as a crucial initial step towards achieving better lives and fostering meaningful inclusion within their communities. This is where follow-up mechanisms matter. When monitoring tools and data are designed with youth in mind, they become instruments for advocacy rather than static reporting requirements.
Participation without power is not inclusion
Discussions on participation went beyond representation. The focus was also on leadership and decision-making. Youth with disabilities were clear that meaningful participation requires institutions to change how they work. Being present in processes is not enough if decision making and leadership remains elsewhere.
This challenge was particularly sharp in conversations on mental health and institutionalization. Agus Hasan Hidayat, founder of REMISI, pushed back against approaches that treat institutional care as inevitable. “Institutionalization is not just a building,” he said. “It is a mindset.” Hidayat advocated for recognizing youth with disabilities not as burdens but as individuals deserving of autonomy and support.
What comes next belongs to youth
As the GDS process moves toward 2028, youth with disabilities are not positioning themselves on the sidelines of implementation. They are actively shaping how follow-up will work, what accountability should look like, and who gets to define success.
Closing the discussion, Stuart Cyprian Higenyi, Chairperson of the IDA Youth Committee, issued a direct challenge to the movement. “We must harness our collective energy, ensure accountability for commitments, and hold ourselves and our partners responsible for translating words into actions.” The Youth Call to Action is evolving because youth are using it. Not to react to existing systems, but to redesign them. That is what leadership looks like in practice.
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