First held in London in July 2018, the Global Disability Summit (GDS) started a movement across the globe. It inspired a number of governments and a variety of stakeholders to reinforce their previous commitments to disability-inclusive development, as well as catalysing new commitments.
To mark the one-year anniversary of the Global Disability Summit 2022 (GDS2022), the GDS Secretariat launched a call to report on the commitments made, through the GDS Online Platform.
Self-reported data indicates that one-tenth of the 1,412 GDS2022 commitments have been delivered. Delivery of the remaining GDS2022 commitments is also far advanced, with one third of the commitments reported to be at least half complete. Alongside the direct impact of GDS2022 commitments, the 2022 summit also indirectly helped to strengthen commitments to disability rights and disability inclusion. GDS2022 prompted a disability rights lens to be applied to two prominent areas of global development and humanitarian action that previously overlooked disability – health and climate change. GDS2022 also pushed new voices and partnerships to commit to strengthening disability inclusion.
The findings on progress achieved over the 12 months since the GDS2022, along with case studies, examples of progress and trends to look for in the planning of the next GDS2025, are outlined in the report.
Those interested in the full database of progress reported on commitments by each organization, or specific examples, may contact the GDS Secretariat at summit@ida-secretariat.org.
