To the Summit and beyond

CBM and partners at the British High Commissioner Reception in Kenya.
Kirsty Smith.

On 24 July, the high-level Global Disability Summit will be hosted by the governments of the UK and Kenya, along with the International Disability Alliance, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. Representatives of Disabled People’s Organisations, governments, inter-governmental organisations, NGOs and the private sector will join to hear a number of speakers, participate in discussions and make specific commitments to challenge exclusion and uphold the rights of people with disabilities.

Anyone involved in the preparations will appreciate why it is termed a ‘summit’. Even before Penny Mordaunt, Secretary of State for DfID, announced the Summit in November last year, planning for this important event was well underway. This event is the culmination of months of careful policy drafting and logistical planning, to create an event where lasting commitments to people with disabilities are made. And it has not been without some blisters and shortness of breath along the way.

As we near this Summit, there are many hopes for the view that lays beyond. The ‘Charter for Change’ document sets out the general direction from the Summit, and individual commitments will provide the pathways to get there. Those invited to participate in the Summit have been charged with creating their own commitments to ensure the rights, freedoms, dignity and inclusion for all persons with disabilities; focused particularly on the Summit themes of education, economic empowerment, dignity and respect, harnessing technology and innovation, women and girls with disabilities, and humanitarian assistance.

CBM will be represented at the Summit from both the UK and the Federation. But this cannot be just a feel-good gathering of world and sector leaders, a talk shop over workshops and coffee that results in no significant change. I want to see commitments that will result in action. Commitments that result in people with disabilities having access to good quality education and training that supports their needs and builds their existing capacities. That result in fair and non-discriminatory processes and attitudes when they apply for work. That result in people with disabilities being included in humanitarian responses and involved in decision-making about building back better. That result in a change in attitudes and behaviour towards women and girls, who often face greater exclusion because of their gender and disability. And I want to see commitments from all to include disability in data disaggregation, so that we can understand trends on where and why people with disabilities are left behind.

Fundamental to achieving this is the authentic involvement of people with disabilities, and their representative organisations. Disabled people must be involved in the planning and development of infrastructure, services and systems that affect them and to date, their expertise and skills, their lived experience, their capacity to influence decisions about their own lives, have largely been ignored.

DfID is to be commended for pulling this mammoth event together. But this summit has to be more than a fist punch for the government. DfID has demonstrated a strong commitment to disability and inclusion through its work, and it is important to consolidate and build upon this through the Summit. We don’t want to see disability simply as the latest craze until the next big topic emerges.

We also want to see – and participate in – increased collaboration amongst NGOs, and between sectors, in turning these commitments into action. The journey to this event has highlighted the challenges of working in partnership, but also galvanised us to do so. CBM has worked hard with other disability specific and mainstream organisations to develop policy proposals, generate public interest and organise activities all related to this day – there can be no doubt as to the commitment of all involved, in creating a lasting legacy from the Summit, which may be the first of many.

The Summit commitments won’t in any way replace the CRPD, but along with the Charter for Change, should help bring on board a wider group of stakeholders to be partners in CBM’s mission to drive forward disability inclusive development and help to achieve our vision of a world where no-one is left behind.

 

Image: CBM and partners at the British High Commissioner Reception in Kenya.



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