Strategic engagement with the Global Disability Inclusion Report

By Anđela Radovanović, IF member in Montenegro

From 4 to 8 April 2025 in Berlin, the International Disability Alliance (IDA) held a workshop for facilitators from IDA member organisations to support strategic engagement with the Global Disability Inclusion Report – a significant knowledge product from Global Disability Summit 2025 – and to equip Organisations of Persons with Disabilitiies (OPDs) in order to facilitate dialogue at national and regional levels.

Usually, many OPDs, in different regional and national contexts, are focusing their advocacy on topics like accessibility, social inclusion, care and support, independent living… But, as many new trends arise, the disability rights movement has to get involved and include them in their everyday work and activities and prevent the creation of new gaps that would leave people with disabilities behind.

Have you ever wondered how climate change, urbanisation or migration can influence persons with disabilities? Sometimes, that is not an issue OPDs in some regions are worried about. Therefore, this workshop was a great platform to make a new momentum in work and to start thinking about how this could influence persons with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (SBH).

Just a few examples: There can be made a connection between climate change, access to quality food with high levels of folates and Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) incidence – this link makes this topic become high on the agenda of SBH associations. Also, lack of access to clean water and sanitation is an issue which can be extremely important for persons with SBH, while, at the same time, urbanisation and migration influence access to many services for people with disabilities. There is an increasing number of humanitarian crises and emergencies (like in Sudan, Gaza or Ukraine) which are disproportionately affecting people with disabilities.

During the workshop, the following topics were presented and discussed: Key inclusion enablers and inclusion in key sectors, Acceleration of inclusion at scale in different contexts, Care and support Economy and systems, Technological shift, Climate change, Humanitarian crisis and emergencies, Urbanisation, Migration, Financing Acceleration of inclusion at scale, How global trends and scale affect our advocacy.

The workshop offered a space for discussion with colleagues representing other disability communities, finding common points for further work and advocacy efforts. I am grateful to IF for being able to attend this workshop, contributing to the visibility of the SBH community and I am looking forward to working alongside IF team and the whole of our movement for the inclusion of these topics in our future work.

Check the Global Disability Inclusion Report here

For more information on the Global Disability Summit, contact the IF team at: [email protected]