Delegates from Children & Young People with Disability Australa (CYPD) attended the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP17) at United Nations headquarters in New York recently.
The conference addressed a program of roundtables, speeches and side events, where organisations could present their work to encourage discussion on key issues and engage the audience in a Q&A session.
Over four days, disability advocates from around the globe discussed issues relating to the three conference themes: Technological innovation for an inclusive future, Disability in risk and emergency situations, and Rights to decent work and sustainable livelihoods.
CYPD CEO Skye Kakoschke-Moore, and Emily Unity and Daniel Munter heard from experts, organisations and governments from many countries about how they address issues affecting people with disability.
“We shared our insights, with Emily and Daniel speaking about the role young people with disability can play in building our digital future, to how overcoming systemic barriers in employment requires new solutions,” Kakoschke-Moore said. “They attended major roundtables on the themes and side events that included topics on Australia’s National Autism Strategy and inclusive education.”
Unity and Munter also delivered speeches, directly addressing delegates from countries including the US, Lithuania, Uganda, Japan and Canada. Both presented at the Civil Society CRPD Forum, a panel promoting the Disability Inclusion Action Plan for the Commonwealth’s 56 member states, and an event about advancing employment inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people with disability. Delegates also connected with representatives from the UN Youth Office, Disabled Youth Norway, as well as L’Arche Internationale, the International Disability Alliance and Inclusion International that was an opportunity to speak with experts in areas such as accessible childhood disability research.
Daniel Munter told F2L: “To connect with delegates from around the world, hear their many advocacy stories, and truly feel included and part of an international community with a shared mission was incredible. I came away from COSP17 feeling like part of a much broader movement that crossed oceans and borders,” he said. “That, and a fuller sense of purpose and drive to continue to work in the systemic advocacy space, particularly with the United Nations to empower youth delegates in that space.”
Photo: CYDA delegates Skye Kakoschke-Moore, Emily Unity, and Daniel Munter at the CRPD Forum