First Ever ‘Commonwealth Disabled Youth Roundtable’ Held During CHOGM

Celebrating 10 years in existence, a charity supporting disabled children, young people and their families headed for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOMG) Meeting in London for the first ever  Commonwealth Disabled Youth Roundtable Event as part of the ‘Commonwealth Include Me 2’ joint project represents 1.2 billion young people from across 53 countries of the Commonwealth.

Include Me TOO with the Commonwealth Youth Council organised the roundtable event at The House of Lords to increase the inclusion, rights and participation for disabled children and young people from the Commonwealth.

Hosted by The Hon Baroness Uddin and The Hon Lord Chris Holmes it was held as an official side event for the Commonwealth Forums Summit 2018.

Baroness Uddin said: “It was a privilege to host the first ever Commonwealth Disabled Youth Event on behalf of CHOMG, given that 60 percent of the Commonwealth population is under the age of 30 years.

Include Me TOO were instrumental in bringing together youth delegates from different parts of the world to the House of Lords as the event marked a step in the right direction for disabled youth to have a seat around the table and discuss issues that matter to them.”

“The presentations given by the young people from across the Commonwealth were excellent and packed with insight,” said Lord Holmes. “It was a privilege for me to attend.”

Covering topics which mattered to them and their peers, the roundtable highlighted key issues impacting on disabled young people from their respective Commonwealth member countries.

Include Me TOO Executive director, Parmi Dheensa, said: “The Commonwealth roundtable presented young people as change makers who have a clear understanding of the issues which impact them and their peers and solutions to increase disability inclusion, rights and participation for all.

We are looking forward to working with disabled young people across the Commonwealth strengthening their voices, plus impacting on local and global issues. We will be working with our young ambassadors, disabled young activists and partners to establish the Commonwealth Disabled Youth Roundtable as a key component for future CHOMG’s summits.”