2025 Global Disability Summit: A Case Study

From April 2–3, 2025, the Mastercard Foundation joined over 4,500 leaders, advocates, and experts in Berlin, Germany, for the third Global Disability Summit (GDS).

The main hall at the Global Disability Summit 2025

Who We Are

We Can Work is a partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Light for the World, focused on enabling access to dignified and fulfilling work for young people with disabilities across Africa. Operating in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, We Can Work collaborates with the African Disability Forum and organizations for persons with disabilities (OPDs) to drive disability inclusion at scale.

Stepping on to the World Stage

In April 2025, the Global Disability Summit brought together advocates, governments, and organizations in Berlin, Germany. The Summit was a key event aimed at strengthening worldwide commitments to the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities. This summit is the third in a series of gatherings aimed at advancing these goals. It is co-hosted by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the governments of Germany and Jordan. It highlighted the urgent need to move from policies to action, transforming high-level pledges into tangible impacts, particularly in critical areas such as education, employment, healthcare, humanitarian response, and climate resilience.

We worked with organizers to join and listen to the various conversations on inclusive approaches to employment, education, climate action, and youth leadership. Our presence was anchored by a youth-led Fireside Chat featuring Elizabeth Adams from the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD Nigeria), Emmanuel Izere of the National Union of Disability Organizations in Rwanda (NUDOR), and Seidu Sulemana Suhuyini, from the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD).

Youth Voices in Action

Emmanuel Izere from Rwanda at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin 2025 — Youth with disabilities are not asking for permission to lead. We are already leading. We just need space and support.

Emmanuel Izere, Rwanda

Emmanuel’s journey with We Can Work began in 2023, shortly after an internship at the United Nations Development Programme. He now works as an Inclusive Employment Officer and Disability Inclusion Facilitator, bridging employers and youth with disabilities.

Seidu Sulemana Suhuyini, Ghana at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin 2025 — We are not here to be accommodated out of sympathy; we are here to contribute meaningfully.

Seidu Sulemana Suhuyini, Ghana

Seidu is a Disability Inclusion Facilitator with We Can Work, working to train stakeholders on inclusive employment practices. He has been involved in disability rights advocacy for years and sees youth leadership as central to the inclusion movement.

Elizabeth Adams, Nigeria at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin 2025 — When we are trusted with real responsibility, we don’t just speak — we lead and deliver change.

Elizabeth Adams, Nigeria

Elizabeth is a youth advocate and Disability Inclusion Facilitator with We Can Work. Her work focuses on inclusive education and employment in Lagos. She believes that true inclusion begins with dignity and respect

Youth leaders from the fireside chat: young Women and Men with Disabilities Driving Economic Inclusion — Emmanuel Izere, Elizabeth Adams, and Seidu Sulemana Suhuyini at the Global Disability Summit 2025, Berlin.

800

Over 800 commitments made to strengthen accessibility and inclusion.
15%

The Amman-Berlin Declaration calls for 15 percent of development projects to include persons with disabilities.
Commitments include:

Inclusive education and employment, investments in assistive technology, and supporting organizations led by persons with disabilities

We Can Work and the Mastercard Foundation branded t-shirt for the Global Disability Summit 2025 in Berlin

Part of the team at the Global Disability Summit 2025 in Berlin

Inclusive Futures Six principles for inclusion infographic

Key Takeaways: Driving Authentic Youth Leadership

Collaboration in Action: The Global Disability Summit showcased how the We Can Work partnership—Mastercard Foundation, Light for the World, and ADF—planned and delivered a youth-led session that centred young people with disabilities as the main voices in the room. The Fireside Chat was not a side activity; it was a deliberate test of how partnerships can shift power and create space for young leaders to lead in global conversations.
Youth as Co-Creators: ADF emphasized that young people must be recognized as co-creators of solutions, not passive beneficiaries, and that embedding their voices in regional frameworks builds credibility, fosters continuity, and encourages institutions to follow through on their commitments. This approach also surfaced practical challenges — such as travel and visa barriers — that the sector must fix if youth leadership is to be taken seriously.
Advocacy that Drives Change: Light for the World reinforced that youth-led advocacy is not symbolic—it matters when it influences decisions—and that collaboration across the consortium enables impact at national and continental levels. The Summit proved that when youth hold the mic, governments and global actors listen.
Stronger Partnerships Through Inclusion: Both Light for the World and the Africa Disability Forum agreed that when youth share the stage, partnerships become stronger, and investing in young leaders creates change that outlives projects, strengthening institutions and systems. Their leadership also pushed partners to plan beyond the event — toward long-term institution building and stronger systems in Africa.
Shared Vision: Pooling networks, technical skills, and program experience created a single, aligned voice at the Summit. This alignment supported the broader global target set in the Amman-Berlin Declaration and reinforced the region’s commitment to disability inclusion, youth leadership, and practical action.