Engaging MPs with disabled international youth

Our ‘lead citizen reporters’ shared their findings from the ‘2030 and Counting’ global initiative.

The reception was a key component of a busy week of activity for the reporters, who were visiting from Kenya, Zambia and the Philippines.

They talked to MPs and policymakers about the importance of ensuring representation for youth with disabilities as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in relation to health, education and employment. 

Since launching last year, ‘2030 and Counting’ has gathered more than 300 unique insights from youth with disabilities, by youth with disabilities. 

Stephen Twigg MP, chair of the International Development Select Committee, who sponsored the event, opened the reception by acknowledging how important programmes like ‘2030 and Counting’ are in placing youth with disabilities at the centre of development and ensuring no one gets left behind.

With estimates suggesting there are around 220 million youth with disabilities globally, nearly 80% of which are living in developing countries, Leonard Cheshire’s citizen reporters have been crucial in generating momentum for the project. 

As pioneers of the programme they have been responsible for recruiting, training and empowering other youth reporters in order to collect essential data as a means of communicating to policymakers the importance of implementing youth-friendly disability-inclusive policies. 

The citizen reporters were also joined by youth ambassadors from Leonard Cheshire’s collaborator, Include Me Too, who led the development of the Global Disability Charter for Disabled Children and Young People. They each delivered powerful, thought-provoking presentations in front of a busy room of attendees including Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Dan Carden MP and Sir David Amess MP, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Philippines. Also in attendance was Virendra Sharma, who is a member of the International Development Committee. 

Tiziana Oliva, Executive Director International at Leonard Cheshire, who also spoke at the event, said:

‘The progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and the future, relies on youth. As such, it is an absolute necessity that young people with disabilities have a seat at the table as the work on the SDGs continues.

‘Projects like this provide opportunities for marginalised groups to have their voices heard and influence positive change, providing authentic and insightful evidence from grassroots level. 

‘The reporters behind this project have a unique opportunity to take leadership and advocate for the rights of young people with disabilities and our parliamentary reception showcased the key findings from their hard work over the last year.’

When asked about their visit, lead citizen reporters Maria Njeri, Ian Banda, Dianne Mallari and Regina Mwangi all enthused that the parliamentary reception, as well as the opportunity to talk in detail about the project with their peers, was the highlight of their trip. 

Dianne, lead citizen youth reporter from the Philippines, added that the barriers faced by other countries with regards to disabilities seem to be broadly the ‘same challenges and same issues; the aim of this project is almost the same in every country, we are one, we are united in this project.’

Find out more about 2030 and Counting.

Media enquiries

For further information and high res images please contact Erin O’Reilly via erin.o’reilly@leonardcheshire.org

Notes to editors

The ‘2030 and Counting’ project aims to connect youth with disabilities and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and empower them to report on and advocate for disability rights in three countries: Kenya, Zambia and the Philippines.

Youth with disabilities are encouraged to use mobile phones in order to capture their own experiences as well as those of their peers in relation to three of the SDGs: health and wellbeing, education and employment.

Data, including videos, are then uploaded to an online reporting hub for storage and analysis.