Designing Cities for All: Disability Inclusion in Urban Development
Date: 9 October 2025
Time: 13:00–14:30 CET
Place: Online, via Ms Teams
Join the event here (No registration required)
To design inclusive cities, disability inclusion is essential for urban development. Yet it is not always easy to fully understand what this entails and how it can be implemented in practice. This event brings together experts and practitioners to explore the preconditions and critical considerations for building cities that are both inclusive and resilient.
The event will open with a panel discussion featuring:
The event will begin with a short panel discussion moderated by Karen Andrae, featuring
- Ola Abualghaib, Director of the Secretariat at the UN Global Disability Fund, leading the Resilient and Inclusive Cities Hub (RICH) Initiative that was launched early this year at the Global Disability Summit.
- Mikaela Patrick, Head of Inclusive Infrastructure and Climate at Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, lead researcher and co-author of the Global Action Report Delivering Inclusive Design in Cities.
- Federico Poitier, Manager of Policies and Programmes on Accessibility at United Cities and Local Governments.
Following the panel, participants will join three breakout sessions for in-depth exchanges with a dynamic line-up of experts. Each session will showcase concrete projects and initiatives, provide space for questions, and foster interactive discussions drawing on the experts’ hands-on experience in their respective fields.
- In her session, Marcie Roth, CEO, World Institute on Disability, will discuss Disability Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
- Annamae Muldowney, Inclusive Design Researcher at the Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, will focus her session on culture, recreation and green spaces
- Laura González Muñoz, Advisor to the City Manager, Barranquilla, Colombia will introduce how InclúyeTE+, the City’s official care system for persons with disabilities and care workers of Baranquilla collaborated with persons with disabilities.
The event will be held in English, with International Sign Interpretation and closed captioning available for some parts of the event.
Don’t miss the chance to exchange ideas, learn from global and local examples, and shape the future of inclusive and resilient cities. Cities must work for everyone!
If you need anything else to facilitate your participation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at disabilitynetwork@giz.de.
Interested in more events like this, sign up and join the Living Inclusion network and be part of a community dedicated to disability inclusion in development cooperation
