National Disability Authority@ Annual Conference: Disability inclusive responses to natural and man made emergencies – Article 11 UNCRPD – Thursday 15th October

Invitation:

NDA 2026 Annual Conference: Disability inclusive responses to natural and man-made emergencies – Article 11 UNCRPD

Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026

Time: 9:30am – 4.15pm

Location: Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, and Online

Cost: Free of charge

The National Disability Authority would like to invite you to its 2026 Annual Conference. This year’s event will examine disability inclusive responses to natural and man-made emergencies in line with Article 11 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 11 UNCRPD focuses on situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies. It requires measures to be taken to ensure the safety and protection of disabled during situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies. Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies worldwide can include natural disasters, climate change events, war, pandemics and other crises. 

Topics which will be explored as part of the conference include: 

• barriers faced by disabled people in situations of risk and natural and man-made emergencies, and proposed solutions and good practices to address such challenges
• the impact of natural disasters and extreme weather events on people with disabilities and measures to address such challenges
• disability inclusive disaster risk reduction and emergency responses
• lessons learned from other jurisdictions and previous crises in ensuring respect for Article 11 UNCRPD.

Speakers and panellists at the conference will include disabled people and their representative organisations, public officials and academics.

A conference programme and ‘meet the speakers’ document are available on the NDA website.

The conference will be of interest to:

• Policy makers
• Public sector officials
• Local authority officials
• Disabled Persons Organisations and other disability organisations
• Disabled people and their families
• Professionals and volunteers involved in humanitarian responses.

The Conference will be a hybrid event, in-person at the Havelock Suite, Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road or online via Zoom. This event will be free of charge. Registration is now open.

Irish Sign Language interpretation and real-time captioning will be provided (online and in-person). A Changing Places toilet and quiet room will also be available.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by email at nda.annualconference@nda.ie or by phone (01 608 0400).

We look forward to welcoming you both online and in-person to our 2026 Annual Conference

Click here for more information and to register.