National Youth Disability Summit

     

    The National Youth Disability Summit logo with a dark orange plane over an orange circle (reminiscent of the sun). A Canberra skyline sits to the right. Beneath these are three photographs. One of two young adults grinning as they hold up an instagram cutout with CYDA and Summit branding. One of a young man speaking from a podium with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags. One of three young adult wheelchair users sitting around a table littered with papers, coffee cups and a coke can. Two of them have brightly dyed hair. All three are looking attentively to something happening to the right of camera.

    About the National Youth Disability Summit

    The National Youth Disability Summit is a conference for young people with disability to have a real say about their futures. The Summit is held once every year.  

    The young people who go to the Summit are between 12 and 25 years old and come from all over Australia. 
     
    Each Summit is led by a group of young disabled people called our Co-Design Committee. 

    The Summit is an opportunity for young people with disability to: 

    • hear from speakers 
    • join in discussions 
    • share experiences 
    • connect with people who have similar interests 
    • learn about disability advocacy  
    • talk about the issues that matter to them 

    The first two Summits happened online with over 300 people at each Summit.  

    Our most recent Summit, in January 2023, happened both online and in person. The young people who came to the Summit in person went to Canberra to take part.

    What do people talk about at the Summit?

    Some of the topics that young people have talked about at the Summits are: 

    • identity 
    • awareness 
    • access and inclusion 
    • access to diagnosis 
    • self-care 
    • inclusive education 
    • access to employment 
    • the NDIS 
    • accessible housing 
    • mental health and wellbeing 

    Who can go to the Summit?

    Young people with all kinds of disability are welcome at the Summit. This includes people with: 

    • neurodivergence  
    • mental illness 
    • intellectual disability 
    • chronic illness 
    • sensory disability 
    • physical disability 
    • any other kind of disability 

    You do not need to have a medical diagnosis to come to the Summit. 

    The next Summit will happen in 2024.  

    For more information, check out the Summit website! 

    The Summit is made possible with Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) funding from the Department of Social Services (DSS). 

     

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