What it represents
Leadership from within. The conference is hosted by persons with disabilities themselves, with “Nothing about us without us” as an operating rule.
Accountability. It tests implementation readiness, surfaces the blockers (enforcement, budgets, data, service design) and leaves a public record of what stakeholders agreed.
Inclusion for everyone. It gives space to groups often overlooked, including children with disabilities, caregivers, women and youth.
Shared responsibility. Inclusion belongs to health, education, finance, infrastructure, digital services and security, not only to disability-focused bodies.
COSDIN 1.0 (25-27 November 2024, Abuja) Download Full Report
Theme: Amplifying the voices of young women and men with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future
- Held as the first conference of its kind organised and hosted entirely by persons with disabilities.
- Brought attention to children with disabilities and their caregivers, and put the care and support economy on the development agenda.
- Unveiled the JONAPWD Count-Data Collection Drive, a real-time platform recording disability data by location, age, sex, type of disability and education.
- Covered private-sector duties under the Disability Act, including accessible premises and the 5% employment target, plus technology access and priorities for 2025.
- Laid the groundwork for Nigeria’s input to the 2025 Global Disability Summit.
- Supported by the MacArthur Foundation, Light for the World and the Disability Rights Fund, with the House Committee on Disability Matters as technical partner.
COSDIN 2.0 (27–28 November 2025, Abuja) Download Full Report
Theme: From Commitment to Action: Advancing Disability-Inclusive Development in Nigeria
- Moved the agenda from amplification to execution. The keynote and plenary examined disability inclusion within the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
- Launched the book Disability Rights Movement in Nigeria: The Beginning, The Now, The Future.
- Presented the JONAPWD Disability Data Count (exploratory, not a census) to address Nigeria’s lack of disability-specific data.
- Held a session on accessible digital reporting and response for survivors of gender-based violence with disabilities.
- Brought disability clusters together to set priority actions for Nigeria’s Global Disability Summit commitments, covering health, education, accessibility, digital inclusion, legal capacity and media accountability.
- Held an open forum on voter registration and political participation ahead of 2027.
- Heard from a bank on inclusive product design and financial inclusion, and held a conversation on dignified work for young people with disabilities.
- Recognised the JONAPWD Youth Wing and honoured the Disability Rights Fund.
- Drew partners including the World Bank, Light for the World, the Disability Rights Fund, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives.
COSDIN 3.0 (November 24, 2026)
Theme: From Inclusion to Influence: Repositioning Persons with Disabilities for Leadership, Governance and National Development
- Enforce existing laws. Strengthen the institutions that carry out and enforce the Disability Act, rather than creating parallel commitments.
- Set measurable targets. Build sector-specific plans with timelines and accountability structures.
- Close the data gap. Deepen data collaboration between OPDs, government and partners, and move from exploratory counts toward national, disaggregated data that is used in planning and budgets.
- Go local. Expand engagement in states and local governments, where exclusion is often most severe.
- Mobilise civic and political participation. Get persons with disabilities registered, voting and represented in leadership ahead of 2027.
- Turn consultation into co-creation. Build cross-sector partnerships that are properly resourced and delivered together.
- Grow the platform. Secure more resources so that state-level women and youth leaders can take part in future editions.
- Highlight the Leadership Possibilities of Persons with Disabilities
- Showcase stories and examples of leadership among persons with disabilities, particularly those from under-represented groups (youths and women included) across various sectors, including politics, business, and community activism.
- Promote Inclusive Practices
- Encourage organizations, businesses, and governments to adopt inclusive practices that empower persons with disabilities to participate fully in decision-making processes.
- Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Connect the leadership of persons with disabilities to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), emphasizing the need for inclusive development strategies using the Nigerian Disability Law as the domestic instrument.
- Foster Collaboration
- Create platforms for dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, organizations, policymakers, and the private sector, on increasing the representation and participation of persons with disabilities, especially in economic and political empowerment.
Where COSDIN is heading: commitment without execution is no longer enough. The aim is a Nigeria where the rights of persons with disabilities are not only recognised in law but realised in daily life.