CBM Partner Summit: Partnership is how change happens

Partners across the disability inclusion sector gathered at the CBM Partner Summit are asking what it will take to turn disability inclusion commitments into lasting change.

CBM CEO, Rainer Brockhaus during the opening of the summit

Twenty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), disability inclusion has gained ground in laws, policies and global commitments. Yet for many persons with disabilities, access to education, health care, livelihoods and social participation remains out of reach.

That challenge set the tone as partners from across CBM's network gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the CBM Partner Summit.

Opening the summit, CBM CEO Rainer Brockhaus addressed why progress in disability inclusion has not produced equal change in people’s lives.

Persons with disabilities still face inaccessible services and information, discrimination, limited influence over decisions and barriers across health, education, employment and humanitarian assistance. These barriers reinforce one another and cannot be addressed through isolated projects.

“The challenges we have are systemic, which require systemic partnerships.”

Mr Brockhaus said traditional donor-implementer relationships remain important, but are no longer enough. He called for stronger partnerships between persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, local partners, governments, donors and service providers. These partnerships must share decisions, knowledge, resources and responsibility for results.

"Systemic partnerships are not defined by contracts but by trust. They are not focused on delivering activities; they are focused on creating sustainable impact."

He also challenged participants to recognise that partnership does not mean complete agreement.

"True partnership begins not when everyone agrees, but when we try to understand one another."

From inclusion commitments to measurable results

José María Viera, Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), delivered the summit's keynote address.

That theme was taken further by José María Viera, Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), who delivered the summit's keynote address.

Mr Viera reflected on how the disability movement has helped shape international frameworks, influence policy reforms and secure greater recognition of disability rights worldwide. Yet he posed a question that resonated throughout the opening day: if progress has been so significant, why are so many persons with disabilities still excluded from opportunities that others take for granted?

For Mr Viera, the answer lies in how organisations work together.

"Partnership has value when it produces impact. No partnership is a good one if it doesn't generate impact."

He argued that organisations of persons with disabilities should be involved not only in delivering programmes but also in shaping them from the outset.

"We need to co-design and co-implement programmes. We should not serve only as delivery agencies. We should be recognised as equal partners in design and implementation."

According to Viera, meaningful partnerships require shared decision-making, mutual accountability and a willingness to distribute power more fairly.

Building stronger ecosystems for inclusion

The CEO of CBM Italia, Massimo Maggio, echoed the call for change, describing partnership as central to CBM's identity and future.

"We need to move from transactional partnerships to sustainable partnerships."

He said CBM's role is increasingly that of a connector, bringing together persons with disabilities, communities, governments and institutions to create stronger systems for inclusion.

"Our strength lies in creating an ecosystem in which knowledge and opportunities move freely," he said.

Inclusion is a matter of rights

Welcoming participants to Ethiopia, Dr Muluken Asfaw, State Minister of Health, reaffirmed the country's commitment to disability inclusion and highlighted the importance of collaboration among governments, civil society and organisations of persons with disabilities.

"Disability inclusion is not an act of charity. It is a matter of human rights, justice and inclusion."

As discussions continue throughout the summit, a common question remains at the centre of the conversation: how can partnerships evolve so policy progress becomes progress in people's lives?

For participants gathering in Addis Ababa, the answer appears to begin with trust, accountability and a commitment to designing solutions together with persons with disabilities rather than delivering them separately.

 

Highlights from the summit

Back to the CBM partner summit page