About the Summit

About the Including Disability Global Summit

About the Summit

Established in 2016, The Including Disability Global Summit (IDGS) was created as a forum for dialogue and collaboration about large-scale societal barriers that challenge disabled people. It is a unique event that brings together researchers, educators, practitioners, advocates, family members, and disabled people from across disciplines, professions, types of disability, and national boundaries. At each Summit, new ideas, best practices, inventions, innovations, and advocacy strategies are shared and compared to build new connections and new understandings of the large-scale inequities related to disability and ways to right those inequities. 

All submissions to the Including Disability Global Summit are peer-reviewed. The acceptance rate any year will depend on the number of submissions. Once decisions on submissions have been made, the acceptance rate will be posted to the conference site. The acceptance rate for 2021 was 38%, and 57% in 2023. Submissions are judged by volunteers including students, faculty, and affiliated staff at the University of  Maryland, College Park. These volunteers represent a range of areas of expertise and experience with disability. 

The UMD Disability Summit prioritizes accessibility, and we have therefore maintained a free and open space for scholars, researchers, activists, and allies, and therefore moved entirely online in 2021.

The Start of the Summit

Founded by Dr. Paul T. Jaeger and Dr. Stephanie J. Cork in 2016, IDGS leadership has always been shared by disabled and nondisabled community advocates. In creating a free cross-disability, cross-disciplinary space, IDGS is unique and would not be possible without the wonderful community behind it.

Past Events

Inaugural “UMD Disability Summit”

Chairs: Paul Jaeger, Stephanie Cork

Friday, April 8th, 2016 12:30–4:30pm (Half Day, in-person)

Hornbake Library North Basement (University of Maryland, College Park)

Theme: Activism and Advocacy in the Academy (in person)

Closing Keynote: Angel Love Miles

Keynote: Technology is changing the world as we experience it. What are the implications on accessibility/extended-usability? — Gregg Vanderheiden (TRACE Research Center)

Second UMD Disability Summit

Chairs: Paul Jaeger, Stephanie Cork

Friday, April 21st, 2017 (Full Day, in person)

Colony Ballroom & Charles Carroll Room Stamp Student Union

Theme: Disability in a Polarized Nation

Closing Remarks Dr. Paul T. Jaeger

Keynote Address Beth Douthirt Cohen Disabled & Proud: Moving from Pity and Fear to Solidarity and Justice

Third and Last In-person: UMD Disability Summit

Chairs: Mollie Greenberg, Joseph Williams and Stephanie Cork

Friday, April 5th, 2019 (Full Day, in-person)

College Park Marriott and Hotel Conference Center

Theme: Looking Ahead – ADA turns 30

  • Opening Keynote at General Vessey Ballroom, Dr. Jonathan Lazar (Professor, University of Maryland iSchool)
  • Concluding Remarks at General Vessey Ballroom, Gary C. Norman Esq. (Chair, Maryland Commission on Civil Rights)

Pivot to Online (For Now, Forever)

The 4th University of Maryland (UMD) Disability Summit

April 12th–14th, 2021 via Zoom

Theme: Access and Crisis: Disability and the Collapse of Everything

  • Welcome and Opening Keynote: 9:00–10:00am, Dr. Ashley Shew “How To Get A Story Wrong: Technoableism, Simulation, and Cyborg Resistance”
  • Dr. Angel Love Miles 2021 Disability Summit Closing Keynote Speaker

The Great Rebrand!

Fifth Summit, April 25th–27th, 2023 (via Zoom)

Theme: HopePunk: Persevering, Building Community, Chasing Hope (online)

Closing Keynote: Dr. D’Arcee Charington Neal, Embracing the Ecstatic: Disability in the Afrofuture

Keynote: Liz Jackson, How to Succeed Downwards