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.

*Dr. Shelley Tremain coined the phrase “unapologetically online” for inclusive, disability-led and focused online events