Inclusive Liberal Futures: Disability

Embedding Accessibility and Leadership Pathways within Liberal Organizations 

The Inclusive Liberal Futures project is a multi-year initiative strengthening how liberal parties engage with and represent minority communities. Through structured dialogue between political actors, people with lived experience, civil society and policy experts, the project supports more inclusive party cultures and more representative liberal leadership. The 2026 cycle focuses on persons with disabilities, LGBTQI+ communities and Roma communities, laying the groundwork for a collaborative roadmap that will help shape future inclusive liberal politics. 

About the event

This session is designed to move beyond intention and into action. It creates a space where lived experience, political leadership and organisational responsibility meet to create meaningful progress. We will bring together political actors and experts to examine where our own structures, cultures and decision-making processes still create barriers for people with disabilities and what it will take to dismantle them. 

Participants will confront difficult questions: Who has access to leadership pathways? Whose expertise is recognised? Where does accessibility stop being a priority? At the same time, the session will spotlight practical examples of progress and identify replicable strategies that can strengthen representation, participation and influence within liberal movements. 

Grounded in co-creation and accessibility-first design, the discussion centres lived experience not as testimony, but as political expertise. Together we will generate actionable insights that shape party structures, inform future work under the Inclusive Liberal Futures framework, and ensure that inclusive liberal politics begins within our own organisations. 

Programme  

Day 1: Tuesday, 24^th of March 2026 

09:00 Arrivals & Registration 

9:25 ELF Opening Alva Finn, Executive Director, European Liberal Forum  

09:30 Framing the Space 

Closed session for participants. 

10:00 Lived Experiences and Internal Barriers 

Closed session for pol. party participants. 

11:30 Coffee Break 

11:45 Why Accessibility Strengthens Parties 

12:30 Lunch Break 

13:30 Liberal Practices and Success Stories 

Speaker: Baroness Sal Brinton Bureau Member, ALDE Party 

Speaker: Arabela Sabangeanu EU Policy & Social Inclusion Specialist, USR 

Speaker: Monika Osmianskiene Board Member, Laisvės Partija 

15:00 Coffee Break 

15:15 Accessibility in Politics: Practical Perspectives 

Training led by the European Disability Forum 

16:45 Day 1 Wrap-Up 

Day 2: Wednesday, 25^th of March 2026 

09:00 Opening Reflections 

09:20 Input to the ALDE Party Disability Pledge 

Speaker: Didrik de Schaetzen Secretary General, ALDE Party 

Introduction to the purpose and scope of the Disability Pledge. 

Speaker: Aoíbhann De Búrca Equality Officer, Fianna Fáil 

How to make party congresses and political events more accessible. 

10:45 Coffee Break 

11:00 Looking Ahead: Partnerships and Next Steps