On Monday, 9 June 2025 from 10:00 – 11:15 a.m. in Conference Room 12, United Nations Headquarters the Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP) led a stellar group of organizations in a United Nations side-event at the 18 United Nations Conference of States Parties (COSP) for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Entitled: “Enhancing Community Engagement in Monitoring CRPD Implementation Through AI Text Mining, Economic Data, and Accessibility Mapping”, the side event was hosted by the Federative Republic of Brazil, specifically the National Secretariat of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition to the leadership of IDPP, the side-event was co-sponsored by a variety of organizations at American University, including the UNESCO Associate Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance, the Inclusive Technology and Policy Strategic Research Initiative, and the Internet Governance Lab, the Kogod School of Business and the School of International Service. At McGill University, the Canada Research Chair in Childhood Disability served as co-sponsor. The Disability Data Initiative, at Fordham University also served as co-sponsor, along with the Rehabilitation Sciences & Industrial Engineering, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. AXS Lab, Inc. The side event focused on enhancing community engagement and monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) through various technological and analytical approaches, including AI and data analysis. Several presentations highlighted the importance of accessible data, quality inclusion policies, and the role of technology in improving accessibility, with specific examples from countries like Brazil, Canada, and South Africa. The discussions covered various monitoring methods, digital fabrication for assistive technology, and the need for community-focused approaches to better serve people with disabilities, particularly in underserved areas.
The overarching goal of the side-event was to explore five approaches to harnessing disability-related data collection, analysis, and presentation. Our goal was to accelerate and enhance the engagement of community and advocacy organizations in monitoring and evaluating the rights of persons with disabilities, and to present the data collection and analysis approaches, along with a demonstration of how to access the data. The event provided a concrete mechanism for communities and Organizations for Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to monitor and evaluate progress towards CRPD implementation and the accessibility and rights of persons with disabilities at global, regional, and national levels.
The side-event begin with welcome remarks from Ambassador Luis Gallegos, President of the Board of the Global Initiative on Aging (GIA)-Longevity; President of the Board of the World Institute on Disability (WID); and Chair of the Joint Advisory Board of the Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP), American University (https://www.idppglobal.org). He focused on the importance of enhancing community engagement and monitoring CRPD implementation through AI and data analysis, highlighted the convention's significance and the need for accessible data for policy argumentation.
Next, the opening address was delivered by Anna Paula Feminella, National Secretary of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Federative Republic of Brazil. In her presentation, she addressed the importance of monitoring and implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She highlighted the need for quality inclusion and the role of technology in accessibility, referencing Brazil's "Live Without Limits" plan. She emphasized that effective inclusion policies require considering assistive technologies and the need for active community participation, not just institutional actions.
Then, Dr. Maria de Freitas Martinho: Social Affairs Officer, Social Inclusion and Participation Branch/Programme on Disability Section, Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) delivered the keynote address. She discussed the importance of the UN DESA Disability and Development Report (https://social.desa.un.org/publications/un-flagship-report-on-disability-and-development-2024), emphasizing the need for accelerated progress to meet SDG targets for persons with disabilities, while also introducing community engagement and AI as innovative monitoring approaches.
Following the opening addresses, the side event moved to five theme presentations by world-renown panelists. Each presenter demonstrated a accessing and using different type of data, analysis, and application approaches to create actionable decisions for policy implementation, and audience participation.
Theme 1 was led by Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn: Professor of Information Technology & Analytics and Environment, Development & Health at American University, School of International Service and Kogod School of Business, Executive Director of the IDPP, and CTRL Faculty Fellow in AI for Research and Teaching. Dr. Cogburn presented “AI Text Mining for Community-Driven CRPD Monitoring and Evaluation”. His presentation highlighted his research using text analytics and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze State party reports, particularly for the CRPD ("Understanding National, Regional, and Global Priorities for the Social Justice and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities: Analyzing CRPD State Reports Using Text Mining, NLP, and LLMs”). He demonstrated traditional NLP techniques like keyword frequency, topic modeling, and named entity recognition, showing how these can reveal patterns in State reports. Dr. Cogburn then introduced his team’s analysis using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Notebook LM, and Google's AI Studio. They found these AI tools can perform similar analyses without requiring programming expertise. He concluded by describing a prototype dashboard developed to simplify access to these tools for community-based organizations.
Theme 2 on “Disability Statistics Databases and Advocacy” was presented by Dr. Sophie Mitra: Professor of Economics at Fordham University, Founding Director of the Research Consortium on Disability, Principal Investigator of the Disability Data Initiative (https://www.disabilitydatainitiative.org). She presented on the Disability Data Initiative, highlighting two databases: the Disability Statistics Questionnaire Review Database (DSQR) and the Disability Statistics Estimates Database. The DSQR tracks the inclusion of internationally comparable disability questions in censuses and surveys, while the Estimates Database provides disability statistics for 40 countries across 29 indicators. Dr. Mitra also shared the World Bank’s Disability Data Hub (https://disabilitydata.worldbank.org/en/home).
Theme 3 on “Accessibility Mapping Applications and Local Data Awareness” was presented by Jason DaSilva, Filmmaker, Disability Rights Advocate, Founder of AXS Lab (https://www.axslab.org) and his colleague Melissa Day. Melissa and Jason discussed Access Map (https://axsmap.com), a platform that helps users find accessible locations globally, noting its 430% organic growth since 2010 and partnerships with various organizations. They also introduced plans for a generative AI comment section and the deployment of AI robotic platforms to autonomously collect accessibility data, with an initial pilot in New York City aiming for an 80% increase in accessibility coverage (https://axsmap.com/mapathons/684ecb8704392d776660d0c6) .
Theme 4 was presented by Dr. Keiko Shikako, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Childhood Disability: Participation and Knowledge Translation at McGill University. She discussed Mapping Childhood Recreation and Leisure with Knowledge Translation”. She presented on monitoring children's rights with disabilities, highlighting gaps in data collection and the need for comprehensive indicators. She discussed various methods used, including AI, participatory research, and a mobile app called Jooay (https://jooay.com) that maps inclusive programs for children with disabilities. Keiko emphasized the importance of measuring and monitoring these rights to inform policy and program development, particularly in Canada where data on children with disabilities is limited (https://www.childhooddisability.ca).
Finally, Theme 5 was presented by Professor Carolina Maria do Carmo Alonso: Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy Industrial Engineering Program, Rehabilitations Science Program, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Her presentation was entitled “Mapping Invisible Needs: Rethinking Assistive Technology Provision in Brazil”. She presented on digital fabrication and generative design for assistive technology, highlighting Brazil's legal framework supporting disability rights but noting challenges in access and provision of assistive technology across the country. He proposed shifting from centralized, technocratic systems to decentralized, community-focused approaches, emphasizing the role of community health workers in understanding and meeting the diverse needs of people with disabilities, particularly in underserved areas. The side-event was featured on the website of the Brazilian Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship.
https://www.gov.br/mdh/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2025/junho/na-onu-brasil-demonstra-compromisso-com-a-defesa-dos-direitos-das-pessoas-com-deficiencia.
Ambassador Gallagos closed the session by emphasizing the importance of civil society engagement and acknowledging Brazil's leadership in addressing disability issues, noting that these challenges are not unique to the global South.
Professor Cogburn made closing remarks and encouraged the audience to access the various websites, documents, and databases presented during the side event.
A few photos from the event and afterwards are below.
