Over 70 years ago, parents, siblings, grandparents, and others who wanted a better life for their family member with an intellectual disability came together to form our member organizations.

In 1960, these family-led organisations formed the Inclusion International network.

Over time, we became a joint movement of both families and people with intellectual disabilities themselves, working together as equal partners.

Our Officers, Council, and staff all include family members of people with intellectual disabilities, alongside self-advocates.

Supporting families is still a big focus of what we do as a network.

How do we support families?

Our Officers, Council members, and staff who are family members lead our work on supporting self-advocacy.

Some of things we do to support families are:

  1. Supporting families to connect and learn from each other in events that are by and for families – like our Family Summits
  2. Doing advocacy on different topics that are important to families of people with intellectual disabilities – families develop those messages, and share those messages in important spaces like at the United Nations.
  3. Creating tools and resources that family members and family groups can use in their local advocacy work.

The family is the most powerful human institution. Families raise and nurture the next generation. They create the basis of belonging and community and carry our cultures forward.

Sue Swenson, 12th Conference of State Parties