Coming into the second day of the conference, I felt a little more comfortable and had a better idea of what to expect from the day. The first day of the conference felt very overwhelming as I was surrounded by experts in the field of disabilities coming from all over the world. Not only are other attendees powerful movers of change, but many of them have disabilities of their own. During their presentations, stories were shared of challenges the speakers have faced throughout their lives, some of which involved institutionalization, isolation, and the inability to make autonomous choices. I continue to find myself intimidated by the obstacles other individuals here have overcome and how successful and committed they are to facilitating change in their home countries.

One woman that spoke yesterday had an astonishing amount of experience with forced treatments. She has used her own trauma as a motivator to prevent the same abuses and harm from happening to others. Another woman spoke briefly of her struggle with false beliefs and multiple seclusions/hospitalizations. These experiences led her to become interested in the different ways that individuals with disabilities or psychosocial problems face injustices and the ways in which they are viewed differently from the rest of the population. These moving stories have led me to think more about the reasons behind my own interest in disability and social change.

I find myself able to more easily relate to the speakers who focus mostly on their roles in advocacy organizations and in facilitating governmental change. I can see myself in one of these roles in the future and am especially interested in how they have successfully improved the rights for persons with disabilities in their home countries. During today’s talk by Dr. Amita Dhanda, I was able to get a good sense of not only the importance of legislation but also the way it facilitates further conversation. For example, the CRPD itself cannot bring about change. It is the way that the CRPD facilitates change that makes it so effective. The CRPD was the impetus behind this entire conference and has created a platform for delegates to come together to fight for more rights. Without this treaty creating a backbone for the disability movement, enacting change would be considerably more challenging.