Drawing on our Next Generation research series, Rhea Bhandari explores the systemic barriers facing young disabled people and how they're redefining participation and leadership.
Inclusive progress is the foundation of fair, resilient, and thriving societies. When young people, especially young disabled people, face barriers to education, work, and civic participation, society loses their talent, creativity, and leadership.
The British Council’s Next Generation research series aims to understand the aspirations and challenges of young people globally. Equality, diversity, and inclusion are cross-cutting themes in the research to ensure that unheard voices – particularly those of the marginalised groups such as women, minority communities, and those who are disabled who often experience some of the greatest barriers – are meaningfully represented.
Since 2009, our Next Generation research programme has studied the perspectives of young people in more than 20 countries around the world, engaging over 50,000 youth participants in the process. Across the studies – from Nigeria to Indonesia – Next Generation research offers a clear picture of how disability and associated barriers and exclusion shape young people’s opportunities and aspirations. The findings are both sobering and hopeful. The research highlights the systemic structural barriers that continue to block many young disabled people out of education, work, and public life, but the research also reveals a generation who refuses to be excluded. Choosing instead to identify and progress with new avenues to participate, lead, and belong.
"I believe we live in a society where, to some extent, 80 per cent of people are prejudiced. These are people who think that disabled individuals can’t live a normal life…A disabled person should have access to the right tools and support and live an independent life. Of course, we won’t always move at the same pace as someone who is not disabled, but we’re heading in the same direction — and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that." – Male, Brazil, 2025
The reality facing disabled young people
Across every country, our research finds that young disabled people are navigating systems that weren’t built for them – schools, public spaces, workplaces, and even families – where barriers and a lack of understanding and overprotection can limit independence and inclusion. Next Generation Iraq (2025) finds that disabled youth are less likely to complete even primary or lower secondary school (21 per cent) compared to non-disabled peers, who have a 35 per cent completion rate.
"I am disabled, and it’s really difficult to find work. Employers see me and immediately assume I cannot do the job. I want to prove I can contribute, but the opportunities just aren’t there." – Male, Indonesia, 2022
In Next Generation Albania (2023), 50 per cent of young people surveyed acknowledge disability-based discrimination. In Next Generation Bangladesh (2024), disabled people state that discrimination and social stigma continue to marginalise them in community life, a sentiment echoed by young people in Next Generation Myanmar (2019) as well:
"Young disabled people remain excluded from education, employment, and political life. Without systemic reform, they will continue to be left behind in Myanmar’s future." – Female, Myanmar, 2019
That same commitment to evidence-based insight on inclusion is visible in other areas of our work. The British Council’s Alumni UK research on Disability inclusion in UK Higher Education (2025), on the UK higher education experiences of disabled international students, fills a gap in understanding of how inclusion plays out in global educational mobility. The research highlights familiar themes – cultural barriers, uncertainty around disclosure (46 per cent of participants), and limited recognition or support for addressing the challenges students face. A striking 88 per cent of disabled international students reported receiving no training on how to effectively advocate for their disability-related needs.
"Meeting expectations around the sharing of disability information is problematic. Having to expose too much of yourself, too soon, to people you do not know, and also with a lack of surety of whether positive outcomes will result from this and at what cost to sense of self, is a big ask." – Disability inclusion in UK Higher Education (2025)
Redefining participation
Yet behind these barriers runs a current of innovation and solidarity. Young disabled people are using social media to challenge stereotypes, leading community projects, and mentoring peers. Many don’t see disability as a limitation but as a different lens – one that improves their sense of justice and creativity.
Next Generation Albania (2023), for instance, shows that young disabled people have higher civic engagement and volunteering rates – with 24 per cent of disabled youth report volunteering, compared with 13 per cent of those who are non-disabled. In Next Generation Brazil (2025) structural ableism combined with underrepresentation in leadership positions limits young people’s ability to influence systems. Yet, disabled people are engaging in advocacy, where sports and digital activism play a transformative role in building self-esteem and confidence.
"I threw myself into the world of adapted sports for people with visual impairments… I fell in love with swimming and I’m now a two-time state champion." – Male, Brazil, 2025
The UK Alumni study on Disability inclusion in UK Higher Education (2025) describes UK alumni viewing disability inclusion in UK universities and in wider UK society much more positively than in their home countries. Upon exit, disabled international students lead disability advocacy or education initiatives back home, bringing lessons learned in the UK into new contexts. This serves as a reminder that true inclusion isn’t confined to one place but spreads through connection.
The intersection of disability, gender, and inequality
One of the strongest messages from the Next Generation research is that disability never stands alone. It intersects with gender, class, geography, and ethnicity to deepen inequalities. For young disabled women, the challenges are compounded. In Next Generation Pakistan (2023), survey results found that 93 per cent of young disabled women were unemployed, and 85 per cent of young women overall had no access to work opportunities. However, even within these conditions, female participants are change makers – as one female participant from a focus group in Pakistan (2023) explained:
"I learned to stitch using YouTube videos and then slowly began a freelance clothing business on Facebook." – Female, Pakistan, 2023
When policy exists, but implementation doesn’t follow
Inclusion on paper doesn’t always mean inclusion in practice. Almost every research report in the programme points to the same pattern – laws exist, but they are not enforced. From Nigeria’s 2018 Disability Act to inclusion mandates in Kazakhstan, the policies are there, but implementation lags. For example, young people in Next Generation Kazakhstan (2025) described systems ‘saying the right things’ but failing to deliver real access to schools, jobs, or basic infrastructure for disabled people. As a result, this gap between policy and practice leaves young disabled people to face exclusion by themselves.
"Young disabled people remain excluded from higher education, employment, and social life. Despite laws guaranteeing their rights, weak enforcement means these protections are rarely felt in everyday life." – Female, Kazakhstan, 2025
Rethinking inclusion and moving past incremental change
This is where radical inclusion comes in – less of a slogan, more of a mindset. It’s about mainstreaming inclusion into every system from the start rather than adding it later as a quick fix. Radical inclusion as an approach goes beyond simply opening the door to participation, it aims to redesign the structures that kept people out in the first place. Traditional inclusion efforts will often focus on adding accommodations to existing systems, for example, creating special provisions, or one-off accessibility measures. These approaches can improve access, but they tend to treat inclusion as an adjustment rather than a starting thought. Radical inclusion is not extreme but simply going to the root of the issue.
The Next Generation data makes a compelling case for this approach. Across the series, progress emerges when young people are not treated as recipients of policy but rather as co-creators of it. Next Generation research doesn’t just document the challenges facing young people – it helps accelerate the change they are calling for. Each report in the series includes targeted, actionable recommendations for policymakers, shaped directly by young people through a Youth Task Force, where consultations, and stakeholder-engagement exercises ensure the findings reflect lived experience, and policy solutions derived from the research are grounded in what young people say they need.
For true disability inclusion, our research participants globally have made the following key recommendations to stakeholders, indicating the change required across several interconnected areas: stronger disability-rights protections in education and employment, genuine representation of disabled people in decision-making spaces, disability-sensitive training within skills and NEET programmes, cultural shifts that challenge ableism and equal opportunities in workplaces and social life.
In practice, building truly inclusive societies means that young disabled people must not only be included but also empowered to lead. They are calling for mentoring and self-advocacy support to help them navigate the job market, along with training that closes existing skills and qualification gaps. This also requires investing in accessible services, from vocational programmes to community-based mental health support and embedding ableism-awareness into education to actively challenge discrimination.
By committing to these steps, we can create environments where young disabled people can participate on an equal footing with their non-disabled peers, shaping a more inclusive future for all.