CBM Global’s Elizabeth Lockwood Appointed to Programme Committee for 2026 UN World Data Forum
News | September 4, 2025
CBM Global Disability Inclusion is proud to announce that Elizabeth Lockwood has been selected to serve on the Programme Committee for the 2026 United Nations World Data Forum, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 9–12 November 2026. Elizabeth is CBM Global’s representative to the United Nations, where she works to ensure disability inclusion is prioritised in global development policy.
The UN World Data Forum aims to spur innovation in data, foster partnerships, mobilise high-level political and financial support, and build pathways to better data for sustainable development. Since the inaugural Forum in January 2017, which gathered 2,000 participants, interest has grown to a community of more than 20,000 stakeholders worldwide. Over the years, CBM Global has engaged with and supported organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in various Forums, including those in Cape Town, Bern, Hangzhou, and Medellín.
The Programme Committee brings together representatives from governments, the private sector, civil society, the UN system, and the scientific and academic communities. It plays a pivotal role in shaping the Forum’s sessions across four thematic areas, ensuring diverse perspectives and expertise are represented.
Elizabeth’s appointment offers a vital opportunity to ensure that data on persons with disabilities and organisations of persons with disabilities are meaningfully included in the next World Data Forum. This commitment reflects CBM Global’s mission to promote disability-inclusive development and amplify the voices of persons with disabilities at the global level.
Elizabeth says: “I’m honored to be a member of the Programme Committee for the 2026 United Nations World Data Forum. In this role, I can support the inclusion of data on persons with disabilities, including OPD-led citizen data and intersectional data in the Forum. This is essential to ensure that all groups, including the most marginalized are measured for progress in sustainable development.”
For more information, visit the UN World Data Forum Programme Committee webpage.
https://cbm-global.org/news/elizabeth-lockwood-un-world-data-forum-2026
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