The 2026 Austrian Council for People with Disabilities Conference will focus on “Violence in the Lives of People with Disabilities: Causes, Prevention, and Protection”. It will take place on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at the ÖGB’s Catamaran Event Center and will address the challenges of protecting people with disabilities from violence. The focus will be on prevention and protection measures, as well as concrete approaches that help enable a self-determined and violence-free life. The conference will center on current research findings, human rights perspectives, and examples of best practices.

Sabine Mandl, senior researcher in the research group “(In-)Equalities and Non-Discrimination” is part of the conference programme. She will deliver a keynote speech from 1:45 to 2:05 PM titled “Living Free from Violence—A Human Right.” The keynote will also be briefly summarized in simplified language afterwards.

You can find the entire event programme here. Up to 250 seats are available on-site. Participation is free of charge, but registration is requested.

In addition, the entire conference will be livestreamed on YouTube.