Family Leadership Series 2025 Recap

The Family Leadership Series is an event that travels around the province, offering families of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to connect with other families and learn more ways to advocate for social inclusion and the people they love. In these series, families gain valuable knowledge they can share with other families in their communities, thereby creating a ripple effect of family leadership and inclusion for all.

In 2025, our Family Leadership Series was hosted in the Kootenays and the northern part of Vancouver Island. While they were hosted in October and November, planning began in the Spring with two outstanding collaborative teams of organizations that support children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in these two beautiful parts of our province. At Inclusion BC, we are very aware of and grateful for our many relationships, and we are excited to have welcomed new organizations into our network. The deep knowledge of their communities informed the creation of these events.

Participants heard about nurturing Self Determination directly from adults with disabilities and other parents. These opening panels gave participants a window into other people’s journeys. They shared that the roads can be bumpy and uncertain, but leading with intention and the practice of constantly checking in with their loved ones and supporting them in making their own choices have helped them navigate this journey.

Many families that join these events are looking for information, resources and guidance. That’s what the Advocacy and Local and Provincial Resources sessions focused on. While families received a lot, and we mean a lot, of information, we also made sure they received the handouts to revisit the information at their own pace, with the links they need to find them again. Family members shared with us that seeing the structures of the systems on a chart and knowing where to start helps them find direction for their advocacy. By learning about the organizations that presented at the event, families became aware of what exists in their own regions. We loved seeing them setting up follow-up conversations or appointments to discuss their needs in more detail. Their network keeps on weaving.

The final session – Hopes, Dreams and Planning – was about taking a pause from the business and the whirlwind of life to reconnect with the idea of creating futures of hope, abundance, and inclusion through person-centred planning tools. Participants let us know through their evaluations that it was helpful to be reminded to think about the future in hopeful ways and to learn about tools to help their loved ones with a disability connect their dreams with a plan.

Social movements belong to people, and to continue the ripple effects of a movement to advance the full inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we need to keep weaving the net of leaders. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and organizations that support them all play a role in making the network larger and stronger. With every Family Leadership Series event, we keep on working towards our vision of a world in which everyone belongs.

For 2026, we will connect with people across BC using the benefits of technology in our Virtual Series: Navigating Barriers to Inclusion. This series focuses on supporting the understanding of the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and will offer practical strategies and tools to challenge the barriers and advocate for inclusion.

Visit for the topics and dates.

The Family Leadership series was generously supported by BC FamilyNet.