AbilityNet attend conference for European Day for Disabled People

07/12/2009

European Day for People With Disabilities – 3 December

AbilityNet’s Head of Accessibility, Robin Christopherson, attended the conference organised by the European Commission and The European Disability Forum (EDF) this week.

This annual conference, attended by Europe’s leading figures in disability policy and strategy formulation, is a vital opportunity to inform and influence the cause of disability and inclusion across Europe.

Below is a press release provided by EDF about the conference and its objectives.

European Disability Forum Press Release

European day puts focus on independent living: “my real life began when I was 30 years old, the day I left the institution to live my own life!”

03 December 2009 /// To mark the European Day of People with Disabilities, the European Commission organised in cooperation with the European Disability Forum (EDF) a policy conference in Brussels on 3 and 4 December. Representatives from the disability movement and decision-makers focused on "Creating conditions for independent living". The Conference's goal was to contribute to a better understanding of issues related to independent living, in particular economic autonomy, community services and assistive technologies.

Vladimir Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities addressed the disability leaders and stakeholders with Juan Carlos Ramiro Iglesias, Spanish EU Presidency 2010 representative and Ministry of Health General Director for Disability Policy and Jean-Marc Delizée, State Secretary for Social Affairs from the Belgian Federal Government.

What independent living means?

Independent living is the philosophy of self-determination for persons with disabilities, equal opportunities and self-respect. Independent living demands the same choices and control in everyday lives as non-disabled persons. To grow up in families, go to the neighbourhood school, use the same bus as neighbours, work in jobs that are in line with education and interests, and starting families are other demands. Today, hundreds of thousands of disabled people are forced to live in closed institutions, where they are subject to inhuman and degrading treatment and are unable to exercise their fundamental right to make chooses for their own lives. The transition from inadequate closed institutions to high quality community-based alternatives which allow each individual to develop his potential.

Creating the right conditions for independent living is a complex process which demands action on all political levels – international, European, national, regional and local – and the involvement of all parties concerned, including organisations of persons with disabilities, local authorities, national governments and European policy-makers. In the statement published for this event EDF puts the emphasis on the contribution which the European Unioin (EU) can make to promote independent living of persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities propose 19 clear actions for the EU

As the umbrella body of the European disability movement, EDF made in its statement 19 concrete proposals for improvements of European policies related to independent living. The right of persons with disabilities to live independently in the community with choices equal to other people is enshrined in Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This right is at the core of equalizing opportunities of persons with disabilities, as it is the foundation for equality in all spheres of life. However, the realisation of the enjoyment of this right also presupposes fundamental changes in several sectors of society. To live independently included in the community requires that support services are available, that the community is physically accessible, that services provided in the community are open to persons with disabilities, that local decision-making structures are accessible. In this way, the realisation of the right to independent living is a key to understand what it takes to fully implement the UNCRPD. Donata Vivanti, Vice-President of EDF stressed: “The disability movement fully welcomes the decision by the Council to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities. But we are very disappointed to learn that the European Commission will wait for ratifications by all Member States before it will let European policy-making be bound by the obligations of the Convention. We urge the Spanish Presidency to work towards the confirmation of the ratification by the EU without any further delay”.

Erzsebet Szollosi, Vice President of EDF added: “Independent living is a fundamental right and closing the institutions is one of the challenges that we need to tackle. EDF and persons with disabilities will continue to drive the agenda forward.” As Senada Haliceviv President of the Association for self advocacy in Croatia, reminded: “My real life began when I was 30 years old, it began the day I left the institution to live my own life: the life I choose. All persons with disabilities living in institutions must have the opportunity to start living their real life.”

The European Disability Forum (EDF) is the European umbrella organisation representing the interests of 65 million citizens with disabilities in Europe. EDF membership includes national umbrella organisations of disabled people from all EU/EEA countries, as well as European NGOs representing the different types of disabilities, organisations and individuals committed to disability issues. The mission of the European Disability Forum is to ensure disabled people full access to fundamental and human rights through their active involvement in policy development and implementation in Europe

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