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NewsNotes Archive
DECEMBER 2003
Closing Ceremony the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003
The closing conference of the European Year for People with Disability took place during 5-7th December in Rome. Within Italian politics it was deemed one of the most important initiative organised by the Italian Presidency. The Conference gave a summary of the experiences and good practices carried out in the Member States within 2003 in order to fix new targets for disability in future. A mention was made of ELSA's contribution to the European Year.
About 500 delegates came from the different European countries. The participants included the Ministers working on Disability themes, the representatives of NGO's at European level, social partners, delegates of the European Parliament, academics, reporters, European and International agency delegates, legal experts and people who organised the European Year.
The conference reviewed the future and current practices underway in the Member States and in those who will be part of the European Union. It also dealt with three main themes:
- knowledge and seeking disability rights;
- family support of people with disability;
- accessibility to everywhere for everybody.
At the closing session on Sunday 7th December, Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou presented the results of the European Year as well as follow-up actions and initiatives for the next coming years.
European Parliament of Disabled People
On 10 and 11 November 2003, 300 delegates and observers representing the disability movement from 28 European countries held a unique event in the Chamber of the European Parliament in Brussels, marking the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the UN standard rules on the rights of disabled people, as well as European Year of People with Disabilities 2003.
ELSA Board member Anita Blom attended this meeting on behalf of the European League of Stuttering Associations.
With the support of the European Parliament and the attendance of many MEP's, the European Parliament of Disabled People (EPDP) represented a historic opportunity, hosted by the EU institution closest to civil society, for Europeans with disabilities to present their political demands and speak up for their rights.
Following a two-day debate and a fruitful exchange of views, the delegates adopted a resolution on the follow-up to European Year 2003 and a manifesto for the forthcoming European Parliament elections, including the following key demands:
- the need to adopt new horizontal legislation that will protect disabled people from discrimination, in all fields of life, a request that already has the support of the European Parliament;
- the new EU Constitution to ensure that all legislative measures on non-discrimination against disabled people are adopted by qualified majority voting instead of the current unanimity system;
- to make next year's EP elections more accessible for people with disabilities and disabled candidates.
Anita Blom, ELSA Board Member, gave a presentation at the meeting – see www.elsa.info dated 11 November 2003
The Resolution and Manifesto as well as more information about this event are available on the European Parliament of Disabled People website:
http://www.edf-feph.org/EPDP2003/about_en.htm
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