Why a european year of persons with disabilities?
The proclamation of the European Year coincides with the adoption, ten years ago, of the Standard Rules by the United Nations for Equal Opportunity for People with Disabilities. This is a moment to verify the results obtained, not at all satisfying to say the truth, and at the same time to revive society's commitment as a whole in overcoming the difficulties persons with disabilities continue to experience. Today's society, based more and more on knowledge and information, can represent great opportunities for persons with disabilities but can also create new barriers, as access to new information and communication technologies can be limited or difficult.
What can we expect in 2003?
During the year, thousands of events will take place all over Europe, to promote the rights of 38 million persons with disabilities, and to raise public awareness on the barriers these people face every day of their life.
The important aspect of this is that these actions will take
place at the European, national, regional and local level involving a great
number of persons: persons with disabilities and their families, the
organizations representing them, persons who are not
disabled, decision-makers and all stakeholders in the public and
private sectors. An awareness raising campaign, taking place at the local level, will have the objective of increasing consciousness and empowerment of persons with disabilities, and reinforcing the organizations of and for persons with disabilities. The fundamental element of this campaign will be the awareness of persons with disabilities about their own rights opposed to the old approaches based largely on pity and perceived helplessness. Participation, non-discrimination, and equal opportunity are the key words of this campaign.
The objective of this mobilization is the actualization of the principle of mainstreaming, meaning the integration of the disability factor in all aspects of the law and in all political actions by institutions and administrations at all juridisdictional levels. Not only that, the European Year wants to make visible the phenomenon of disability in every aspect of life, in all communities, at every level.
An important conference on disability took place last month of March in Madrid. It was organized by the Spanish Government, the European Commission, and the European Disability Forum. At the end of the conference, the 600 delegates from 34 European countries have approved the Madrid Declaration where are summarized the principles to which aspire the European Year of People with Disabilities.
The Madrid Declaration proposes an analysis of the present conditions of persons with disabilities in the European Union, which often present discrimination, social exclusion and poverty. It proposes also a program and efficient proposals in which the main stakeholders are asked to play the role they are meant to: institutions, local authorities, disability organizations, families, school system, trade unions, employers, media. All these stakeholders are in a position to contribute in improving the life conditions of persons with disabilities.
The Madrid Declaration proclaims the following:
- persons with disabilities, through their disability organizations, must contribute actively to the decisional processes which concern them;
- citizens with disabilities must have the same rights as their non-disabled fellow citizens, and must therefore receive the support they need in order to fully take advantage of their human rights;
- the anti-discriminatory measures are not sufficient, but must rather accompany positive actions in order to obtain tangible results;
- persons with disabilities want equal opportunity and not charity, they fight to change prejudice in their regards and to create conditions for new inclusive policy;
- persons with disabilities ask that society truly be for all, and that barriers be eliminated , as well as discrimination provoking attitude and social exclusion;
- the main requirement from persons with disabilities is to be able to live independantly, but until that is possible economic means and ressources must be provided in order to satisfy their needs;
- society must learn to respect diversity and consider it as a value;
- it is necessary to fight against prejudice et stigmatization by providing visibility of persons with disabilities, and making discriminatory cases a public domain.
In order to achieve this initiative, the European Commission has set up an advisory committee which will have to adopt the main decisions regarding the fulfilment of the Commission's own framework. The European Disability Forum is part of this committee. In all 15 countries members of the Commission (plus Norway and Iceland), similar national committees were set up to manage the limited funds provided by the Commission to organize activities at the national level. Organizations for and of persons with disabilities must participate in these committees.
The European Commission has also chosen a public relation firm in order to manage the visibility and information campaign which will take place at the European level.
The logo for the European Year has already been conceived, as well as the necessary communication material which will be available in various languages.
The official web site for the European Year of People with Disabilities www.eypd2003.org is in its preparation phase and will report all information regarding activities at the European and national level. From the web site, it will be possible to freely take the official logo and all information material.
Finally, a special bus
appropriately equipped
will travel across all member countries leaving from Greece and ending in
Italy, both countries which will have the Union's presidency
in 2003.
For the celebration of the Year of People with Disabilities, the European Union has budgeted 12 million Euros from which 4 million were utilized in 2002 for the Year's preparation and 8 million will finance projects and activities taking place in 2003.
The funds were separated in various sectors of activity: actions of dissemination and information, campaigns organized by European organizations, events and manifestations organized at the national level, opening and closing conferences, research and studies, cooperation with the media.
Each member country will receive financing proportional to its population in order to achieve initiatives of promotion and awareness. The national committees will have to coordinate national activities and distribute funds on the basis of appropriate public notice to present projects, which will be selected and financed at 50%.
The opening inaugural ceremony will take place on June 26th in Athens and the closing ceremony will take place in Rome in December. Throughout the year, numerous conferences will be organized and the programs will be available on the official site of the European Year.