FIMITIC

17 January 2011 - Shortly before the entry into force of the UN Convention on 22 January, Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding addressed the Disability Intergroup at the European Parliament along with EDF President Yannis Vardakastanis and President of the Intergroup Adam Kósa. The ongoing work of the disability movement was reinforced by Ms Reding’s commitments and the European Disability Forum will continue to work hard to ensure that the European institutions will now deliver.

3 December 2010 - The Spanish city of Avila was chosen by a jury panel, in cooperation with the Disability Movement, as Europe’s most accessible city yesterday. The ceremony took place at the European Day of People with Disabilities. It is necessary that urban society includes persons with disabilities.

The Hungarian Presidency will start in January 2011, and its priorities were already announced at a Briefing organised by the European Policy Center (a think tank) last Friday with the Permanent Representative to the EU, Mr Péter Györkös.

As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the EU has confirmed its commitment to take a strategic stand on disability, based on a vision which covers human rights, inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities. This vision recognizes that an equal society is an inclusive society, where reasons for exclusion are examined and addressed. It is also one which recognizes that disability is part of the human condition in every society.

In this inaugural edition, 66 European cities from 19 EU countries have been competing to receive the Access City Award 2011.

The innovative European competition sets out to showcase and reward cities of over 50,000 inhabitants which act as proactive supporters of accessibility for persons with disabilities and take exemplary steps to improve accessibility in the urban environment.

The European Conference on Rehabilitation with the theme of:”The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Rehabilitation in Europe: – Effects on Individuals and Rehabilitation Management” took place on 9-10 November 2010 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

112 is the free of charge phone number to call emergency services throughout the European Union for urgent situations such as accident, aggression or fire, from fixed or mobile phones. The traditional voice telephony to reach emergency service is not yet suitable for all.

The European Emergency Number Association (EENA), which promotes the use of the single European emergency number, organised the 112 Awards Ceremony. One of the objectives of the event is to reward organisation having shown dedication to improve the accessibility of 112 for people with disabilities

The International Road Union (IRU) organized 4th International Taxi Forum on the 5^th of November in Cologne. The theme of the forum was “Taxi industry image: towards a vision of safe and sustainable taxi services for all”.

The International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and the European Disability Forum (EDF) met Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs. The meeting aimed to improve the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the development work of the European Union. Why the inclusion of disabled persons is crucial into development strategy?

The first periodic reports of the European countries that have ratified the Convention start arriving to the CRPD Committee Secretariat.

They are already available on the Committee website. It is expected that the Committee will consider these reports during its next session in April 2011.