FIMITIC

Bucharest, February 21, 2007

The monthly magazine “Avantaje” (Advantages) and Avon Cosmetics Romania nominated the winners of „Woman of year 2006” awards

The competition Woman of the Year, organized by „Avantaje” magazine and Avon, nominated the winners of its ninth edition. This year a popularity award based on the votes of the readers of the “Avantaje” magazine and other six awards of excellency in different domains. For the popularity award the competition gathered seven nominees in the domain of audio-visual, personalities actively involved in charitable actions as well as in the promotion of culture and of authentic values.

New York, January 29, 2007

The plight of persons with disabilities during the Nazi era will be remembered at the second annual observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, to be held at the United Nations General Assembly Hall on Monday, 29 January at 10:30 a.m.

The observance, organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations outreach programme, will be held under the theme of "Remembrance and Beyond". In remembering the victims of the Holocaust, the event will highlight the role of youth in carrying forth the torch of remembrance to remind the world of the dangers posed by hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.

The upcoming European Year of Equal Opportunities for All will be celebrated across the European Union in 2007 to draw the attention of European countries to the problems created by discrimination and the opportunities offered by diversity. The Year will promote equal opportunities and raise awareness about the rights of everyone to equal treatment, and about the benefits of diversity.
The celebration will be marked by hundreds of different activities staged throughout the European Union with all 27 EU Member States taking part.
The main aim is to reach out to the general public and therefore most of the Year's activities will be held on a local, regional, or national level. This will be supported and complemented by several pan-European activities such as a campaign on European antidiscrimination policies and legislation or the presentation of the results of a Eurobarometer survey about European citizens' attitudes towards and knowledge discrimination and inequality issues.

The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All will be formally launched with a big opening conference in Berlin from January 30th-31st, chaired by the German Presidency.

For more information on the European Year, please click here.

Source: Stop Discrimination Newsletter December 2006

We wish you a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year 2007 and success for all your future activities.

With these Seasons Greetings we would also like to thank you for your efforts to improve the living conditions of persons with physical disabilities and are looking forward to a good co-operation in 2007!

Lets hope that we will be able to take a further step towards the equalisation of opportunities for all.

May the world become more peaceful and tolerant for the diversity of all people and open to the ability of persons with physical disability!

The new Human Rights Convention includes alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms for people with disabilities.

FIMITIC welcomes the Convention, stressing its all-inclusive nature; while at the same time urging States to ratify the Convention.
On March 31, 2007 the Convention will be open for signature and ratification of the 192 UN-Member States.


“We celebrate and welcome the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which recognizes that disability is a human rights issue, this Convention is an example of unity and cooperation for the benefit of all” declares the President of FIMITIC, Nigel Brander.

Brussels, December 5, 2006

At the conference organized by the European Commission in close cooperation with the European Disability Forum and the active participation of the European Youth Forum young disabled and non-disabled people from all over Europe addressed their concerns and demands and took part in deliberations on their rights and opportunities, integration of disability in European youth policy and programmes as well as access to employment and general participation in society.

E-Accessibility

Statement by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Access to information and communication technologies creates opportunities to everyone in society, but perhaps no-more so than for persons with disabilities. No longer do the societal barriers of prejudice, infrastructure, and inaccessible formats stand in the way of participation. When available to everyone, information technologies foster individuals to reach their full potential, and for persons with disabilities it allows them to play their part in society’s development.

The current revised text of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities was released in additional languages on the UN Enable website as part of an Ad Hoc Committee Interim Report on its 8th Session. This report is now available in six languages at the following links:

• English

The Republic of Poland was at the United Nations with the presentation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award, an honour bestowed on a country that has promoted and protected the rights of their disabled population. The award was presented to Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, granddaughter of the late president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, at a ceremony held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York.

The logo for the 2007 European Year of Equal opportunities for All has been revealed. The design – three figures side-by-side with the EU flag – is available in two different, vivid colour combinations, as well as in black and white for print. The logo and the guidelines for its use will soon be available for download from the Year´ s website.