Access Cities Award competition advances towards the December final

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.

Rehabilitation International 9th European conference

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.

Accessibility: The project of total conversation awarded by 112 emergency number associations

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

EDF at the Taxi Forum to ensure better services for persons with disabilities

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

Commissioner Piebalgs: “EU development cooperation has to be inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities”

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?

Update on the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

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.

The right to Accessibility: EDF intervention in Geneva during UN Committee session

United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) met in Geneva to discuss possible ways of working with the Article 9 of the Convention on accessibility. EDF took part in discussion which purpose was to let the opportunity for all stakeholders to give their viewpoints. Emphasis was put on the importance of standardisation and having laws in place.

Equal treatment directive: read the report from the strategy meeting

European Disability Forum participated in the meeting about the situation and future of the collective campaign on the Equal Treatment Directive. The other organizations present were ILGA-Europe, the Social Platform, the European Youth Forum, the European Network Against Racism, the European Women’s Lobby, and the AGE Platform Europe. The report covers the work of the day, the main ideas floated, and conclusions.

Reasonable accomodation: tackling unemployment in Europe

23 September 2010 - The European Parliament has just adopted its employment guidelines, to be validated by the Council soon in October. The main EU headline target is to boost employment rate to 75% and reduce the number of people living in poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million. To achieve that, Europe 2020 strategy has to make sure the labour market is accessible to everyone, including persons with disabilities. The European Disability Forum raised the question of reasonable accommodation at the workplace with European experts. Stig Langvad explains what means reasonable accommodation at the workplace.

The key issues about violence against women with disabilities

21 September 2010 - End of September, the Council of Europe is expected to draft the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Therefore EDF presents improvements to make sure women with disabilities will be taken into account in this important human rights text. Read on why gender dimension is important in disability and how EDF is coming across.

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