High Level Meeting on Disability “From Inclusive Education to Inclusive Employment for People with Disabilities”
Mon, 11/05/2015 - Tue, 12/05/2015
The High Level Meeting on Disability under the theme “From Inclusive Education to Inclusive Employment for People with Disabilities” and organized under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will take place in Riga on 11-12 May, 2015.
There are 80 million people with disabilities in Europe. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has made a significant shift in the perception of people with disabilities. The EU Member States have developed comprehensive policies, targeted their actions and launched many innovative initiatives to make the shift in the disability policy -from a passive medical approach to a human rights approach. These efforts have an ultimate goal - to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities are respected and they can be independent and participate fully in society.
Children with disabilities should be the first ones to benefit from the paradigm’s shift. They should grow up enjoying equal rights and having prospects for a better future. Inclusive education and inclusive employment can create better opportunities and choices and lead to full and equal participation in society and its economic, social and cultural life.
Inclusive education, vocational training, career guidance, adequate support services for children with disabilities play a key role to their successful participation in the labour market in the future. Inclusive education means not only the presence of children with disabilities in regular schools. It means also accessibility, adaptive technologies, social services, school curricula, supportive pedagogical staff and many other things that take into account different special needs and enable the participation of children in the education system.
Employment and income from paid work is fundamental for social inclusion and economic independence of any person. People with disability should have the same choice. Flexible work arrangements, occupational safety and health, support services, employers’ awareness are of concern for many employees, but especially for people with disabilities.
Nongovernmental sector representing people with disabilities have a crucial role to play in this debate.
The Europe 2020 Strategy is expected to deliver inclusive growth, simultaneously the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 aims to empower people with disabilities so that they can enjoy their full rights, and benefit fully from participating in society and economy.
The conference will assess the EU Member State’s progress in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and examine to what extent previous or on-going initiatives in the area of disability policy have been effective and what can be done to facilitate further implementation of the UN Convention and to improve the life quality of people with disabilities in the EU.
