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European Days of Persons with #Disabilities 2017: Towards an inclusive, social and sustainable Europe

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The European Days of Persons with Disabilities brought together hundreds of persons with disabilities and it was an occasion to celebrate diversity and social inclusion.

As every year around the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), the European Commission and EDF co-organized a two-day conference in Brussels on 4-5 December 2017.
Persons with disabilities discussed citizenship, political participation, sustainable development and urban accessibility with the European Commission, MEPs, the Council, public authorities and other stakeholders and experts.

Opening the conference, European Commission Director General Michel Servoz talked about inequalities that still persist in Europe giving the example of the high unemployment rate for people with disabilities: “The employment rate of people with disabilities is only 48% and only 28% of people with disabilities have finished tertiary education.  This gap is huge and is not acceptable.”

Speaking at the opening, EDF President Yannis Vardakastanis said: “To be a citizen means to be able to exercise rights, to be part of society and not to be in the corner of it. And this is what we fight for.” Vardakastanis also referred to the European Pillar of Social Rights (Social Pillar) as a tool for the European Union (EU) to fulfil its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

“The CRPD addresses all levels and areas of policy making. The EU should, therefore, adopt an overarching and comprehensive European Disability Strategy 2020-2030 to make CRPD a reality in Europe with the active involvement of persons with disabilities. The Strategy should be integrated in the forthcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework to ensure adequate funds for its implementation,” added Vardakastanis.

Read more on EDF's website

Access City Awards

An important moment of the conference was the Ceremony of the Access City Award on the second day.  This is the European prize that rewards cities for their efforts in becoming accessible to all. The awards were given to the representatives of the winning cities by the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, and EDF Vice-President, Ana Peláez. The Commissioner also addressed EDF and gave her congratulations to EDF’s 20th anniversary.

The winner of 2018 Access City Award is: Lyon (France).
The 2nd prize went to Ljubljana (Slovenia) and the 3rd prize to the City of Luxembourg (Luxembourg).A special mention on Accessibility in Historical Settings was given to: Viborg (Denmark).

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