1million4disability Campaign
For the European Disability Forum (EDF) 2007 is a big year. Not only is it the EDF's 10th Anniversary, it is also the European Year of Equal Opportunities, and the 10th Anniversary of the integration of Article 13 on non-discrimination in the Amsterdam Treaty.
In light of this significant year the EDF decided to launch a nine month campaign entitled "1million4disability" where they have set themselves the challenge of collecting 1 million signatures on a petition in favour of stronger European disability legislation.
The campaign aims to:
- Raise public and political awareness on the daily reality of Europeans with disabilities.
- Mobilise the public opinion in favour of a stronger European disability legislation that will effectively protect the rights of disabled people.
- Stress the role and moral responsibility of the European Union to work for and protect the rights of all its citizens
- Highlight that disability is above all, a Human Rights Issue.
"1million4disability" was launched on 23rd January in Brussels and closes on the 4th October when the signatures collected will be handed out to the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament, again in Brussels. The campaign is being promoted through all 27 EU member states, along with Iceland and Norway, and is supported by a campaign website, www.1million4disability.eu.
This campaign is just one of the many ways the EDF fights to influence EU Legislation for the protection and rights of disabled EU citizens. Since 1997 the organisation, made up of disabled individuals and the parents of disabled individuals, has been at the forefront of the disabled rights movement, actively involved in countless improvements including:
- An increasing number of European cities offering accessible public transport.
- An increasing number of medicines being sold with informative labelling in Braille.
- Recruitment procedures that employers must apply on the basis of equal opportunities, to include offering workplace adaptation to meet the needs of a disabled person.
- An increasing number of public websites being made accessible to persons with disabilities.
- The facility for a disabled person to start a legal complaint procedure after having found themselves discriminated by their employer while applying for a job or training.
Despite great achievements to date, the EDF still has grand plans for the future, aiming to improve access to all the factors and resources that are considered basic Human Rights; education, health care, employment and public transport to name just four.
For more information on the European Disability Forum, or to sign their petition visit www.1million4disability.eu
14.09.07