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INCLUSIVE EUROPE
SPECIAL EDITION NEWSLETTER
September 2009
Published by the EBU Office
58 avenue Bosquet 75007 Paris (France)
Tel: +33 1 47 05 38 20 – Fax: +33 1 47 05 38 21
Email: ebu@euroblind.org
www.euroblind.org
Contents
Citizens’ Europe for All – Disabled People on the Move
EBU Dublin Declaration : A Europe for all blind and partially sighted
citizens
Towards an Inclusive Europe for All – The Way Forward
Photographs from the Conference
This Newsletter is published and translated with the financial support of DG
Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the European
Commission.
Disclaimer: The content of this document is the sole responsibility of its
publishers and represents in no way the views of the European Commission and
its services.
CITIZENS’ EUROPE FOR ALL, DISABLED PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
As part of its long standing commitment to promote a truly inclusive Europe
for all, the European Blind Union and members of its network -Austria,
Italy, Ireland, Malta and Slovakia- jointly organized a Conference entitled
“Citizens Europe for All – Disabled People on the Move”. This was held in
Dublin, Ireland, on 15-17 May 2009, with the financial support of the
European Commission’s Europe for Citizens programme. The attendance was
truly European in scope, with some 85 participants from 24 countries.
The idea of an inclusive European citizenship is more a reality today than
ever before, but “we can’t afford to relax” said EBU President Lord Colin
Low as he surveyed the opportunities and threats now facing blind and
partially sighted Europeans. Fostering a more people-driven Europe is a
twin-track process as it requires both pro-active citizen participation and
adequate lobbying to ensure that EU policies and initiatives take disabled
people’s needs and aspirations into account.
Promoting a greater civil participation of visually impaired Europeans goes
hand in hand with promoting a better understanding of how the EU works and
what it can do for disabled people. The Conference brought European
knowledge forward through presentations and interactive round table
discussions which looked into EU’s inner workings and the disability
movement at European level.
The Conference also focused on the need for a strong disability lobbying as
a key to achieving inclusive citizenship. The implementation of the United
Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the
Proposed Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment
between persons irrespective of religion, belief, disability, age or sexual
orientation were thoroughly discussed by participants. The significance of
the Disability Vote and the need to bring disability issues on election
manifestos were also strongly stressed at round table discussions.
Information and good practice were exchanged on accessible voting across
European countries.
The Conference culminated with the adoption of a charter encompassing the
aspirations and needs of blind and partially sighted people. The document
known as the “Dublin Declaration” was unanimously endorsed by disabled
participants from across Europe and is a powerful expression of a truly
inclusive Europe for all. It is aimed at European and national
decision-makers and will be submitted to the newly elected European
Parliament at an event EBU hopes to organise by the end of this year.
All key-note presentations are available in full on the Inclusive Europe
website, http://www.inclusiveurope.eu/presentations.htm
EBU President Lord Colin Low’s closing address can be read in this
Newsletter on page 7.
The Dublin Declaration which proceeds from the Conference can be also read
in this Newsletter on page 4.
Further information from the EBU Office, ebu@euroblind.org , or on the
Inclusive Europe website, http://www.inclusiveurope.eu/
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EBU DUBLIN DECLARATION
A Europe for All Blind and Partially Sighted Citizens
17 May 2009The European Blind Union (EBU) issues the following declaration to decision-makers in the European Union (EU) on behalf of the more than ten million blind and partially sighted people in the EU, following the "Citizens' Europe for All" conference held in Dublin, Ireland, on 15-17 May 2009 with the support of the Europe for Citizens programme:
Our aim is full inclusion in society as equal citizens. Despite the advances which have taken place in recent years, developments in technology, the environment and legislation, such as that on telecommunications, have often failed to take account of the needs of blind and partially sighted people.
Key principles
Blind and partially sighted people have specific needs, for example for information in accessible formats such as braille, large print and audio. Measures to ensure that practice and legislation take account of the needs of disabled people must include the needs of blind and partially sighted people.
The needs of blind and partially sighted people should as far as possible be met by mainstream services, but some specialist provision should be available for those with specialised needs.
The rights of blind and partially sighted people should be guaranteed by a combination of measures to combat discrimination and positive action. Non-discrimination plus positive action results in social inclusion.
There should be equality of participation and treatment as between persons of both genders, all races and ethnic origin, all ages, all degrees of visual impairment and all other grounds of discrimination.
To achieve our goals, EBU is committed to enhancing cooperation with our partners in civil society.
We call for:
1. The right to participate in EU decision-making processes at all stages and at all levels--nothing about us without us;
2. Swift ratification and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities--the future cannot wait;
3. Early adoption of the Equal Treatment Directive to guarantee equality of access in all aspects of life, including education, employment, transport, healthcare, social protection, social services, goods and services, the built environment, information and communications and housing--to go from words to deeds;
4. Education in inclusive settings which take account of our specific educational needs and wishes;
5. Measures to combat the disastrous situation in which three out of four blind and partially sighted people of working age are unemployed;
6. A decent standard of living;
7. Legislative measures within the Internal Market to ensure that all goods and services are designed and delivered to be fully accessible on "design for all" principle;
8. Accessible information and ICT, including e- and web accessibility, and EU information;
9. The dismantling of copyright barriers to accessing books and materials in any format, including electronic;
10. The right to learn braille and use it alongside modern technologies;
11. Accessible telecommunications, including digital media, designed to support audio-description, accessible electronic programme guides and all other controls;
12. Accessible voting procedures and recognition of the right to stand as a candidate in elections;
13. The maintenance of traditional distinctions between pedestrian areas and traffic, and ways of warning of the approach of the so-called silent car;
14. The maintenance of freepost services for blind and partially sighted people.
Further information from the EBU Office, ebu@euroblind.org
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CONFERENCE CLOSING ADDRESS
Towards an Inclusive Europe for All: the Way Forward
By Lord Colin Low,
President of the European Blind Union
There are a number of responses in our political and social environment to
the current crises which give us some grounds for hope:
1. The EU itself. In an increasingly multi-national world, we need
multi-national solutions to our political, economic and social problems. The
EU constitutes such a solution--certainly in its potential if not yet its
current delivery. That is the rationale of the European Union. It may not be
perfect. No human institution is. But this is the direction in which we
should be travelling.
2. The Lisbon Treaty. We need the Treaty to streamline the decision-making
processes of the Union, give it a higher profile on the international stage
and make it more fit for purpose for the 21st century.
3. We need to revisit the Lisbon Agenda with its target of 70% employment
and the European Social Model. Different pressures pull Europe in different
directions, but the EU's crisis of legitimacy underlines the need to keep up
the pressure for a social Europe and a Europe for Citizens. The present
economic crisis also calls for a reflationary not a deflationary approach.
4. This conference has also been successful in bringing up to date and
setting out our own agenda in a new Declaration, based on the UN Convention
and the long awaited Equal Treatment Directive. These provide a new
framework in which to ground the staple concerns of the disability movement
regarding education, employment and standard of living. On top of these come
our specific concerns about information--copyright, Braille and
telecommunications, including television; streets, and freepost services.
5. We have also reaffirmed our desire to work in partnership with other
organisations with whom we already have a good relationship, such as EDF and
the Social Platform.
6. The EBU is also working better than ever, with more organisations
participating in the work of the Liaison Commission and sharing the work,
which has increased our information base and the authority of our
submissions.
7. All that being the case we will be able to look back on the Dublin
conference as a milestone in the development of the EBU and a base from
which we can move forward with renewed confidence.
Further information from the EBU Office, ebu@euroblind.org
Photographs from the Conference
This page contains 3 photographs of key-note speakers and panel members at
the Conference.
From left to right : Rodolfo Cattani (Chairman of the EBU Commission for
Liaising with the EU); Lord Colin Low (President of the European Blind
Union); Desmond Kenny (National Council for the Blind of Ireland); Ms. Renee
Dempsey, (Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform of the Irish
Government).
From left to right : Rodolfo Cattani (Chairman of the EBU Commission for
Liaising with the EU, Italy); Conny Reuter (President of Platform of
European Social NGOs, Belgium); Arnt Holte (Vice-President of the World
Blind Union); John Patrick Clarke (European Disability Forum, Ireland).
From left to right : Lord Colin Low (President of the European Blind Union);
Desmond Kenny (National Council for the Blind of Ireland).
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