But it’s only the beginning” “

The closing conference of the European Year of persons with disabilities, held in Rome from 5 to 7 December, was first and foremost a great convention with 500 men and women delegates, scores of interventions and testimonies: all of them focused on the handicapped, with all their aspirations, problems, needs and stories of everyday life, placed in the context of EU actions and national policies aimed at social inclusion and the removal of every kind of barrier: architectural, social, psychological. A conference that would have deserved greater attention by the European mass media. A special year, but it’s only the beginning”.All the speakers at the conference underlined that the European Year 2003 must be only the beginning of a constant commitment within the Union to safeguard the right of people who suffer from disabilities and to encourage “good practice” in the family, at work, at school, and in sport. “The solemn closing conference of the European Year of the Disabled – declared Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic, in a message addressed to the participants – emphasizes the commitment of the member states and the European institutions to the full recognition of the rights of these citizens. Mutual exchange and common actions are essential to promote and consolidate a new culture of handicap able to enhance its content of social richness and its potential for collective growth”. Odile Quintin, director general for employment and social affairs of the Commission, recalled that “the European Year has permitted the recognition of many diversities and different abilities, with the commitment to remove the obstacles placed in the way of the handicapped. Emphasis has also been placed on the fact that the problems linked to disabilities are not those of a minority but may concern each one of us in the various phases of life”. In this sense the Union has over the last three years intervened at the legislative level through the approval of article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam (anti-discrimination), and of Directive no. 78 of 2000 (protection on the workplace) and with a series of policies to safeguard the disabled. Positive experiences and critical voices. Marie Thèrèse Kempneers, vice-president of the European Forum on Disabilities (EDF), declared that these twelve months “have perhaps placed us in the right direction to tackle the problems of handicap, with activities ranging from the campaign to remove architectural barriers to the defence of rights in the field of the family and work”. The “European impetus” will serve – she said – to encourage EU member and candidate states “to take steps to safeguard the rights of the disabled with suitable laws”. Naturally, criticism has not been lacking, either: denunciations have been made “of public insensibility, of shortcomings at the legislative or administrative level, and of the lack of information on problems of handicap”. One such critical voice was that of Cabra da Luna, general secretary of the European Economic and Social Committee: “Of what use are rights on paper if they fail to find application in the experience of everyday life?”. Donald Tait (Commission), summing up the thousands of demonstrations, research projects and publications promoted this year, stressed that “many energies were mobilized, but far more could have been done. There is still a long way to go to ensure that the disabled be given the same rights and the same opportunities that other citizens enjoy”. “All of us must change our mentality”. The British Minister for people with disabilities, Maria Eagle, recalled “that still today the disabled are not enabled to make their specific contribution to our societies, or to our economies. And our countries have a need for their active involvement”. She also underlined that “the best laws to ensure equal dignity to the disabled will not be enough if we don’t make a profound change of mentality in each one of us”. Yannis Vardakastanis, chairman of the EDF, maintained that “this European Year of the Disabled has been an historic opportunity to improve the situation of those with disabilities”. At the close of the conference a new European Directive on disability was announced.