Blog post by Lydia Vlagsma, EDF Youth Committee member.
On the 9th and 10th of June, I had the pleasure of attending the European Youth Event in Strasbourg. The European Parliament welcomed over 8000 young people to exchange their perspectives and discuss their ideas on the future of Europe. As a member of the European Disability Forum’s Youth Committee, I was invited to attend the EYE as a participant and additionally to contribute to the EDF workshop on young people’s rights in the EU.
Insights about accessibility and feeling welcomed
In the workshop on EU rights, we discussed the importance of physical, digital and social accessibility. Several EU rights protect this, such as the right to personal assistance in public transport. Together with the participants, we discussed three (real life or fictional) cases in which inaccessibility in respectively public transport, university and an internship made it impossible for persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis. One of the participants’ contributions resonated with me in particular. Rephrasing their comment, they said: ‘Being confronted with inaccessibility makes you question if you are welcome at all. This raises the dilemma whether you should take a more pragmatic approach and find a place where you are made to feel welcome, or – out of principle – speak up and ask for the accessibility measures that you need, without knowing the response. This dilemma in itself is a form of discrimination, because non-disabled people are not confronted with it, whereas it takes up energy and effort from disabled people.’
Learning from the in-between moments
In addition to the insights from this workshop and the panel discussion with MEP Dragos Pislaru, what stood out to me is the value of the informal spaces, chance encounters and practical experiences with (in)accessibility. Over lunch, we discussed supported decision making and compared the situation in our different countries. The short commute between the hotel and the Parliament proved to be an effective demonstration of the importance of accessible public spaces and transport. And in between sessions at the European Parliament, I learnt so much from my fellow members of the Youth Committee, from ranging from topics like research on black holes to the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Additionally, I learnt how to spell my name in international sign language and the best strategy to safely cross over a tram rail in a wheelchair.
The knowledge and expertise in a collective of disabled young people is impressive. The conference showed once more how valuable exchanging this knowledge is.
Photo credit: Lydia Vlagsma
Blog post by Tamara Byrne, EDF Youth Committee member.
I was delighted to be asked to speak on the panel within the European Youth Event at the Parliament in Strasbourg discussing employment for people with disabilities. It was a great experience for me to hear so many people speak about barriers they face on a daily basis. It was empowering to hear their opinions on how governments and employers need to change their policies regarding supporting people with disabilities to be treated equally to everyone else as everyone else . I believe by working together we can achieve our goals.
Friday activities:
- Youth matters does it thought.
- Getting your message out there.
Saturday activities:
- Mobility and skills facilitator.
- Working in Europe accessible for all.
- EYE closing plenary session.
Photo credit: Tamara Byrne