The European Disability Forum’s Youth Committee shares the demands of youth with disabilities on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Their demands include:
- The European Disability Card should also serve as proof of disability for those going on mobility programmes to avoid extra bureaucratic and financial burden on persons with disabilities – however, it should not be mandatory to have it. It should allow participants in these programs to benefit from the local services until they get disability recognition in the hosting country, on an equal basis with their peers. For example, students with disabilities from abroad should have access to the same services as their in-country student peers.
- Voting should be fully accessible for young people with disabilities that have reached voting age. All young people with disabilities should be able to vote, no matter their disabilities.
- The upcoming EU elections should be accessible for all young people with disabilities: access and support to stand as candidates for elections, accessible information in several formats, as well as accessible debates.
- Learning opportunities and acquiring skills in non-formal and formal education should be open and accessible to young people with disabilities. The training and educational settings should clearly state accessibility measures and where and how persons with disabilities can request them and reasonable accommodation. This would allow learners with disabilities to develop their skills on an equal basis with their non-disabled peers.
- On European Day of Persons with Disabilities: It’s these events that bring the entire disability community together, and in doing so make us more resilient and inspire us to do more. Thus, it is of the utmost importance that we, as both the organisers and the participants of the event, make it as accessible and inclusive as possible. No disability should be left out, especially invisible disabilities like Autism, which sometimes fall through the cracks but are just as important, and have just as much to bring to the table – the table of the Disability Movement.