A delegation of the European Disability Forum met with European Commissioner Glenn Micallef, the Commissioner in charge of Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, on 14 April. The delegation was led by Lydia Vlagsma, co-chair of our Youth Committee.
The delegation stressed the disproportionate barriers faced by young people with disabilities in all areas of life. It called on the Commissioner to ensure young persons with disabilities are involved in all policies and initiatives related to youth, especially:
- Ensure that young people with disabilities are represented in all participatory structures of the EU. This includes the Commission President’s Youth Advisory Board, the EU Stakeholder group on youth, and Youth Policy Dialogues with commissioners.
- Promoting accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the cultural sector through the upcoming Culture Compass, and in the Creative Europe funding programme.
- Ensuring increased and adequate participation of young persons with disabilities in EU mobility programmes, such as ERASMUS+ and the European Solidarity Corps.
The delegation also outlined the key ongoing campaigns of EDF, namely the update of the Disability Rights Strategy and the next EU budget, and encouraged Commissioner Micallef to ensure a stronger focus on young people with disabilities in both the Disability and the Youth strategies.
The Commissioner and our delegation also discussed cyberbullying against persons with disabilities, and how this could be tackled at EU level.
Commissioner Micallef committed to bring the perspectives of young persons with disabilities to all policies and platforms, and took note of measures to make culture more accessible and inclusive.
Lydia Vlagsma, co-chair of the European Disability Forum’s Youth Committee, stated:
It was really encouraging to speak with Commissioner Micallef about his commitment to strengthening the representation of young persons with disabilities in the work of the Commission. The issues that young people with disabilities face – cyberbullying, mental health, education, mobility, employment and more – are interconnected and should be addressed in all relevant policies and programs.