European Day of Persons with Disabilities 2021
On 2 and 3 December 2021, the European Commission, in partnership with the European Disability Forum, hosted its annual conference to celebrate the European Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The 2021 edition of the conference was held online. It brought together more than 400 politicians, high- level experts and disability advocates to discuss current challenges, specifically in access to healthcare and in the digital transformation. The conference also focused on the experiences and needs of children with disabilities.
Across Europe, persons with disabilities still face considerable barriers in their daily life:
- 4 times more persons with disabilities report unmet healthcare needs than those without disabilities
- only 64% of persons with disabilities have an internet connection at home, compared to 88% of persons without disabilities
- over 1 in 5 young people with disabilities leave school early, compared to 1 in 10 of those without disabilities
As pointed out in the new EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, it is important to scale up action to remove obstacles for the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society.
Several solutions and initiatives were discussed to remove barriers and create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. The conference provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas on how different stakeholders can work together towards a Union of Equality.
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