A week focusing on disabilities
December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the European Day of Persons with Disabilities. But really, it is a whole week that draws attention to people with disabilities and many activities can be followed online.
From the many events that happened this year, we have chosen to list some that we find particularly interesting. All events below are free to watch and in English.
The Facebook-Funka Accessibility Hackathon
November 30, the final of the Facebook-Funka Accessibility Hackathon took place. European students competed to create new solutions to accessibility problems. The event was live streamed and recorded. The final is captioned and sign language interpreted.
The Facebook-Funka Accessibility hackathon Final
European Day of Persons with Disabilities
On 1-2 December, the European Commission, together with the umbrella organisation for disabled persons organisations in Europe (European Disability Forum, EDF), organised the European Disability Day. This year, the conference had two main themes: the European Disability Strategy 2021-2030 and Covid-19. In addition, as usual, the winner of the Access City Awards was presented.
European Day of Persons with Disabilities 2020, opens in new window
International Day of Persons with Disabilities within UNESCO
November 25 - December 3 UNESCO celebrated the reconstruction of an inclusive and accessible world after Covid-19. "Building Back Better: towards a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World"
UN State Party Conference
Within the UN, this year's celebration coincided with the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP), which was supposed to have been held in June but was postponed due to the pandemic. This year's theme covered a decade of implementation of the UN Convention and Agenda 2030 for all. "A decade of action and delivery for inclusive sustainable development: implementing the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda for all persons with disabilities."
International Disability Day in Australia
The Australian organisation that took its name from the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD) this year had the theme of hidden disabilities "Not all Disabilities are Visible"