2022 International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Tomorrow, 3 December, marks the 30th annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), initiated by the United Nations (UN) in 1992 to promote the rights, well-being and development of people with disabilities in society.

To raise awareness about the daily difficulties faced by the 87 million Europeans with disabilities, several initiatives are also undertaken around Europe. The 2022 edition of the European Day of Persons with Disabilities conference took place in Brussels on 24 and 25 November 2022. In partnership with the European Disability Forum, the European Commission gathered more than 400 policy-makers, high-level experts and disability advocates with a threefold purpose:

• Shining light on young people with disabilities in Europe and listening to their experiences and vision for the future;
• Providing an overview of the international instruments at our disposal to make the European Union more equal and inclusive, including the European Accessibility Act and the EU disability card;
• Raising awareness about and preventing the unjustified violence towards people with disabilities.

The conference concluded with the Access City Award ceremony, to reward cities that prioritized accessibility.

At data.europa.eu, we also stand for maximising disability-inclusion. Through the 4 000 datasets on disability available on our portal, several open data-driven tools and services at the benefit of people with disabilities can be realised. One such open tool is wheelmap.org, an open map that helps to easily identify wheelchair accessible parking lots and other facilities that accommodate the needs of people with disabilities.

Additionally, European open data also aided the creation of the 2021 EU Datathon participant  ‘VislmE-360’. In a single information space, the web application explains Eurostat´s statistics on visual impairment, helping decision-makers to allocate resources for medical aid and raising awareness about this well-spread medical condition. To make this information accessible to all – including individuals with decreased visual perception, colour vision deficiency or colour blindness – VisImE-360 offers the possibility to select colour schemes and font features that better suit the user’s needs and allow them to have a more comfortable experience.

For more news and events in relation to International Day of Persons with Disabilities, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, or subscribe to our newsletter.

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