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One in 10 Europeans has a disability, serious or less serious and the community at large is starting to realise that it needs to adjust to their needs, not vice-versa.

People with disabilities must be able to lead full lives and make decisions freely for themselves.

Policies for people with disabilities are often limited to financial or material support, however the emphasis should be on fuller "integration" within the community.

In April 2006, the Council of Europe adopted a Disability Action Plan 2006-2015 which contains 15 action lines, including participation in political, public and cultural life, education, information and communication, employment, accessibility of the built environment and transport. It also draws attention to the needs of women and children with disabilities and severely disabled people in need of a high level of support.

The Internet offers enormous potential for improving the social inclusion of people with disabilities (online work, e-democracy, access to knowledge and information). However, particular attention needs to be paid to accessibility questions.

12-13 February 2009 - Spain: European conference on women and disabilities Access to training and employment by women with disabilities was the focus of a high-level European conference, which was held on 12-13 February in Leon, Spain. The participants sought to promote rights of women with disabilities by encouraging the member states to respect application of measures contained in the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan 2006-2015. (more...)