Removing barriers to participation and striving to ensure accessibility for young people with disabilities and health-related issues are important aspects of inclusive, quality youth projects.  Inclusion requires continuous reflection and effort to better understand the needs of diverse people and groups, and a critical reflection on existing practices both at the individual and organisational level. The EYF supports youth organisations in strengthening inclusive practices and ensuring that young people with disabilities and health-related issues can participate fully and meaningfully in EYF-supported projects and activities.

Young people with disabilities and health-related issues are not a homogeneous group. The disability community is diverse, and experiences of disability vary across Europe. The EYF encourages an intersectional approach to understanding how the opportunities, barriers, and discrimination a person may experience are shaped by multiple, interconnected aspects of their identity, individual characteristics, and background.

There are various models for understanding disability, including disability justice, the social model and the human rights model. The social model emphasizes the societal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully and equally in society. The human rights model builds on this approach and highlights the importance of promoting and protecting the human rights of people with disabilities. Disability from a human rights perspective is understood as resulting from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Preamble (5), 2006).

Young people with disabilities face a variety of barriers when accessing international youth activities. These include limited access to and representation within mainstream youth organisations, additional costs related to participation, challenges linked to travel and accommodation logistics, as well as physical, and attitudinal barriers.

The reflection on inclusion of young people with disabilities in youth projects benefits from a comprehensive understanding of accessibility, the diversity of the disability community and the importance of adopting an intersectional approach. Accessibility measures should be incorporated throughout all stages of the project cycle, from preparation and implementation to evaluation.

Accessibility goes beyond ensuring physical access. While it is essential to identify and respond to needs related to wheelchair access, visual impairment accommodation or sign language interpretation, measures should also consider accessible programme design and inclusive facilitation.