Dr. Monika Zima-Parjaszewska, the president of the Polish Association for People with Intellectual Disability, is this year’s winner of the Maciej Lis. It was decided by the Award Committee, which on September 30 held in Wrocław under the chairmanship of the Ombudsman, Marcin Wiącek. The award is granted for special achievements to defend the rights and interests of people with disabilities
About the award
The RPO Award Dr. Maciej Lis was founded on the idea of the Human Rights Defender to honour Dr. Maciej Lis, the regional representative of the Human Rights Defender in Wroclaw, who was involved in associations and social groups for individuals with disabilities and the underprivileged.
The award also serves as a means of encouraging and promoting individuals and groups participating in actions that promote equitable treatment and respect for the rights of people with disabilities.
About the laureate
Dr. Monika Zima-Parjaszewska, President of the PSONI Main Board, is the sister of an adult brother and the mother of an intellectually disabled daughter. She has spent his whole life working on behalf of persons with disabilities, advocating for their full inclusion, battling for the achievement of human and civil rights, and assisting them in their quest for self-determination and independence.
In 2009, she defended her thesis about limiting human freedom and rights by incapacitation as inconsistent with the Constitution in his doctoral dissertation titled “Incapacity of persons with intellectual disability as a restriction of constitutional rights in the light of Article 31 paragraph 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997.” She is still working in Poland to replace the institution of incapacity with decision-making support, in compliance with the binding principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
She works to boost their self-esteem and personal development, leading to full social inclusion, as a co-author of the training programme for self-advocates. The entire subjectivity of persons with any sort of impairment, according to Dr. Monika Zima-Parjaszewska, is clear, independent of the type and degree of individual issues.
More about her work and previous social activity can be read about in the article published by Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich.
Photo PFON | In the photo: Monika Zima-Parjaszewska
The whole Inclusion Europe team wishes to congratulate Monika on receiving the Maciej Lis Award for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in Poland. It is always with great pleasure and with warm feelings that I receive the news of someone in our Inclusion network being noticed, not to mention rewarded, for the work done for a more equal and better life for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. – Jyrki Pinomaa, President of Inclusion Europe
