PRESS RELEASE: Brussels, 02 March 2010
Today sees the launch of the website for our new project: “Children’s Rights for All”! The project aims to improve the rights of some one million children with intellectual disabilities throughout the European Union. These children are often subject to discrimination and excluded from society, thus denying them the rights and opportunities set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The project aims to conduct research throughout the 27 Member States of the EU to see how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is being implemented from the perspective of children with intellectual disabilities, by conducting research throughout the 27 EU Member States. The research will focus on five thematic areas:
1. Access to Education
2. The family and de-institutionalization
3. Health
4. Promotion and participation
5. Abuse
This research will be done through national experts recruited in each EU Member State to analyze the situation in their own country, which will subsequently lead to input for the European Comparative Report and Policy Recommendations for impact at national and European level. The project involves the development of a research tool. The national experts will receive training on how to use this tool at a training session in Prague. The reports will be written in each national expert’s own language, and later translated into English to be released together with the European Comparative Report at the European Conference in Brussels. The conference is expected to gather around 200 participants and will take place in October 2011. The national and European Comparative reports will also be made available on the website in all EU languages throughout the course of the project.
The project is already well underway. The first meeting for the project took place in January and the researcher has begun work on the research tool, which will be developed with the help of Inclusion Europe and the two other project partners; Eurochild and Charles University in Prague.
To visit the website, you can now go to: www.childrights4all.eu, where you will find more detailed information about the project, as well as news updates on the progress of the project and all reports when they have been finalized.
Today we are also launching the Call for National Experts for the project, giving people with the relevant knowledge and experience the opportunity to contribute to this important research by providing a national report to give a view of the situation of children with intellectual disabilities in their country.
About the organisers:
Children’s rights for all Project is organised by:
Inclusion Europe (IE) is the European voice and representation of over 60 member organizations of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Founded in 1988, Inclusion Europe has an almost 20-year track record of successful operation and defending the rights of its constituency.
Eurochild is a network of organisations and individuals working in and across Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people. Eurochild work is underpinned by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Charles University founded in 1348 is one of the oldest universities in the world and nowadays belongs to the most eminent educational and scientific establishments in the Czech Republic which are recognized in both the European and global context. It is an outstanding cultural institution due to its scientific and pedagogical results and its unique historical tradition.
For more information please contact:
Magdi Birtha
Project Officer
Inclusion Europe
Tel: +32 2 502 28 15
Fax: +32 2 502 80 10
E-mail: m.birtha@inclusion-europe.org
Björn Becker
Information and Communication Officer
Eurochild
www.eurochild.org
Tel.: +32 2 211 05 53
Fax: +32 2 511 72 98
E-mail: bjoern.becker@eurochild.org
