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On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities,
President of the European Commission von der Leyen
shared a speech for people with disabilities.
First of all the president of the European Commission
welcomed everyone to the European Day of Persons with Disabilities.
President van der Leyen began with sharing a
personal thought, and said that in her life
she has met a lot of amazing people in her line of work.
President van der Lyen talked about a person
called Dr Karl-Heinz Miederer who has been in
a wheelchair since the age of 10.
Dr Karl-Heinz Miederer helps people with
intellectual disabilities with doing things.
Dr Karl-Heinz Miederer told the President of the
European Commission that people with intellectual disabilities
have the right to be part of society like other people.
Dr Karl-Heinz Miederer knows that finding
a job for people with intellectual disabilities
is not a very easy thing to do at all.
All people with intellectual disabilities have the right to have a job
and that job needs to have good working conditions
for all people with intellectual disabilities.
But there are barriers which are stopping them from finding jobs.
The President of the European Commission said that we need
to listen to all people with intellectual disabilities more.
It has been a hard year because of COVID-19.
It has also been hard for people with intellectual disabilities to get healthcare because of the lockdown.
We are all here today to find out who is the winner of the Access City Award.
The Access City Award is given to the cities that have made their city accessible and easier for people with intellectual disabilities to move around.
The winner of last year Access City Award was Warsaw because they made their city accessible for people with intellectual disabilities.
Also, it was only 10 years ago that all European countries signed the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Next year the European Commission will present the new
European Disability Strategy of Persons with Disabilities.
A strategy where everyone has the same chance as other people to do things.