Issue 4 November 2010

Inclusion into Focus

Minister of Education, Tina Nedergaard, visited the Danish Disability Council in order to start a dialogue about inclusion in education.

The Minister said that the Government will create the necessary framework for the local authorities to prioritise the resources for the Danish schools. Especially, the qualifications of the teachers for taking care of children with special needs are to be strengthened. This could be done by including the pedagodical/psychological guidance (PPR) of the schools.

Goodbye and Hello

In the new session of The Danish Parliament (The Folketing), a historic resolution for Danish disability policy is to be passed very soon. The Government will submit a resolution to close down The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons (CLH).

The present CLH is to be divided between The Danish Institute for Human Rights (IMR) and the independent secretariat of the new Danish Disability Council (DCH).

The IMR will be the national authority for promoting, protecting and monitoring the implementation of The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Denmark. At the same time, The IMR, The DCH, and The Parliamentary Ombudsman will create the framework for promoting, protecting and monitoring the implementation of the rights of the Convention.

The Last Issue of Lighedstegn

Lighedstegn has been published since 1995. Due to the closing down of the The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons and the reorganisation of The Danish Disability Council, this will be the last issue of Lighedstegn.

Manifesto from the Think Tank

The Think Tank for future housing for people with disabilities has put forward a visionary manifesto.

The manifesto is based on six concrete visions for future housing for people with disabilities in Denmark:

• People with disabilities should have a home where they can feel safe, and where they can decide for themselves how to live a worthy life.
• It should be possible for people with disabilities to move to another house or move to another part of the country on equal terms with others.
• It should be possible for people with disabilities to move into a flat/house together with a partner.
• It should be possible for people with disabilities to choose for themselves if he or she wants to live alone, in a self-contained flat or together with other people.
• People with disabilities should have the right to define how he or she wants to be supported in his/her own home. The support should be provided in such a way that he/she can live an independent life.
• People having communication or decision-making difficulties should be assisted in making their own choices about housing.

Good Advice on Accessibility to E-shops

On 7 October 2010, The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons held a seminar together with The National Telecom and It Agency, The FDIH (The Danish Distance Selling and E-business Association), Sensus and The E-commerce Foundation. The seminar was about accessibility to e-shops. The target group were private suppliers.

The conference was based on a survey by The Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons: ''Accessibility to E-shops – a survey on the opportunities of e-shopping for people with disabilities''. This survey showed that accessibility to e-shops is not good enough.

The CLH is convinced that the insufficient accessibility to e-shops is primarily due to lack of knowledge about accessibility. There are in fact very good arguments that company turnovers can be increased if their websites are accessible.

Surveys of Living Conditions for persons with disabilities

Surveys of living conditions in Denmark do not include persons with disabilities as an independent group. Therefore, it is difficult to say if Denmark meets the requirements of The UN Convention to prevent poverty as a consequence of disability.

Consequently, The Danish Disability Council has addressed the co-ordinating minister for disability policy and recommended regular surveys of living conditions for persons with disabilities.

Will a Psychiatry Commission Be Needed?

The Danish Disability Council has discussed a motion for setting up a psychiatry commission.

A committee is to go deeper into this motion.

A more specific motion to The Minister of Interior and Health is due by the end of the year.

Local Disability Councils Become More Influential

The local disability councils have influenced local disability policies considerably. 78 local authorities in all have produced a disability policy, and still more are being prepared.

These are some of the conclusions of a report about local disabilities policies from The Danish Disability Council.