A hundred participants gathered in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on May 11 and 12, 2024, for the Annual General Assembly of the European Disability Forum (EDF). The Slovenian National Disability Council – NSIOS – hosted the event, which included a pre-conference on “Technology in Employment. A Step Towards Inclusion.”
The General Assembly elected two new Board members: Victoria Biber (Austrian Disability Council) and Stephanie Wooley (ENUSP). The Assembly also adopted changes to the statutes, introducing term limits for those holding the office of President and representatives serving on the Executive Committee.
During the meeting, the delegates were informed and agreed with the main findings of the 8th Human Rights Report on legal capacity. They debated and launched the Toolkit on the Enforcement of EU Law; adopted a Resolution on disability rights, peace, and conflict resolution; and adopted the Warsaw Declaration on disability-inclusive recovery and reconstruction for people with disabilities in Ukraine.
The assembly also celebrated the political agreement on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card and prepared EDF’s participation in the review of the EU by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that the recommendations are implemented.
The assembly debated EDF’s strategy for the next four years, with four emerging objectives: membership engagement and capacity building; diversity and inclusion; communication and dissemination; organizational development and strategic alliances.
They agreed on the most important next steps in the framework of the European elections campaign, including the need to involve candidates in reconstituting the European Parliament’s Disability Intergroup.
Other highlights of the assembly included the achievements of the Women’s Committee and the Youth Committee, the preparation of the European and Global Disability Summits, progress on the EU Disability Rights Strategy and the political participation of people with disabilities, the Equal Treatment Directive, the regulation on the cross-border protection of adults, the agreement on a Directive to combat gender-based violence, and work on various files related to accessibility and the digital world.
