“Old? So what? Independent living for seniors with disabilities”
Next EASPD conference in Linz, Austria
30 June -1 July 2011
Registration on www.easpd-linz.com
63% of people with disabilities are older than 45. Nearly 30% of people in the age group 55-64 report a disability and the incidence of disability will increase as the EU population gets older. Over 30 % of people over 75 are disabled to some extent, and over 20 % severely disabled. This development brings new challenges for social and health service providers, families and policy makers at both national and European levels.
The adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 which promotes quality of life, choice and inclusion in society of people with disabilities has already been a huge step forward to launch the discussions and create awareness at a political level but a lot still needs to be done to meet the needs of older persons with disabilities and to ensure their inclusion in society.
In the framework of the research produced for the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion, launched in December 2010, the European Commission has identified persons with disabilities and older people as being at high risk of falling into poverty and social exclusion. This means that elderly people with disabilities are doubly disadvantaged. Due to their difficult financial situation they are also more likely to live in residential institutions and often do not have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and with whom they would like to live, even though article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities clearly underlines the right for all persons with disabilities to “Live independently and be integrated into society”.
In June 2006, EASPD brought the discussion on the special needs of older persons with disabilities on the political agenda by organizing a European conference on “Ageing and Disability” in Graz, Austria. In March 2009 EASPD co- organized a European conference on "Bridging knowledge in long term care and support - Crossing Boundaries between Ageing and Disability in Barcelona.
Now, in June 2011, EASPD, in close cooperation with Caritas für Menschen mit Behinderungen Linz, will bring together important stakeholders and experts from all over Europe to discuss independent living and individualized support in mainstream services for older persons with disabilities. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to participate in the debates and to exchange models of good practice from across the continent.
Registration: www.easpd-linz.com
Conference venue: Marriott Hotel Linz
www.marriott.de/hotels/travel/lnzcy-courtyard-linz
EASPD activities: Saturday, 2 July 2011
Conference languages: French-German-English
[Read More...]