October 2006
B&D - moving forward
Welcome to the 5th issue of
B&D - Moving Forward
Business & Disability’s quarterly newsletter
Europe has come to a point where the business community can no longer continue ignoring people with disabilities. In fact, at Business & Disability, we believe that including people with disabilities into business is a source of sustained profitability for everybody. Our role as Business & Disability is to act as a proactive catalyst to promote this belief.
Business & Disability (B&D) is the first European network to promote the business opportunities for the inclusion of people with disabilities and it is the only European network combining business and disability that works to stimulate and facilitate dialog among the various stakeholders and offers unique added value and expertise to our member companies.
- A network of expertise related to different aspects of business and disability
- Case studies, white papers, …
- Networking opportunities with peers, disability groups and policy makers.
- Visibility as practice faculties
Business & Disability addresses its members’ priorities and is uniquely qualified to deliver them across Europe.
B&D events: what's been happening?
Business & Disability's awareness rising program co-sponsored by the European Commission is now nearing its end, with only 4 events left to complete of a two-year series of roadshows across the European Union.Events have taken place in Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Prague, Milan and Budapest to promote the business case for the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of our society, with a clear focus is on accessibility to the built environment, e-accessibility and employment.
With the format customised to suit each host country’s cultural diversity, each roadshow event has provided a magnificent opportunity to introduce the European perspective of Business & Disability, share good practices and collect valuable insights into the particular situation in each country.
A summary of previous roadshow events can be found on the B&D website in previous issues of B&D – Moving Forward.
Milan
On 30 June 2006, a Business & Disability roadshow took place in Milan, at the Università degli Studi di Milano. The roadshow brought together more than 70 representatives from the business world, charitable organisations and the political arena, who were keen to discuss the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Italian workplace.
A summary of the current situation was provided by Nina Daita, from the Disability Office of the CGIL, Italy’s largest trade union organisation. Ms Daita placed particular emphasis on the system of « Collocamento mirato », introduced in Italy in 2000. This system has greatly assisted the placement of disabled people through in-depth analysis of potential job situations, provision of support systems for disabled workers, and resolution of problems pertaining to the work environment and relationships with colleagues. According to Ms Daita, in the past, disability in Italy was seen to be « linked to welfare and health, a sort of charitable solidarity. However, the very title of this policy shows a change in attitude, because it treats disability in a dignified manner ».
An examination of workplace integration, accessibility and the role of technology was then undertaken by managers from Adecco, Manpower, Microsoft, HP, Schindler and IBM. All present agreed that « it’s not a question of favouritism towards disabled people. It’s about equal opportunities in access to employment. A person should be employed because of the skills he/she demonstrates » (Laura D’Amico, HR Manager, Manpower).
The closing speech was made by Franco Barbieri, President of the Federazione Italiana Superamento Handicap, before a lunch buffet which allowed participants to exchange their views and experiences. These exchanges have since given rise to the organisation of further disability/inclusion themed events in Italy.
For more information about the Milan roadshow, please contact us.
Budapest
Business & Disability’s Hungarian roadshow was held on 2 October 2006 in Budapest. The venue was the prestigious Kogart Ház art gallery and participants included representatives from local companies, disability organisations and government departments.
The programme was divided into two halves, with the first section exploring the employment situation from the point of view of people with disabilities. Györgyné Forgó, Department State Secretary of the Social and Labour ministry, was keen to emphasise that, while there had been a lack of awareness about disability issues in the past, the situation in Hungary was improving, and inclusion initiatives were becoming more and more widespread. At the same time, Dr. Mihály Derera, the Director of MEOSZ (National Federation of Disabled Persons’ Associations) reminded the audience that Hungary still has some distance to go in ensuring equal opportunities for disabled people and that this will not happen overnight – rather, it will require a sustained effort from all sides. Speakers from the Society for the Hungarian Blind and Visually Impaired then provided examples of how technology and training can be used to improve access to the labour market for people with disabilities.
The second half of the conference covered inclusion as seen from a business angle, with presentations by Éva Mária Tóth, of the Human Resources Association, and Norbert Nógrády, Chief Operations Officer of CREDITEXPRESS Hungary. They discussed the changing attitudes of Hungarian employers towards disabled employees and provided examples of software and workstation adaptation based on their own experiences.
The informal structure of the event encouraged discussion among participants, and many anecdotes and success stories were shared over the course of the morning. The overall message of the roadshow seemed to be that, while disabled people still do not have unrestricted access to employment in Hungary, many people in both the public and private sectors are ready to work together to achieve this goal.
For more information about the Budapest roadshow, please contact us.
60 Seconds with... Carlotta Besozzi
European Disability Forum (EDF) Director
Q: Following the European Year of People with Disabilities, EDF work actively for the establishment of the Business & Disability network. How do you feel about the publication of the best practices compendium?
For the European Disability Forum it is a great satisfaction to see the tangible results of a fruitful cooperation with companies. We are firmly convinced that an effective integration of disabled people in the business sector is only possible if companies are persuaded of the added value disability can bring to their activities. The present compendium is a proof of it and we hope that it will become a powerful awareness-raising tool for other business partners.
Q: Do you think that Business & Disability and the present compendium are the first stones of a mentality shift in the sector?
Yes I do. Business & Disability is the sole and first experience of the kind at European Union level. Companies are currently investing a lot of time and energy in developing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, but unfortunately disability remains a very small part of these efforts. I am convinced that the work of Business & Disability will lead the way and that the existing network will continue to grow, to collect and to promote best practices.
Q: How do you see the future of B&D?
I am confident that the network will expand progressively and disseminate its values wider. Those who have joined so far are already convinced of the disability business case and can benefit from the activities and expertise of Business & Disability. They have also understood that an inclusive labour market and an economy of accessible goods and services are for the benefit of all consumers, not only the 50 million people in Europe that have a disability. The European Disability Forum will definitively continue to support this important initiative and to believe in the added value it brings to the European business sector.
Case Studies live on line…
Within the framework of a project “Promoting the economic case for the integration of people with disabilities into business and society throughout Europe" funded by the European Commission, Business & Disability has been collecting case studies of good practice from across Europe. These case studies of inclusion projects for people with disabilities have been collected under the three themes of Accessibility, e-Accessibility and Employment.
Although the end of this project with the European Commission is close at hand, we want to give you the opportunity to share with others your experience and best practices in the area of the inclusion of people with disabilities by filing out the form here. To be inspired by the experiences of others, please click here.
Business & Disability strongly believes that learning from each other is definitely the best way to move forward in order to ensure that the people with disabilities get the place they deserve in our society, so... let's use the tool!
B&D events: what's coming next?
In the next issue of B&D – Moving Forward, there will be a report on the remaining events to take place during the final year of this two-year awareness-raising project. The Business & Disability roadshow will be visiting Berlin, Warsaw and Helsinki with the final event taking place in London on the 14th November and featuring the launch of Business & Disability’s European Case Studies guide on the inclusion of people with disabilities.
The Disability Agenda: upcoming events
10-14 /10/2006 |
Seminar on Children Disabilities – What about their rights ? |
Sion |
www.eurochild.org or info@childsrights.org |
11-13 /10/2006 |
Fourth World Conference on the promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders, “Developing Resilience and Strength across the Life Span” |
Oslo |
|
12-15 /10/2006 |
FIMITIC Seminar on "Advancing Disability Rights in Europe - People with Physical Disability in the countries of South Eastern Europe" | Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | Registration and call for papers deadline: September 15 2006 |
19-22 /10/2006 |
EDDE 2006 (European Days of Deaf Education) on Communication and Language Development in Sign Language, Spoken Language and read and written Language |
Örebro |
Early Registrations Rate until 15 August 2006 |
19-21/10/06 |
The social economy and employment of people with mental health problems |
Sevilla |
More information: www.cefec.org |
| NEW 27-28 /10/2006 |
Mobility for All – The Use of Ambient Intelligence in Addressing the Mobility Needs of People with Impairments: The Case of ASK-IT | Nicea |
More information: www.ask-it.org and www.ask-it.org/ |
| NEW 27-28 /10/2006 |
Fighting for our rights – Final Conference |
Brussels |
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| NEW 2-5 /11/2006 |
Citizenship Education: a bridge to European citizenship? |
Florence |
Interested persons may apply for a grant at their National Socrates Agency: ec.europa.eu |
| 6-9 /11/2006 |
International online conferences – Supporting Deaf People 2006 | ||
| 8-10 /11/2006 |
XIV World Congress : Building an inclusive future : a challenge for globalization |
Acapulco (Mexico) |
Inclusion International |
| 16-17 /11/2006 |
POLIS/BAS International Conference “Universal Design of Buildings: Tools and Policy |
Bruges |
More information: www.polis-ubd.net |
| 21-22 /11/2006 |
European Construction Technology Platform Conference | Versailles (France) |
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| 26-28 /11/ 2006 |
6th International Conference ‘Public Benefit for the Disabled’ |
Cracow |
More information: www.pson.ip.krakow.pl |
| NEW 20-24 /04/ 2007 |
International Smiling Child Festival |
Istanbul
|
More information: |
| 31/05 – 2/06 2007 |
No Health without Mental Health : From Slogan to Reality |
Vienna |
www.mhe-sme.org |
| 13-15 /06/2007 |
8th Conference of the European Union of Supported Employment | Belfast, (Northern Ireland) |
Email: info@euseconference2007.orgWeb: www.euseconference2007.org |
Keep on visiting the B&D website (www.businessanddisability.org) to learn more...
Tell us what you think?
We appreciate your thoughts!
If you have any comments or thoughts about B&D - moving forward or have any information you would like to share with us, we would like to hear from you. Please email B&D at info@businessanddisability.org
And remember, we need you to get involved. Business & Disability is open to all companies who are committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities, be they actively involved in disability issues, not yet active but wanting to get involved or just wanting to learn more. Either way, we are waiting to hear from you…
For more information and updates on all B&D events, visit the Business & Disability website: www.businessanddisability.org
B&D members:
B&D contact details:
Address:
Business & Disability: a European Network
402 Avenue de Tervuren
B-1150 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 777.05.17
Fax: + 32 2 777.05.30
Email: info@businessanddisability.org
Website: www.businessanddisability.org