QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED

These main objectives have led to the following key questions, which will be explored during the 21st RI World Congress:

1. How do we ensure full participation and empowerment of people with disabilities in society?

2. How can we promote the adoption of best practices that take into account the wide range of disabilities and different age groups?

3. What are the most effective measures to implement and monitor the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

4. What are the respective responsibilities of government, service providers, the public and private sectors and society, including organizations of people with disabilities and their families and non-government organizations, with respect to ensuring full social participation and self-determination of people with disabilities?

5. In light of globalization and the growing gap between industrialized and poor countries, how can we strengthen partnerships and collaboration between actors in the disability field in a North-South perspective?

These questions touch upon the development and implementation of inclusive and adequate social policies concerning people who live with various disabilities. Such questions are based on a contemporary definition of social participation of people with disabilities. According to this perspective, the quality of social participation cannot be defined only by an individual’s diagnosis, disability, or cognitive or functional limitation. Adequate consideration must also be given to the interaction between people with disabilities and by possibilities offered by their surrounding environment coupled with the social, economic and political responsibilities towards these individuals.