Audio Version
Voiced by Hilary Hooks.
The World Braille Day: Celebrating the Importance of Braille for the Full Realization of Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Voiced by Hilary Hooks.
Voiced by Hilary Hooks.
The World Braille Day: Celebrating the Importance of Braille for the Full Realization of Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Social Structures
Author: Silvia Favalli, Post-doctoral research fellow in International law – University of Pavia (Italy)
Since 2019, World Braille Day celebrates the significance of Braille as a means of communication and a gateway to realize human rights of persons who are blind or partially sighted. This day commemorates the birthday of its inventor, Louis Braille, born in France in 1809.
Braille is a tactile writing and reading system and consists of the representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots. The dot patterns are assigned to each letter and number, but they represent musical, mathematical and scientific symbols as well. It also allows users to develop an understanding of the formal structure of language, such as spacing, formatting and grammar.
Braille has been a key tool for persons who are blind or partially sighted to exercise their rights since it was first developed in the XIX century. In particular, Braille is crucial in the context of education, to allow freedom of expression and opinion and, more broadly, to enhance social inclusion, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which focuses on inclusive and equitable quality of education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Continue reading “The World Braille Day: Celebrating the Importance of Braille for the Full Realization of Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities”The Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Some Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of the Charter
Social Structures
Author Bio: Neža Šubic, Postdoctoral Researcher, DANCING Project, ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. It was proclaimed solemnly by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on 7 December 2000. Though not formally binding when it was signed, it became legally binding with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.
The Charter is the European Union’s bill of rights. It contains a comprehensive set of fundamental rights, ranging from civil and political rights to social and economic rights.
Continue reading “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Some Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of the Charter”Happy 72nd Anniversary, UDHR!
Social Structures
Author: Irene Spigno, General Director of the Inter-American Academy of Human Rights-Autonomous University of Coahuila
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations, with Resolution 217 A (III), proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The Declaration is a landmark document in the history of human rights: for the first time, fundamental human rights were enshrined in a written document.
Drawn up by representatives of all regions of the world with different legal and cultural backgrounds, the Declaration was proclaimed as a common ideal for all peoples and nations.
Continue reading “Happy 72nd Anniversary, UDHR!”Commemorating Human Rights Day
Social Structures
Author: Dr Laura Serra. Postdoctoral researcher reCreating Europe. All Institute. Department of Law, Maynooth University
Today, 10th of December, we are commemorating the day in which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Today is Human Rights Day!
Human Rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Yet, in the twenty-first century, billions of people around the world remain on the margins of society, facing multiple Human Rights violations. For this reason, it is essential not only to commemorate the 10th of December but also to remind us how much remains to be done.
Continue reading “Commemorating Human Rights Day”Commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Social Structures
Author Ana Maria Sanchez Rodriguez – ALL Institute member, Irish Research Council and a Marie Skłodowska- Curie Actions’ fellow at Maynooth University
The author is grateful for the insights provided by Marité Fernández.
On the 3rd of December we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations proclaimed this day in 1992 and this year the theme is: “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World”.
While this is a day to observe and to commemorate, there is not much to celebrate. In the past few days, the international community, United Nation agencies, intergovernmental organizations and international organizations have organized virtual conferences to address what the main challenges are in order to realize the rights of persons with disabilities recognized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights Persons of Disabilities and other regional human rights treaties.
Continue reading “Commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities”European Union Disability Policies after 2020: Back to the Future
Social Structures
Click here for Easy to Read Version
Author: Delia Ferri – Co-Director of the ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University
At the end of this year, the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (EDS), which has shaped European Union (EU) disability policies for the last decade, is coming to an end. The 3rd of December 2020, which marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, seems the most apt time to reflect on what EU policies have achieved, but also to look ahead to the forthcoming Strategy 2021-2030.
Continue reading “European Union Disability Policies after 2020: Back to the Future”European Union Disability Policies after 2020: Back to the Future – Audio Version
Audio Version
Social Structures
European Union Disability Policies after 2020: Back to the Future – Easy to Read Version
Social Structures
Easy to Read Version
Author: Delia Ferri – Co-Director of the ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University. EtR Translation Hilary Hooks
Ireland is one of a group of countries in Europe called the European Union.
The European Union works to make Europe better.
In 2010 The European Union made a plan to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
This plan is called the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (EDS).
It was a plan for 10 years. The plan is now coming to an end.
It is time to think about what has changed for the better and what the next plan should include.
Continue reading “European Union Disability Policies after 2020: Back to the Future – Easy to Read Version”Building a European Health Union
Social Structures
Author: Dr Emma McEvoy, Postdoctoral Researcher, SHAPES Project, ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University.
Less than a year ago, the sudden and somewhat unpredicted outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across Europe pushed most national health systems to their limits. Healthcare workers faced the brunt of the pandemic, dealing with shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), medical supplies, medicines and coping with Intensive Critical Units (ICU) bed shortages. The European Union (EU) as a whole was not prepared for the Covid-19 outbreak, and neither were any of the Member States. Society and the economy appeared to pause in time to support and allow front-line workers to navigate through the early chaos of the first wave of the pandemic. Many areas of society and the economy have yet to recover and re-start from this initial pause. This is also true of health systems. All EU countries, to some extent, paused or limited normal hospital operations, ranging from postponing routine cancer checks, to cancelling elective surgeries to some hospital day services.
Continue reading “Building a European Health Union”