Disability issues

Our mission is to promote and develop Nordic co-operation on disability issues and to work towards a society that is accessible to all. We accomplish this by creating arenas for knowledge exchange between the Nordic countries, by producing different types of knowledge bases, and by initiating cross-border networks. We are committed to ensuring that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is put into practice and actively implemented in the Nordic countries; this, in turn, will lead to a more sustainable, universally designed society.

Our Fields of Activity

• The Nordic Welfare Centre is the secretariat for the Council of Nordic Cooperation on Disability (the Disability Council), which is the Nordic Council of Ministers’ consulting body on issues related to disabilities. The mission of the Disability Council is cross-sectoral. The council is intended to support and monitor activities within the framework of the Nordic Programme for Co-operation on Disability Issues 2023–2027.
• Our deaf-blind initiative works to ensure that people with combined visual and hearing impairments and deaf-blindness are able to participate in society on equal terms.
• Every year, we distribute 1.5 million SEK via the Funding Scheme. These funds give disability organisations in the Nordic region the opportunity to collaborate, develop projects, and organise joint activities.
• The Nordic Experience Network on Disability shares knowledge about public interventions for people with disabilities in the Nordic region. The network organises seminars and is a collaboration between the Nordic Welfare Centre and VIVE.

We also work with participation, universal design, equal opportunities in education and employment, Nordic indigenous peoples, and free movement.

The programme for Nordic cooperation on disability focuses on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Nordic Welfare Centre is working on an overview of how the Convention is being implemented in the Nordic countries.