Statement: Youth disability perspective
“We need a stronger youth perspective in Nordic cooperation on disability”
The Nordic Programme for Cooperation on Disability Issues 2023 to 2027 emphasises that it is essential that the Nordic region successfully integrates the perspectives of gender equality, children and young people, and disability. In order to strengthen the perspective of children and young people in Nordic cooperation on disability issues for the programme period from 2023 to 2027, an annual meeting of experts will be organised with representatives of interest groups for young people with disabilities.
The participants in the Nordic Youth Disability Summit all agree that youth cooperation is needed. In their opinion, collaboration with young people must be strengthened, and there is a desire to find more permanent forms of collaboration. One potential solution was to include youth representatives in the Council of Nordic Cooperation on Disability in order to achieve continuity and ensure that youth organisations are kept updated.
Focus area: Human rights | |
 | The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) aims to promote, protect and ensure that all persons with disabilities have full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as to promote respect for their inherent value. All the Nordic countries have ratified the UN CRPD and implemented the convention’s principles and norms. Read more in the programme: Human rights |
Statement on how to safeguard the perspective of children and young people with disabilities in the implementation of Programme 2023–20271. Organisations for young people with disabilities want to have eight seats on the disability council! a. A seat for each Nordic country is the only way to safeguard the perspective. b. The youth want to be equal members. It’s difficult to safeguard on a distance. c. If they are not equal members of the disability council, how will organisations for young people with disabilities know whether the Disability Council heard their voices? d. It’s important that each Nordic country has a seat of its own. The Nordic countries are diversified and the infrastructure is different. Not all of them have an “adult” organisation. e. Having a seat for each country will strengthen the collaboration between countries and also between youth organisations and “adult organisations”. |
2. No adult member should select on which topics to involve the children and young people’s perspective. Organisations for young people with disabilities have perspectives on all different subjects! a. Organisations for young people with disabilities bring knowledge, creativity, energy and diversity. 3. It is important that organisations for young people with disabilities get enough time to prepare for meetings of the Disability Council. a. Organisations for young people with disabilities have many members and many member organisations to hear and involve in the preparation of the meetings. b. Organisations for young people with disabilities should of course have all materials about every meeting. c. All materials regarding meetings in the Disability Council should of course be in accessible formats safeguarding accessibility for all sorts of disabilities. The EU has young delegates from each country, so there is inspiration from the EU. There is also a young delegate with a disability from each country. The Nordic Committee for Children and Young People, NORDBUK, could also give inspiration on how to safeguard the perspectives of organisations for young people with disabilities. |