Flemish campaign demands more inclusion for persons with disabilities

Seven Flemish organisations have launched a new campaign to call for more inclusion for persons with disabilities. On six locations in Flanders, they organise today/Friday actions to raise awareness about how difficult it is for persons with disabilities to fully participate in society.

Seven Flemish organisations set up a new campaign to stand up for the right of persons with disabilities to fully participate in society. The organisations that joined forces are Absoluut, Dito, Kando, Konekt, Onafhankelijk Leven, SOM and Vlaams Welzijnsverbond. Their campaign is called 'Dakantochnie? Dakanwel!', which can be translated as ‘That’s not possible? That is possible!’.

Together, the organisations wrote an election memorandum with concrete recommendations for policy-makers. “We call on policy-makers to quickly work on an ambitious plan to make an inclusive society a reality,” they stated. ​ This plan should cover all policy areas “because inclusion is about all aspects of life: welfare, housing, health, education, income, work, accessibility, mobility, leisure, etc.”. ​ They emphasised that it is therefore essential that all policy levels, from the local to the federal level, work together to develop and realise this Inclusion Plan.

With a day of actions, the organisers aim to make persons with disabilities more visible. Persons with disabilities hand out energy bars to passers-by to symbolically show that it takes a lot of energy for them to participate in this society. The biggest action takes place in Antwerp, but actions are also held in Ghent, Bruges, Leuven, Turnhout and Hasselt.

_{#FlandersNewsService | Demonstrators in wheelchairs © BELGA PHOTO John MACDOUGALL / AFP}