New Mental Healther Advocate Carmen attends the final presentation of the recommendations to the European Parliament on inclusive mobility for young people across Europe.
See more about the project here.
First experience as a volunteer for the great team of Euro Youth Mental Health! On the very snowy day of January 22 I had the opportunity to attend a special event at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels: the official launch of the Inclusive Mobility Alliance!
Euro Youth Mental Health is one of the 21 organizations that have been joining efforts towards a more inclusive Erasmus+ project and we celebrate the adoption of 17 recommendations that will be included in the next Erasmus programme 2021-2027.
Different experts on disability, mental health, youth’s rights and education gathered at the EP with the support and presence of MEPs Luigi Morgano and Damiano Zoffoli (S&D). MEPs’ support is always key to get visibility so thank you!
I personally appreciated all the useful comments and ideas proposed that turned this event to a rich reflection on how the Erasmus+ project, and therefore the European Union, should work towards inclusiveness.
Yannis Vardakastanis (President of EDF) highlighted that there is a European legal basis that should drive the Erasmus+ project in order to offer ALL accessible services: the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which points out that people with disability, including mental conditions, find barriers in society that oust them from the fulfilment of their rights.
Frank Sioen from ENIL took the opportunity to remind that the Erasmus+ project should have a person-centered focus and that there should be total transparency about the funds for accessibility so finances don’t become the reason to not make an NGO/workstation more inclusive.
To finish this article, I want to highlight a question raised by Loredana Disci (from EDF) that caused the silence in the meeting room: ‘’how many people with disabilities are working at the European Commission, Erasmus+ offices, etc?’’
I will leave up to you and your curiosity the real answer 🙂
Looking forward to continue representing the rights of people with mental health conditions. Let’s speak up and break stigmas!
Euro Youth Mental Health 
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