Workability Europe e-bulletin

Championing the right to work of Europeans with disabilities

Editorial

News from the Secretariat

Projects

News from the Development Groups

News from WEB BV

What’s new on the website?

News from the members

Calendar of events 2009

Elections in Europe

• Dr Adam Kosa is the new President of the Disability Intergroup

Hungarian lawyer Adam Kosa, the first deaf Member of the European Parliament, is the new President of the Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament, MEPs decided in Strasbourg. So far the Intergroup has 74 members with strong membership from Greece, Hungary and the UK. Please check if a MEP is represented in the Intergroup from your country (i.e. Poland has none), as we can still encourage MEPs to join the group.

The Intergroup is an informal grouping of MEPs who are interested in promoting the disability policy in their work at the European Parliament as well as in the national contexts. The Disability Intergroup is one of the oldest Intergroups of the European Parliament, being established in 1980.

Following the campaign to recruit new members and ensure the political support of the EP Groups for the establishment of the Intergroup, it was re-established in December 2009. Currently, the work is being done to set up its management structure and adopt the work priorities.

You can find a list of the MEPs in the Intergroup (by nationality) here: http://www.disabilityintergroup.eu/

For more information contact Henner Sorg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• European Day of People with Disabilities

The President, General Secretary and Communications Officer of Workability Europe were joined by members Maria Egger (FAB, Austria) and Béla Udvardy (VSZOSZ, Hungary), at 3-4 December to participate in the European Day of People with Disabilities at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. The Conference under the motto “Creating Conditions for Independent Living” brought together stake-holders and decision makers in order to discuss how best to contribute to a better understanding of issues related to independent living, in particular economic autonomy, community services and assistive technologies.

For more information contact Henner Sorg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Signing of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Council of the European Union, the European Community ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) on 27 November. This ratification represents a major policy shift toward enforcing human rights obligations and putting disability on top of the human rights agenda: this is the first time in the European Union history that the Community is going to accede to an international human rights treaty.

The UN CRPD binds its signatories to a revision of all existing legislation, policies and programs to ensure they are in compliance with its provisions. This affects areas such as access to education, employment, transport, infrastructures and buildings open to the public, right to vote and political participation, ensuring full legal capacity of persons with disabilities, and a shift from institutions where persons with disabilities live separated from society into community and home-based services promoting independent living.

You can find the UN Convention in several languages here: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?navid=12&pid=150.

• EY2010 Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

2010 will be the European Year 2010 for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. This initiative by the European Union will seek to give a voice to those who experience poverty and social exclusion.

A multiplicity of activities will take place as part of the EY2010: awareness campaigns, innovative initiatives, creative solidarity schemes, meetings, discussions and conferences.

At national levels, programmes have been developed for adapting the joint policy guidelines. The activities will be identified and implemented by a national implementing organisation appointed by the participating countries.

You can find the national programmes here: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=808&langId=en.

• EU 2020 Strategy

The European Commission has launched its public consultation process on the EU strategy 2020 which will replace the Lisbon Strategy as the main action and development plan for the European Union. The Lisbon Strategy’s aimed to make the EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010". The follow-up strategy of the European Commission (EU 2020 Strategy) is currently being developed and stakeholders are being asked to comment on a first proposal by 15 January. Workability Europe has already registered its interest in this strategy and will be consulted on its further developments.

You can find the consultation paper in all EU languages here: http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/index_en.htm.

If you wish to comment on the consultation paper, please contact Henner Sorg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Legal experts publish guide on "Disability and non-discrimination law in the European Union"

The European Network of Legal Experts (ANED) has published a guide entitled "Disability and non-discrimination law in the European Union".

The report is published by the European Commission on the authority of the European Network of Independent Legal Experts in the non-discrimination field. It examines the disability provisions of the Employment Equality Directive and also relevant case law of the European Court of Justice. It also explores how the Member States have transposed and interpreted specific provisions of the Directive, including examining how the personal scope of the national legislation has been defined, and how the concept of reasonable accommodation has been elaborated on.

You can find the full report here: http://www.non-discrimination.net/content/media/Disability%20non-discrimination%20law.pdf

· EDF proposes Disability Pact for 2011-2021

The 2003-2010 EU Disability Action has now come to an end and the European Disability Forum (EDF) of which Workability Europe is a member proposes a Disability Pact for the years from 2011 to 2021. The pact aims among other things to mainstream disability in all EU policies, to review EU legislation to make it consistent with the UN CRPD and to publish regular progress reviews of disability policy at national and EU level.

You can find all relevant information and documents on the proposed pact on the EDF website: http://www.edf-feph.org/Page_Generale.asp?DocID=13854&thebloc=23118

· Social Economy aims for social dialogue participation

Workability Europe is currently lobbying for permanent representation of social service providers within the Social Dialogue taking place at the European Economic and Social Committee on a regular basis. So far only trade unions, businesses, the public sector and governments are represented at the social dialogue negotiations. Together with the INSSP (Informal Network of Social Service Providers) we have been actively taking part at negotiations at the European Economic and Social Committee under the Swedish Presidency and we are now trying with our friends from the INSSP to formalise this practice.

For more information please contact Henner Sorg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Marie Curie Association - Bulgaria

· Within 2009 Marie Curie Association, Bulgaria has started seven EU funded projects that are aiming at enhancing the social inclusion of people with disabilities and to provide them with equal access to Vocational Education and Training. One of these projects is entitled QATRAIN 4 Students. It is funded under Lifelong Learning Programme, Transfer of Innovation Measure. The project started on 1^st October 2009 and will last till 30^th September 2011. The Partner consortium involves 5 organisations from six countries. The Coordinator is The Centre for Inclusive Learning Support within The University of Worcester, the UK. The other Partners are Marie Curie Association, Bulgaria; The University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, Bulgaria; PROODOS A.E. Centre for Vocational Training, Greece; BCD Egitim ve Danismanlik Ltd, Turkey.

The project is built upon the two previous successful projects Quality and Accessible Training and Quality and Accessible Training 2. The Q4S will transfer their conceptual framework for accessible teaching practices and remove the unintended barriers that disabled learners face in accessing VET. Q4S will develop an online resource that will help disabled learners identify potential barriers to their developing and/or demonstrating core (functional) skills and enable them to plan learning strategies to overcome them. The resource will offer additional support in related activities such as negotiating the provision of reasonable adjustments and deciding when, and how best, to disclose their disability. The resource will be searchable in terms of “functional skills” and “disabilities”, with additional material being transferred and adapted from related projects to ensure that it fully meets the needs of its target users.

If you need additional information please contact us via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Integracja - Poland

· The project: “Quality Approaches for Assuring the Quality of Training and Service Provisions”, has ended with a last seminar on Brussels.

The project which was financed by the European Commission through CEDEFOP (the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) aimed to assess what is required to bridge the current qualification gaps between the qualification profiles of social care staff and the demands of a sector under rapid change. For the study Integracja, Workability Europe’s member in Poland, arranged Focus Groups, disseminated and completed questionnaires prepared by Leuven University (Center for Research and Consultancy LUCAS). A final report on the findings will be published in 2010.

CEDEFOP representative Tina Bertzeletou was positive about the possibilities of an extension of the project in which, after the theoretical research conducted now, will identify concrete examples of best practice and the possibilities of their implementation throughout Europe. Workability Europe will of course try to secure participation in this follow-up project.

For more information please contact Henner Sorg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

e-Isotis - Greece

· Workability Europe’s Greek member, e-ISOTIS (www.e-isotis.org), is involved in the GOAL-NET project that uses a series of interactive computer games to develop basic vocational skills such as planning your route to work, time keeping, CV writing, settling into the workplace and health and safety training. These are free learning materials for students with learning disabilities, sensory impairment & dyslexia in order to improve their vocational skills.

Funding for the project has been attained from the Leonardo DaVinci programme, which aims to improve the provision of work based learning. The project is made up of 5 partner organisations from the UK, Bulgaria and Greece.

The GOAL (Games Offering Accessible Learning) project has developed a combination of innovative, serious games, including 3D simulated environments and mobile applications which can be used in a “blended learning” approach with more traditional learning materials.

An employment preparation and personal development skills curriculum has been developed to increase employability, based on research conducted with a number of service user groups and using those groups to develop learning materials in a user sensitive design approach. The learning content in the curriculum is compatible with a number of accredited courses in preparation for working life and independent life skills, such as ASDAN, City & Guilds, OCR etc.

The GOAL Net materials are being released for publication on the project website. In order to satisfy the strict accessibility requirements the site requires, there may be a few days delay before the files are publically visible. Please check the site news items for more detail on exactly when you can access the software at www.goal-net.eu/games.php.

e-Isotis would be pleased to receive your comments on the games and their applications including how you feel they might sit within the national curriculum.

Contact: Nikolaos Floratos This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +30 (0)210/269 3760

· e-Isotis is also a partner in the REACH 112 consortium. REACH 112 is an EC co-funded 3 year-project that intends to improve the accessibility of the EU emergency services through the 112 phone number for people with disabilities as well as person-to-person communication. The outcomes of the project will be of direct benefit to people with special needs. The project will implement an accessible alternative to traditional voice telephony such as live real-time text conversation, video with sign language, lip reading, voice or with any simultaneous combination of these modes.

More information can be found at http://www.reach112.eu/view/en/index.html.

Contact: Nikolaos Floratos This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +30 (0)210/269 3760

Network Development Group (NDG)

• For more information contact the Chairs François Kuentz This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• For more information contact the Co-Chairs Leif Alm This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Nigel Hopkins This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Business Development Group (BDG)

• For more information contact the Chair Charles Hagens This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

At the last Board meeting Lars Lindblom updated the board on on-going contacts in the Procurement and Business development.

The year of 2009 has been very active with a number of new agreements and WEB sees a growing interest from new members and potential new members of Workability Europe. For the coming year 2010 we will address the issue of governance, but we will also seek new partnerships and focusing on a smaller number of sustainable agreements. We will also try to increase the use of the WEB buy and sell website http://www.salewebbv.eu/, which was launched in 2009.

In this newsletter we highlight just a few of the new business deals that has been launched in 2009;

• New agreement is signed with Microsoft for Academic Select Plus Status for WE (non for profit) members.
• Renewed contract with HP-SLMS to be the LAR for Microsoft.
• Agreement signed with Insight as service provider of IT-Software.
• Agreement signed with American Express Travel Services.
• WebEx – Tele- and video conference.
• Corporate Express/Staples - Office Supplies.
• Apple Corp. introduced for take backs and disassembling of Laptops and PCs.

If members have questions regarding the agreements (e.g. how to get access) or have further ideas on how we could strengthen our common position by partnership, do not hesitate to get in contact with Lars Lindblom This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (http://www.webbv.eu/).

The WE website is now running on the content management system Joomla! and is accessible. In the coming weeks we aim to reorganize our website and add additional functions such as a Forum for our membership as well as selected databases accessible by our members.

Shaw Trust

A change of leadership for Shaw Trust

We write at an important time within the life and future of Shaw Trust. Our Director General Tim Papé retired at the end of October and on 2^nd November; Sally Burton joined us as Chief Executive. Tim has spent time with Sally and along with Trustees he is delighted at her appointment and is confident that she will be able to fill his shoes.

All of us in Shaw Trust have a deep sense of gratitude for what seems almost a lifetime commitment from Tim to the mission in which we are all engaged. We are of course delighted that he has agreed to pick up the honorary title of President and all of that experience and knowledge remains available to the Trust.

We acknowledge the significance of Tim’s involvement in the world of disability within and beyond Shaw Trust and offer our deepest appreciation to Tim as he now retires.

Leadership of the Trust is now the responsibility of Sally Burton and a new phase in the development of Shaw Trust begins.

For further information please contact Sandy Evans at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

VSZOSZ - Hungary

20^th Anniversary of VSZOSZ

Workability Europe’s Hungarian member VSZOSZ, the Hungarian Association of Sheltered Workshops, celebrated its 20th birthday this month on 3 December in Budapest. Amongst other dignitaries Mr. László Herczog, the Hungarian Minister of Social and Labour Affairs and Mr. Peter Kiss, Minister of Social Policy were present at the ceremony.

VSOSZ was founded in 1989 by the 22 companies employing people with changed working capacity, including disabled people. Today, VSZOSZ has members throughout Hungary which provide work and employment to over 40,000 people. VSOSZ became a member of Workability Europe in 2006 and has been an active, reliable and competent partner since.

We wish our friends from VSZOSZ all the best for the future and we are looking forward to continued fruitful cooperation.

For more information please contact Béla Udvardy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

REMPLOY - United Kingdom

Remploy is named Rehab Provider of the Year at Personal Injury Awards 2009

Remploy, the UK’s leading provider of specialist employment services to people who experience complex barriers to work, has won a prestigious industry award.

Remploy’s vocational rehabilitation service was named Rehab Provider of the Year at the Personal Injury Awards 2009, which highlight the excellence of individuals and organisations across the personal injury claims sector.

Accepting the trophy, Karen Elsmore, Remploy Business Development Manager, said: "I am extremely proud to receive the Rehab Provider of the Year award on behalf of our team. It is a testament from the industry for the work, determination and results achieved by our team working collaboratively in not only a difficult economic employment climate, but in an extremely competitive personal injury marketplace."

Organised by Barker Brooks Media, the panel of judges for the awards was chaired by Nicholas Bevan of Bond Pearce LLP and consisted of leading industry insiders and representatives of professional bodies providing expertise in insurance, law, rehabilitation and medicine.

The awards ceremony in London was hosted by TV comedian Sean Lock, star of 8 Out of 10 Cats and QI. More than 350 personal injury professionals attended, comprising of solicitors, barristers, insurers, rehabilitation providers and claims management companies.

Guests were also given an update on mediation within the personal injury sector by Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony.

Remploy vocational rehabilitation consists of a range of innovative, independent and impartial services, designed to work with insurers, solicitors, rehabilitation providers and the life and pensions market to help individuals to return to work following accident or ill health. With over 60 years' expertise in supporting people with disabilities and health conditions in the workplace, Remploy’s services have been developed specifically to meet the needs of insurance and legal sectors. The services are delivered by 18 vocational rehabilitation consultants across the UK.

For more information on Remploy’s vocational rehabilitation service, contact:

+44 (0)845 146 0501, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.vr.remploy.co.uk.

*List of events as known at the moment. Other events may be added and will be advised. Always confirm dates and location with the Development Group Chair(s) and/or secretariat prior to attending.

*The list does not contain regional or local elections.