Vote for all: How co-production can improve the political participation of persons with disabilities?

Round Table – European Parliament, Brussels (Room ASP 7H1)

Tuesday, 19 November 2019, 10:00 – 12:00.

During the last European elections, 500.000 people with disabilities were granted the right to vote following the reforms in Europe. Despite this fact, 800.000 people with disabilities, including those with psychosocial disabilities, were still denied their right to vote. On top of the existing legal barriers, people with disabilities face many other obstacles that prevent them from voting and, more generally, from participating in the political life of their community.

Co-production can address these issues and improve political participation of people with disabilities and making their voices heard. Mental Health Europe together with Coface Families Europe, the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities, the European Disability Forum, the European Network on Independent Living and Inclusion Europe would like to invite you to a hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday, 19^th November from 10:00 to 12:00, to explore the opportunities offered by co-production.

The event will be a possibility for policy makers, experts by experience (people with disabilities), families, service providers and other stakeholders to initiate a constructive dialogue and to find some common solutions.

As part of the Co-production Taskforce which aims to identify and promote co-produced practices that support inclusion of people with disabilities, the event will present findings of the recent Taskforce’s study. The study explores how co-produced solutions have been developed in Belgium, Czech Republic, France and Malta. The event will also give an opportunity for all to discuss together the existing barriers to political participation and how the solutions that are being “co-produced” can support a better inclusion of people.