UfM I Conference on Disability and Social Inclusion in the Mediterranean will take place on 26 and 27 of January 2022 

The I Conference on Disability and Social Inclusion in the Mediterranean is a regional event that addresses the rights, challenges, and limitations of persons with disabilities in the Euro-Mediterranean region. It is an opportunity to bring together national and regional policy makers, civil society actors, experts as well as private and public actors in order to share adequate recommendations, policies and practices for post-COVID agendas and recovery programmes in the region.

The situation of persons with disabilities in the Euro-Mediterranean region is far from being fully satisfactory. Many countries have improved their legislative environments, with advances affecting positively this social group throughout the last years. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go.

This year, the Union for the Mediterranean, in collaboration with ONCE Social Group, organizes a conference on Disability and Social Inclusion in the Mediterranean in order to analyze three key issues in the post-COVID era that are: the challenges and limitations that persons of disabilities face in order to access human rights and employment, the importance of a gender perspective in future agendas and recovery programmes and the role of accessible tourism in the inclusion of persons with disabilities in this sector as a solution for the crisis recovery in the region.

The conference will take place at the UfM premises, Palacio Real de Pedralbes-Barcelona. The event will also be livestreamed (opening and closing sessions) but only registered users will be able to participate. The event will be in English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Sign Language.

Civil society actors

Policymakers

Business experts

NGOs and IGOs representatives

Persons with disability organizations

Women organisations

The event will be in English, Arabic and Spanish

1^st DAY (January, 26th)

9:00-9:50 hrs: Opening Remarks

Nasser Kamel- Secretary General UfM. 

Patricia Sanz- Second Vice President of Equality, Human Resources, Institutional Culture, and Digital Inclusion of the ONCE Social Group

Ms. Anna Figueras i Ibáñez, Secretary of Social Affairs and Families. 

Mr. Joan Ramón Riera Alemany- Councillor for Children, Youth and the Elderly and President of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities (IMPD)- Barcelona City Council

Ioannis Vardakastanis- President of the Euromed Follow-up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee, President of the International Disability Alliance, President of the European Disability Forum. 

Dr. Nawaf Kabbara- President of the AOPD. 

9:50- 10:00: Keynote Speech: Helena Dalli – EU Commissioner for Equality. 

10:00- 10:20 hrs: 1st Thematic Block

Keynote Speech: Social Inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Mediterranean Countries.

Speaker: Tarek El Nabulsi- Director of development and social polices Department. League of Arab States. 

10:20-10:45 hrs: Coffee Break

10:45-11:30 hrs: Round Table– Human Rights and Accessibility: limitations and challenges in a post-COVID era.

Speakers:

• • • Inmaculada Placencia Porrero- Senior Expert, Social affairs- Disability and Inclusion- European Commission.
    • Abdelmajid Makni- Member- National Commission of Human Rights of Morocco. 
    • Federico Martire- Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Manager & Deputy Director Program Unit- International  Disability Alliance. 

Moderator:

• • • Javier Güemes- International Relations Director- ONCE Social Group 

11:30-12:30 hrs: Practical dialogue

• Access European Finance of disability projects and DPOs

Representative European Commission TBC

Carolina Serrano- Senior Consultant Public Affairs- Atrevia Brussels

Suvad Zahirović- Director of IC Lotos (Information Centre for Persons with Disabilities), Tuzla, Bosnia. 

12:30- 13:45 hrs: LUNCH

13:45-14:45 hrs: Round Table– Employment of persons with disabilities: Regional overview

Speakers: 

• • • Dr. Antonia Pavli- Researcher at the Observatory on Disability Issues of the National Confederation of Disabled People of Greece. 
    • Virginia Carcedo- Secretary General- Inserta Empleo. 
    • Mr. George Khoury, Vicechair of the National association for the   rights of persons with disabilities in Lebanon. 

Moderator:

• • • Álvaro Couceiro- International Strategic Planning Officer- ONCE Social Group. 

14:45-15:45 hrs: Practical dialogue

• Social protection for persons with disabilities

Stefan Trömel- Senior Disability Specialist- International Labour Organization. 

María del Mar Logrono Narbona- Technical Consultant, Citizenship Education- UNICEF MENA Regional Office 

15:45-16:00 hrs: 2^nd Thematic Block

Keynote Speech: Disability and Gender Equality: Intersectional approaches. 

Speaker: Ana Peláez- Vicepresident CEDAW. 

16:00-16:45 hrs:    Round Table– The gender perspective within the region: national disability agendas and recovery programmes.

Speakers:

• • • Jahda Abou Khalil – General Director of the Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities (AOPD) 
    • Anna Dorangricchia- Programme Manager Social and Civil Affairs Division- Union for the Mediterranean 
    • Isabel Caballero- Coordinator- Fundación CERMI Mujeres 

Moderator:

• • • Álvaro Couceiro- International Strategic Planning Officer- ONCE Social Group 

16:45-17:30 hrs:    Practical dialogue

• Violence against women with disabilities- Prevention, detection and management

Patricia Sanz. Vicepresident of Equality, Human Resources and Institutional Culture- ONCE Social Group. 

18:00 hrs: Closure of the 1^st day

20:30 hrs: Dinner at Ilunion Barcelona Hotel- Poblenou

_______

2^nd DAY (January, 27th)

09:00-09:15 hrs: Welcome. 

9:15-9:30 hrs: 3^rd Thematic Block

Keynote Speech: Persons with disabilities in the Tourism sector.

Speaker: Igor Stefanovic- Technical Coordinator at Ethics,Culture and Social Responsibility – World Tourism Organization.

9:30-10:30 hrs:  Round Table– Accessible tourism and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Touristic socioeconomic sector: A solution for the crisis recovery in the Mediterranean.

• • • Giampiero Griffo- Vice Chairperson Disabled Peoples’ International Europe.
    • Dr. Nawaf Kabbara- President of the AOPD.
    • Ivanka Jovanovic- Executive Director of National Organization of Persons with disabilities of Serbia (NOOIS) 

Moderator:

• • • Anna Dorangricchia- Programme Manager Social and Civil Affairs Division- Union for the Mediterranean.

10:30-11:30 hrs: Practical dialogue

• Application of the new Accessible Tourism Standards.

Jose Luis Borau- Head of Department – Physical ,Environment, accessibility – ONCE Foundation 

11:30-12:00 hrs: Coffee Break and Networking

12:00-13:00 hrs: Presentation of the conclusions and recommendations of the Conference

Speakers: 

• John Paul Grech Deputy Secretary General in charge of Social and Civil Affairs- UfM 
• Javier Güemes- International Relations Director- ONCE Social Group 

13:00: Conference Closure 

• Alberto Durán- First Vicepresident of Institutional Coordination, Solidarity and External Relations of the ONCE Social Group.
• José Manuel Albares- Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation- Government of Spain TBC.