The Council of Europe Disability Strategy 2017-2023 (“the Strategy”) has five rights-based priority areas. “Each of them is connected to corresponding Articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), aiming at its implementation in practice.
This study addresses the second priority area of the Strategy which focuses on awareness raising (Article 8 of the UNCRPD). The aim of this study is to suggest current and useful good practices to policy makers and practitioners in the area of raising awareness and sensitising a wide range of stakeholders.
The study begins with an explanation of its scope, followed by the key origins of misunderstanding about disability. Myths and stereotypes result in barriers to the full enjoyment of rights for persons with disabilities. The study refers to possible strategies and actions in approaching public awareness campaigns and other relevant actions in a holistic way, always with the objective to promote inclusion, respect and dignity.
Furthermore, good practices are presented, either initiated by authorities or by civil society. As practice demonstrates, a vertical (bottom-up) and horizontal (across sectors) approach has paid off and led to successful implementation
of awareness-raising campaigns or other actions on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Finally, a few challenging questions are put forward in concluding this study and a checklist is available for member states at all level wishing to design an awareness-raising campaign and interested in following a systematic stepby-step approach, for a long-term impact.
Full Study (PDF, 325 KB)
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