Network meets European Commission

On 15th December 2008 ANED held its first Annual Meeting in Brussels, bringing together its Academic members from all  EU Member States,  with representatives from the Commission and key invited guests.

Presentation ANED's activities in 2008 by Mark Priestley (University of Leeds):
PowerPoint (ppt 760 kB) Handout (pdf 114 kB)
Presentation ANED work programme 2009 by Mark Priestley:
PowerPoint (ppt 780 kB) Handout (pdf 115 kB)

This was the first opportunity for members to meet face to face, to share expertise and to consider how to strengthen the operation of the network. The meeting focused on two key questions:

• how can research contribute to evidence based disability policy development in Europe?
• how can European policy actors make best use of existing research?
   

Johan Ten Geuzendam (Director of the European Commission's Disability Unit) emphasized the value of ANED to the Commission. He hoped that it would be able to make "a lasting contribution to the development of disability policy at European level."

The Commission would use ANED both to tap into existing expertise on disability and also to give further impetus to the development of that expertise by identifying gaps in knowledge and helping to fill those gaps.

Inmaculada Placencia-Porrero, (Deputy Director of the European Commission's Disability Unit), spoke about ANED's role in helping develop a new Disability Strategy from 2010, by identifying priority areas for activity and formulating measures of progress:  "This is an incredible opportunity to help us develop the next ten years of European disability policy… but it is also a big challenge."

More presentations held during the meeting:

• Recognition of disability within EC law and policy
• Opportunities for national comparisons of data on the situation of disabled people
• Methods of monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention
• Key points country reports on disability employment policies
• Trends in social inclusion policies across Europe