Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina has participated in a European conference on the inclusion of people with a disability, organised by the German EU presidency.

The conference focused on the inclusion of people with a disability, with special emphasis on education, employment and accessibility. It is estimated that there are 650 million persons with disability worldwide, 50 million of these live in Europe.

The conference included three panel discussions, focusing on education, employment and barriers to equal opportunities. The discussions showed that, although there seems to be a common agreement on what is needed in all these areas, the reality is different.

Malta, for example, has a wide-ranging and effective system of inclusive education with 87 per cent of children with disability participating in mainstream education – something that is not as widespread in several other countries.

During an informal meeting of European ministers responsible for disability issues, there was consensus that the EU should continue to promote ratification and implementation of the convention among Member States.