The right to inclusive education is universal and must extend to all human beings, including children, youth and adults with disabilities as enshrined in article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and addressed in several international Declarations.

However, there is still a long way to go to address exclusion of persons with disabilities in schools, universities and other educational or training centres.

According to UNESCO’s estimations, 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do NOT attend schools.

International agencies and states make efforts to ensure this right through policies and programmes.

Several organisations supporting persons with disabilities have also developed inclusive programmes across Europe in line with the CRPD and they will present their experiences during the event.

The conference will address the following issues:The development of the common European standard for education programmes and the establishment of National Qualification Frameworks (NQF) following the work of the project “EQF meets ECVET” How to improve the inclusion of young persons with disabilities in the Vocational education and training (VET) system as a tool to support their transition to the labour market (experiences from Austria, Belgium, Norway and Slovenia).

Mapping on the quality and accessibility of education and training for adults with a learning disability in Europe through theobservatory developed by the partners of the project ALDO.

The example ofTIDE, a European project that supports young adults with an intellectual disability to become active global citizens and engage in education on development issues, such as the Millennium Development Goals.

This conference will be a great opportunity to understand what inclusive education means and how can it be realised.

It will bring together high level speakers representing the academic and educational sector, European institutions, public authorities, representatives from European Disabled People Organisations and the support services sector.