G7 disability ministers visit Vatican: 'Action, not words'
By Joseph Tulloch
This week, from the 14th to the 16th October, disability ministers from each of the G7 member states gathered in central in Italy.
It was the first ever ministerial-level meeting of G7 ministers dedicated to inclusion and disability, and led to the signing of the Solfagnano Charter, which commits signatories to integrating disability rights into political agendas and taking concrete actions to ensure accessibility.
On Thursday 17th October, the day after the signing of the Charter, the G7 ministers met with the Pope, who expressed his “gratitude and appreciation” for their work.
Afterwards, the ministers attended a reception in the Vatican Gardens. A number of them spoke to Vatican News.
Pope’s message an ‘inspiration’
Sir Stephen Timms, the UK’s Minister of State for Social Security and Disability, described the encounter with the Pope as an “enormous privilege”.
“It was great to hear the Pope's words embracing so wholeheartedly the inclusion of disabled people,” he said.
Sir Timms described the signing of the Solfagnano Charter as “a groundbreaking event” that made “very clear commitments” to inclusion, but stressed that “we've now got to translate those commitments into realities”.
Following the meetings in Italy, G7 disability ministers were “feeling a bit more inspired” about their work, Sir Timms said, adding that the Pope’s “ringing endorsement” had given them “further inspiration for the task ahead”.
Inclusion: Action, not words
Sara Minkara, the United States Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, described the ministers’ meeting with the Pope as a “very, very impactful and significant moment”, a chance to talk through the G7’s approach to disability inclusion “from a value point of view.”
She thanked the Italian disabilities minister, Alessandra Locatelli, for organising the G7 ministerial meeting, the first of its kind, saying that it had put the issue of disability inclusion “on the map”.
This was a subject that Jürgen Dusel, Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Matters Relating to People with Disabilities, picked up on too.
“Many people talk about inclusion, but it simply needs to be done,” he said. “Italy has shown that they don't just talk about it, they actually do it, and I think that sets an example for other countries”.
And he was enthusiastic regarding his encounter with the Pope, too: “It was very exciting, a great honour, and a great joy … I think it was something special that one experiences only once in a lifetime. I'm still very moved.”
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