Category: Blog

  • Goodbye Eastern Europe

    Just notes and archives of some books I read and find interesting and relevant. “An intimate history of a divided land.” Surprising, revealing, and ultimately optimistic despite everything read. My book of 2023. “Many peoples, faiths, languages lived together, in a loose symbiosis, strong enough to last for centuries. It was not always peaceful or…

  • Transformation of services for persons with disabilities – summary of report by UN Special Rapporteur

    Gerard Quinn, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, published a report on transformation of services for people with disabilities. I tried to summarise. (Written for Inclusion Europe.) The report calls for support services to implement these changes: Services based on personhood, focused on supporting personal development and inclusion in the community. Policy…

  • Vcelku rozumná rodinná politika

    Vcelku rozumná rodinná politika

    Graf ukazuje hodnotu rodinných dávek pro rodinu se dvěma dětmi, v poměru k průměrné mzdě v dané zemi.Průměrná hodnota v zemích Evropské unie je 15 %.Česko v grafu najdete téměr úplně vpravo. Graf je výmluvný sám o sobě.Člověk u něho s něhou pomyslí na všechny vypravěče nutnosti podporovat mladé lidi, rodiny a porodnost. Graf je…

  • 2022 v evropské sociální politice

    Výběr událostí a zpráv z evropské sociální politiky (s důrazem na lidi s postižením), které podle mého stojí za pozornost. Odkazy vedou většinou na anglické texty; pokud je třeba, např. Deepl je výborný překladač. Shrnutí roku 2021 zde. Uplynulý rok v Inclusion Europe. Ze shrnutí vynechávám věci související s ruskou válkou v Ukrajině, o nich krátce zde nebo…

  • 2022. Enough said

    As I write my usual end-of-year summary, there is only one topic that can be in focus: The incredibly courageous response of the Ukrainian people with disabilities and their families facing genocidal Russian war. And alongside it, the solidarity and support provided by all of you in the European and international Inclusion community. What Inclusion…

  • It can be done: Report on social care written to be read and understood

    It can be done: Report on social care written to be read and understood

    I was supposed to have a day off work that Friday. I was supposed to spend it off social media too. But I did neither, and I’m very happy with that. The day before, the United Kingdom’s House of Lords (parliament’s second chamber) published a report by its Adult Social Care Committee called “A gloriously…

  • On resilience

    Reflections on Europe in Action to End Segregation conference, September, Brussels. Originally published on Inclusion Europe blog. Oh, it was so delightful to have people around for the 3 days of our Europe in Action to End Segregation conference last week. To be able to see and feel the other persons reactions, emotions, body language.…

  • If you are being overlooked in normal times, it is unlikely that anyone will take you into account during a crisis

    If you are being overlooked in normal times, it is unlikely that anyone will take you into account during a crisis

    I was kindly invited by FEANTSA to contribute to their magazine about the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine. This is what I wrote: The situation of people with disabilities in Ukraine There are over 2.7 million people with disabilities in Ukraine, of which some 260,000 are people with intellectual disabilities. They often experience severe…

  • “Musíme v lidech budovat důvěru, že to, co po nich žádáme, je správné, jasné a že věříme v jejich schopnost to udělat.”

    Po dlouhém přemýšlení, jak shrnout poznámky ze setkání minulý týden na téma transformace sociálních služeb, nabízím nakonec toto: Výtah z rozhovoru se mnou, který vyšel v knize “The Development, Conceptualisation and Implementation of Quality in Disability Support Services” loni v létě. Pokrývá dost z toho, o čem byla minulý týden řeč. Proč je deinstitucionalizace /…

  • Protecting people with intellectual disabilities and their families during russian war on Ukraine

    Key parts of Inclusion Europe work to support people with intellectual disabilities and families in Ukraine: Fundraising and financial support There are 14,000 families brought together by our member in Ukraine alone. Many of them without jobs, pensions because of the war. Inclusion Europe launched an emergency fundraiser to help them. By mid-April, we raised…