When you are young and have a disability, your path can be filled with barriers. That is the focus of today’s Remote Public Hearing on Employment of young people with disabilities arranged by the European Economic and Social Committee Thematic Study Group on Disability Rights of which I am a member.

There are some horrible numbers, when it comes unemployed youth with disabilities, when you look at depression, feeling lonely, being financially fragile and feeling left out.

There is also a focus on the need of investment in education for children and youth with disabilities, an education where you thrive and benefit from the education. Because the lack of proper education is one of the main barriers, when it comes to employment later in life.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities is an obligation for the EU and the member states, as many of the speakers pointed out. This is the foundation for our way forward, it is a vision and a guideline for us to create change. And we need to invest in that change.

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