Next-generation researchers move European disability law reform process forward When the EU ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2009, it set off far-reaching changes in European disability law and policy. An EU initiative helped to make these sweeping changes beneficial. Health © Shutterstock There is a lack of programmes committed to training research students to bring about change that will translate the UN CRPD into actionable lines of policy and legislative reform. With this in mind, the EU-funded DREAM (Disability rights expanding accessible markets) project set out to turn today's doctoral students into tomorrow's thinkers and actors who will bring about positive change for 80 million Europeans with disabilities. In total, 14 early-stage researchers were recruited and hosted by seven leading academic and research institutions across Europe. Their goal was to go beyond academic scholarship in order to address distinct policy challenges and realise Europe 2020's vision of a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy and society. Work centred around three main research lines. The first focused on key requirements that had to be met before considering social inclusion and market empowerment. The second considered the disabled as active market participants and the needed changes in policy to facilitate this. The final research activity dealt with how to establish positive change at EU and national levels. Research results yielded real policy impact, including a major policy statement on legal capacity issues intended for the UN, participation in treaty negotiations to liberalise international copyright law benefitting the blind, and assistance in international organisations to help shape the EU monitoring programme. DREAM contributed directly to nurturing disability policy researchers that will assist the EU and Member States in their efforts to implement the UN CRPD. A much more inclusive and open society and economy in Europe should ultimately empower the disabled to become active as entrepreneurs, workers and consumers. Keywords Disability law, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disability rights, disability policy, Markets, Accessibility, inclusion, human rights
