The Nordic Region has an important partnership between the disability sector and the disability policy sector. The aim is to promote a society that is usable and accessible for every citizen.

Accessibility is to be an equal right for all, with Nordic society built on and guided by the principle of 'design for all'. The Nordic Council of Ministers has therefore implemented an action plan under the banner 'Design for All'.

A lot of Nordic co-operation on disability policy is channelled through the Nordic Disability Policy Council, which is a policy-generating and advisory body for the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Nordic co-operation on accessibility has also encompassed the co-operation programme with North-West Russia and the three Baltic countries, providing support for children and young people with disabilities and their families.

Design for All

The concept of design for all, where society is accessible and usable for all citizens, irrespective of disability, is a concept that has gained ground all over the world. The idea is to eradicate socially created obstructions for people with disabilities.

The proportion of citizens with disabilities increases with age. Many people are faced with obstacles in society because not all places, products and services are accessible to everyone. What is needed is social planning that includes everybody, based on the principle of design for all.

The Nordic Council of Ministers supports the principle of design for all in the form of a Nordic action programme from 2005 to 2007. As a follow up to the action programme, there are a number of different projects that aim to map out, compare and improve accessibility in the Nordic countries.

In the Nordic Region, this work is co-ordinated by The Nordic Disability Policy Council and is done in the following sectors: the labour market, democracy, culture, social affairs, building and construction, transport and tourism, education and training.

Example of a Design for All project:

• Living conditions and quality of life for people with impaired development
• A series of Nordic-Baltic Workshops on design for all as a national strategy
• Design for all as a strategy for promoting sustainable development

The Nordic Disability Policy Council

The Nordic Disability Policy Council is a policy-generating and advisory body for the Nordic Council of Ministers. The purpose of the Council is to promote Nordic co-operation on disability issues in all relevant areas of society, and to contribute to the achievement of common disability-policy objectives on equality and full participation in society as per the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The Nordic Disability Policy Council has set up networks to work in a variety of sectors on issues around the labour market, construction and social planning, culture, transport, and education and training. By that means the work is carried out in a number of different areas.

• Design for all as a guiding principle
• Democracy for all: participation by children and young people
• Accessible culture: museums for all
• Accessible public transport: "the whole journey"
• Labour-market questions: entry point for young people
• Accessibility to higher education
• Town planning for all
• Tourism for all

The co-operation programme with Northwest Russia and the Baltic States

For some time there has been a co-operation programme (2006-2008) with Northwest Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the aim to provide support to children with disabilities and their families.

The goal is to improve conditions for people with disabilities and their families by changing attitudes towards children with disabilities, providing further staff training and developing relevant services for these children and their families.

The work is organised through the establishment of national steering groups. The participants include representatives from relevant ministries, professionals and NGOs, as well as the Nordic Council of Ministers' local offices. The project is expected to result in children with disabilities having the opportunity be included in the normal system of daycare centres, schools, youth centres and working life, despite their need for support to do so.

As far as possible, each child is expected to have the opportunity to live at home with their parents. The steering group in Northwest Russia is also linked to a reference group consisting of representatives of the Council of Europe, the Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat and relevant Nordic institutions.

The programme is complemented by the Nordic Council of Ministers' knowledge and network programme, as part of which more than 50 civil servants and experts from Murmansk, Kaliningrad and St Petersburg have made study trips to the Nordic Region.

Numerous conferences have also been held. One of these took place in St Petersburg on 14 December 2007 on the subject ’Social support for disabled children and their families: experiences of St Petersburg, Murmansk and the Nordic Countries’.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat in Copenhagen has been in regular contact with the Council of Ministers' information offices and partners to ensure implementation and progress. NSH co-ordinates the co-operation programme. In response to the programme, great interest has been shown in improving conditions for people with disabilities, and in the use of Nordic models.