Benidorm celebrates International Day of Persons with Disabilities together with nine associations

Benidorm joined the commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities this Wednesday, celebrated worldwide on December 3rd, with various events aimed at promoting inclusion, equal rights, and the well-being of people with physical, intellectual, or sensory disabilities in all aspects of life. The intersection of Gambo and Martínez Alejos streets was the epicenter of this commemoration, with the installation of the traditional Asmibe charity market, now in its 25th year. Nine local and regional associations and centres participated, including Asmibe, AFA Marina Baixa, Asofiben, Ahedysia, Tapis Benidorm, Afem, Crisol-Centro de Día Benidorm, Doble Amor, and Aparme.

The Councillor for Social Welfare, Ángela Zaragozí, and other members of the municipal corporation accompanied the participating associations during the charity market. At midday, following an introduction by Mari Fernández, president of Asmibe, Ángela Zaragozí read a manifesto drafted by the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI) and the CERMI Women's Foundation, of which the Benidorm group is a member, to commemorate the anniversary.

The document, entitled “40 Years of Spain in the European Union: Without a Social Dimension, There Is No Europe,” states that “in these four decades, Spanish disability civil society has been able to contribute to European integration and has been recognised and valued as an active participant, always prioritising the human face and defending human and social diversity.”

The manifesto emphasizes that “in these critical times when the social dimension of the European Union risks not strengthening but weakening, the disability rights movement, organized around CERMI, proclaims an inalienable principle: the European Union must always be synonymous with rights, inclusion, and well-being for all citizens, because without social inclusion there is no Europe, no European way of life.” It also highlights that “membership in the European Union has been an engine of social progress for Spain” but warns that “this European social model faces a real threat of dilution, persistent inequality gaps, and a worrying regression in the recognition of rights.”

For this reason, the organisations that make up this platform assert that “Europe must be a space where human rights are fully respected” and “a Europe where inclusion is not an aspiration, but a daily, tangible, and universal reality.”

Therefore, their manifesto includes a list of twelve demands, calling for: “an active defense of rights to maintain and expand social gains”; “the immediate approval of the Horizontal Directive on Non-Discrimination”; “the guarantee of universal accessibility as a prerequisite for the exercise, enjoyment, and exercise of all other rights, ensuring the necessary support resources and eliminating all barriers that limit or prevent the full and effective participation of every person with a disability”; “the basic right to housing must occupy a central place on the political, legislative, and budgetary agenda of the European Union”; “European legislation on accessible labeling of basic consumer products, as a basis for inclusive public consumer policies”; “electoral legislation that guarantees accessible, independent, and secret voting, through reasonable accessibility adjustments throughout the entire process.”

Their list of demands also includes “the creation of a new European Accessibility Agency.” “A European Inclusive Employment Strategy that mainstreams the disability perspective across all employment, training and just transition policies”; “European public policies that take into account that women and girls with disabilities face aggravated forms of discrimination in all areas of life, including violence, exploitation and abuse”; “the designation of the European Year of Women and Girls with Disabilities”; “the active promotion of the diplomatic resolution of armed conflicts that generate disability, and the implementation of inclusive migration policies for persons with disabilities who are victims of war, genocide, political persecution and violence in these contexts”; as well as “a multiannual financial framework (MFF) clearly aligned with the inclusive mandate of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.

As she did last week, when the commemorative banner for this International Day was placed on the main facade, the Councillor for Social Welfare reiterated “the support of the Benidorm City Council to the Asmibe association, as well as to all people with disabilities and their families, and the municipal effort to have a city that is “increasingly inclusive, adapted and accessible for all people, regardless of their abilities.”