Stand4All: Introduction
Stand4All is a project that focuses on training
- for persons with disabilities to increase their effective participation in the standardisation process and
- for experts in standardisation to increase their awareness and knowledge of accessibility issues faced by persons with disabilities.
The project is a response to call for tenders VT/2008/002 by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The call fits into the wider framework of the PROGRESS programme, which supports the implementation of the objectives in the European Union's Social Agenda.
The project also fits into the framework of the European Disability Strategy. This strategy is built on three pillars:
- European anti-discrimination legislation and measures that provide access to individual rights,
- eliminating barriers in the environment that prevent persons with disabilities from exercising their abilities, and
- mainstreaming disability issues in the broad range of European Community policies which facilitate the active inclusion of persons with disabilties.
According to the European Commission, standardisation is relevant to consumer rights:
Empowering consumers, including more vulnerable consumers with special needs or disabilities, setting rights and accessibility standards, and protecting them against risks and threats that they cannot tackle as individuals is a central goal of the consumer policy strategy.
Source: “A single market for 21st century Europe” (PDF): Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. COM 724 final (emphasis added).
The Stand4All project started in January 2009 and runs until 30 March 2010.
This website is supported for under the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (2007-2013). This programme is managed by the Directorate-General for Employment, social affairs and equal opportunities of the European Commission.
It was established to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment and social affairs area, as set out in the Social Agenda, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy goals in these fields.
The seven-year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and effective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU-27, EFTA-EEA and EU candidate and pre-candidate countries.
The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission.