The Perugia Manifesto, to build the ANFFAS of the future

«Our path towards an inclusive society of equal rights and opportunities continues, a path that projects our organization towards 2030, with the Perugia Manifesto, an important new programmatic document»: this was said in Perugia, during the recent National Assembly of ANFFAS, during which the national president of the Speziale Association presented the speech “ANFFAS on the way towards 2030. Guidelines for the construction of a strategic plan”, which later became the Perugia Manifesto

«Every form of discrimination based on disability must be fought with determination. We will commit to promoting initiatives that guarantee equality of opportunity for all, so that no one is left behind. We need to all work together to build a society that values ​​people. Now is the time: we are ready and you?»: this was the strong message launched by Serena Amato and Enrico Delle Serrethe newly elected spokespersons of the PIAM (Italian Platform for Self-Representatives on the Move), during the recent National Assembly of ANFFAS (National Association of Families and People with Intellectual Disabilities and Neurodevelopmental Disorders) of Perugia (also read our presentation at this link) – which fully captured the focus of the introductory report by the national president of the Association, Roberto Spezialetitled ANFFAS moving towards 2030. Guidelines for the construction of a strategic planwhich then officially became, following the unanimous approval of the Assembly, the Perugia Manifesto (available in full at this link).
«Our path therefore continues – they say from ANFFAS – for an inclusive society of equal rights and opportunities, a path which, after the Milan Manifesto of June 2016, projects our organization towards 2030, with a new important programmatic document» . «Because – underlined Speziale in Perugia – it is not enough to want a change, there is a need a structured plan that involves everyonea plan that has materialized in a new strong associative commitment in which everyone has recognized themselves and in which the entire network must now collaborate for the purposes of its maximum application and realization”.

«Involvement, strengthening of identity, full membership of the association: these – continue from ANFFAS – are the key words of our Perugia Manifesto, aimed at counteracting individualism and excessive protagonism which now seem to be predominant characteristics of our current society, especially following the pandemic, but which in our Association do not can find a place, given that, as always, our associative interest is superior to everything else and the only protagonism we can accept is that of people with disabilities. Participation, union and associative strength, therefore, will be fundamental to face the challenges that seem to have multiplied in these complicated times, and not only because, as we read in the Perugia Manifesto, «ANFFAS in its 66 years of life has not never backed down in the face of any challenge and has never retreated a single millimetre, especially when it came to fighting to defend the rights of people with disabilities and their families”, but also because there is the absolute conviction that complexity can always open up new paths to chart the path towards a necessary and fundamental change for the lives of all people with disabilitiesand in particular intellectual and neurodevelopmental ones, of their families and of all those who in various capacities and with different roles operate at the different associative levels”.

“With the approval of the Perugia Manifesto – comments Speziale – a great commitment has been made by the whole ANFFAS and now more than ever there is the awareness of a new and important responsibility towards our people and our families for a future that no longer sees discrimination. It is a commitment made even more significant by the fact that it was made precisely in Umbria which in addition to being headquartered next September General States on Intellectual Disabilities and Neurodevelopmental Disordersin the following month of October it will see ad Assisi the first ever G7 – Inclusion and Disabilitycarried out under the coordination of the Minister for Disabilities Locatellithemes also mentioned directly and explicitly in the statement from the G7 leaders released at the end of the recent Summit held in Puglia from 13 to 15 June, an element which we have already commented on more than positively”.
«In this historical moment – ​​concludes the President of ANFFAS – we find ourselves at a crossroads and it is not allowed to go the wrong way: we have the tools and the documents in order to build the ANFFAS of 2030 and continue to operate in the best possible way to achieve a society of equal rights and opportunities in which the person is truly valued and always placed at the center of everything”.

The Association’s commitment was also recognized by the aforementioned minister Locatelliwho spoke during the works in Perugia with a live connection, during which she underlined how the new legislation on disability was also the result of the painstaking and multi-year work of ANFFAS itself on Life Projectin the name of a synergy, he remarked, “which must never be missing if we want to reach the highest levels for universal accessibility, the Life Project and active participation”.

On the word participation they also focused Vanessa Pallucchispokesperson for the National Third Sector Forum, and from Vincenzo Falabella, national president of FISH, the Italian Federation for Overcoming Handicaps to which ANFFAS adheres, both present in Perugia, in relation to the collaboration which has seen ANFFAS itself at the forefront for years to claim equal opportunities and the recognition of rights. Recognitions that have also arrived at a local level Donatella Teseipresident of the Umbria Region, and by Paola Fioronipresident of the Regional Observatory on the Condition of People with Disabilities, who specifically publicly thanked the ANFFAS Umbria Regional Coordination.

And last but not least, the signature of the memorandum of understanding between the’ANFFAS National/ASSOUTERS and theNational ANFFAS/EthicsPro-Assimocoa moment that preceded the usual assembly obligations of the Association. (SB)

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