Dictionary

Abuse is when someone treats you badly.

For example, the person shouts at you.
Or the person hurts you.

Abuse is never your fault.
You can always ask someone you trust for help.

The Accessibility Act is a law of the European Union.

Every country in the European Union must follow it.

The law says what companies must do to make their products and services accessible.

For example:

• smartphones and computers
• e-books
• ticket machines
• travel by bus or train

The law is good for people with disabilities.
It is also good for older people.

It is good for companies too.
They now follow one law instead of many different laws.

Accessible means easy to use for people with disabilities.

For example:

• a ramp to get into a building
• information in easy-to-read
• information in sign language

Advocacy is speaking up so that things change.

You can speak up for yourself.
This is called self-advocacy.

A ballot box is a box in the polling station.

You put your voting slip in the box when you vote.

A bank is a place where you can keep your money.

You can also take your money out of the bank when you need it.

The board of directors is a group of people.

They give advice to an organisation and make important decisions.

They are responsible for the advice they give.

CERMI is short for the Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities.

Many Spanish disability organisations are part of CERMI.

CERMI speaks for more than 3 million women and men with disabilities in Spain.

CERMI works so that they are included in society.

The chair is the person in charge of a meeting.

The chair can also be the person in charge of an organisation.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights is a text that says what basic rights every person has.

For example, the right to be free.
Or the right to go to school.

Civil rights are the rights that all people in a country have.

Climate change is when nature is damaged by what people do.

For example, dirty air, very heavy rain and forest fires.

A Commissioner is a person at the European Commission.

The Commissioner is responsible for one area of work.
The Commissioner leads many people.

The Commissioner for Human Rights is part of the Council of Europe.

The Commissioner makes sure people understand and respect human rights.

The Commissioner visits countries to talk with people about human rights.

A community is a group of people who belong together.

For example, the people who live in your street.
Or the people who have the same religion as you.

Community-based services are support given by people from the community.

You get this support where you live.
You do not have to move to an institution.

Complex support needs means a person needs help in many different ways.

The help must be planned carefully for that person.

A convention is an agreement between countries or organisations.

A convention can be about many topics.

For example, the UN CRPD is a convention about the rights of people with disabilities.

The Council of Europe is an organisation of European countries.

It works for human rights and equality in Europe.

The Council of Europe does not make laws.
It asks countries to follow agreements they have signed.

The Council of Europe is not the same as the European Union.

The Council of the European Union is where the ministers of the European Union countries meet.

They meet to agree on laws and to talk about politics.

It is also called the Council of Ministers.

Covid-19 is an illness that spread all around the world.

Many people got sick.

For a long time people could not meet each other,
go to work or go to school.

Culture is what a group of people think and do.

You can see culture in art, music, theatre and food.

A degree is a paper you get when you finish school or university.

It shows what you have learned.

Deinstitutionalisation means helping people to move out of institutions.

People get the support they need to live independently in the community.

Democracy is when everybody has the same right to be heard.

Everybody has the same right to vote.

Everybody has the same right to stand in elections.

A person with a disability finds some things hard to do.

For example, a person who cannot walk needs a wheelchair.
Or a person who finds reading hard cannot understand a difficult text.

Many problems come from the way things around us are made.
When things are accessible, life is easier.

The Disability High Level Group is a group of experts.

It makes sure these people work well together:

• people from the European Commission
• people from the countries of the European Union
• people from organisations that fight for the rights of people with disabilities

Discrimination is when you are treated worse than other people.

Or when you do not get the same chances as other people.

It can happen because of your disability.
It can also happen to other people.
For example, to people with a different skin colour.
Or to older people.

Discrimination is against the law.

Easy-to-read is information written in a simple way.

People with intellectual disabilities can understand it.

Easy-to-read uses short sentences and simple words.
Difficult words are explained.

The text must be easy to see.
For example, black writing on a white background.

Easy-to-read often uses pictures to explain the text.

A person with an intellectual disability checks the text.
They say if the text is easy to understand.

Educate means to teach.

It also means to make sure people can learn new skills.

EEG is short for the European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care.

The EEG is a group of people who work to get people out of institutions and into the community.

They tell the European Union and European countries what to do so people can live independently.

To elect means to choose who will speak for you.

These people make decisions that change your life.

An election is when people choose who will speak for them.

For example, you choose the mayor of your town.
Or you choose the members of the European Parliament.

An electoral list has all the candidates of a political party.

The people at the top of the list have the best chance to be elected.

To employ means to give someone a job.

To empower someone means to help them become stronger.

They learn to stand up for themselves.

EPSA is short for the European Platform of Self-Advocates.

EPSA is made of organisations of self-advocates from many countries in Europe.

EPSA is part of Inclusion Europe.

The European Commission works together with the European Parliament.

It suggests new laws.
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union then talk about them.

The European Commission also checks that countries follow the laws.

The European Convention on Human Rights is a text about the rights every person has.

For example, the right to live.
Or the right to say what you think.

All countries in Europe must respect it.

A court is a place where a judge decides how the law is used.

The European Court of Human Rights makes sure European countries respect human rights.

The European Day of Persons with Disabilities is a big event.
It happens every year.

Many people with disabilities come.
They talk with politicians and other important people.

They talk about accessibility and about the rights of people with disabilities.

The event is organised by the European Commission and the European Disability Forum.

The European Disability Forum is an organisation of people with disabilities in Europe.
We call it EDF for short.

People with disabilities started EDF in 1996.

EDF works to protect their rights in Europe.

EDF is based in Brussels, in Belgium.

The European Disability Strategy is an important text.

It says what the European Union must do so that people with disabilities have the same rights as everyone else.

The European Economic and Social Committee is part of the European Union.
We call it the EESC for short.

The EESC connects the European Union with civil society.

Civil society is made of groups and organisations that speak for people with different interests.

The European elections are the elections to the European Parliament.

When you vote, you choose the new MEPs.

The MEPs speak for everyone living in the European Union.

The European elections happen every 5 years.

The European Network for Independent Living is an organisation.
We call it ENIL for short.

ENIL works so that people with disabilities in Europe can live independently.

The European Parliament is where important decisions of the European Union are made.
For example, new laws.

The MEPs make these decisions.
They speak for all the people who live in the European Union.

People choose their MEPs every 5 years.

The European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities is a big meeting.

People with disabilities come from all over Europe.

They talk about what they want in life.
They talk about the problems they have.

It happens in Brussels, in Belgium, every 5 years.

The European Pillar of Social Rights is an important text.

It says what the European Union wants to do so that everyone gets the same chances.

For example:

• to get an education
• to choose your job
• not to be left out when you have a disability
• to get good services
• not to be left out when you are old

The countries of the European Union support this text.

Solidarity means helping other people.
Also people you do not know.

Many young people want to help.
The European Solidarity Corps tells them where they can help.

They can help for free or get some money for it.

The European Solidarity Corps is a project of the European Union.

The European Union is a group of 27 countries.
We call it the EU for short.
We call these countries member states.

The countries work together to be stronger.

The EU makes laws for all these countries.
For example:

• laws to protect nature
• laws for farmers
• laws to protect people who buy things

Some of these laws are important for people with disabilities.
For example, the Accessibility Act.

The EU also gives money to its member states.
Some of this money is used for people with disabilities.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights works for the European Union.
We call it FRA for short.

FRA makes sure the rights of everyone living in the European Union are respected.

To fund means to give money to a person or an organisation.

They use the money to help people or to organise things.

Gender says if you are a woman or a man.

Some people do not feel like a woman or a man.
They call themselves non-binary.

A General Comment is a text from an organisation like the United Nations.

In it, they explain the words and the ideas they use.

The government is a group of people who run a country.

They decide, for example:

• where the money of the country is spent
• how buses and trains work
• how schools and hospitals work

Every few years there are elections for a new government.

Guardianship is when another person makes decisions about your life.

This person is called your guardian.

Your guardian can decide things for you, like where you live.

Sometimes people under guardianship are not allowed to vote,
to get married or to take care of their children.

Inclusion Europe thinks people should get support to decide for themselves.
This is called legal capacity.

On social media you can use the sign #.
This sign is called a hashtag.

You write a word right after the hashtag.

When you click on that word,
you see all the messages about it.

For example, if you click on #inclusion,
you see all the messages about inclusion.

Human rights are the rights that every person has.

For example, the right to live.
Or the right to say what you think.

Inclusion Europe is an organisation of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

We work for equal rights and inclusion in Europe.
We also want to change the laws in Europe.

We started in 1988.

We are based in Brussels, in Belgium.

Inclusion International is an organisation for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

It works for their equal rights and inclusion in every part of life.

It has members in more than 100 countries all over the world.

Inclusion International is based in London, in the United Kingdom.

Inclusive education, training or employment means that people with intellectual disabilities learn and work together with people without disabilities.

Independent living means living in the community with the support you need.

You can choose:

• where you live
• who you live with
• how you spend your day

You have the same experiences as everybody else.

Institutions are places where many people with intellectual disabilities live together.

They live apart from other people.
We call this segregation.
Sometimes this happens against their will.

People in institutions must follow the rules of the institution.
They cannot decide for themselves.

If you have an intellectual disability, it is harder for you to understand information.

It can also be harder to learn new things.

People with intellectual disabilities often need support at school or at work.

Intellectual disability usually starts before you are an adult.
It stays with you for your whole life.

Easy-to-read information makes many things easier.

Some people say learning disabilities instead of intellectual disabilities.

An internship is when you work somewhere for a short time.

It helps you find out what job you would like to do later.

Legal capacity means you can make your own decisions.

For example, you can:

• decide where to live
• get married and have a family
• sign a work contract
• have a bank account
• look after your money and your things
• decide about your health
• take part in politics and vote

A manifesto is a text that explains what a person or an organisation wants to do.

Manifestos are often written before an election.

Organisations also write manifestos to tell candidates what is important to them.

Everybody can read a manifesto.

Mental Health Europe is an organisation that works on mental health.

Mental health means how well you feel in your mind.

Mental Health Europe speaks for people who have problems with their mental health.
It also speaks for people who work in this area.

It is based in Brussels, in Belgium.

MEPs are the members of the European Parliament.

They are the politicians who sit in the European Parliament.

They speak for the people who live in the European Union.

People choose the MEPs every 5 years.

NGO is short for non-governmental organisation.

An NGO is a group of people who work together for something they believe in.

An NGO is not part of the government.

NGOs do not work to make money.

An organisation is a group of people who work for the same thing.

Personal assistance is support that is made for you only.

You decide what help you need and when you need it.

A political party is a group of people who think the country should be run in a certain way.

A politician is someone who helps to run a country or a town.

For example:

• a mayor
• a minister
• a candidate in the elections

Politics is the work of running a country or a part of a country.

A polling station is a building where people vote during the elections.

Often it is a school.

You can use procuration when you cannot go to vote yourself.

You sign a paper.
You ask a person you trust to vote for the candidate or the party you have chosen.

Rape is when someone forces another person to have sex.

Rape is against the law.

It is never the fault of the person it happens to.
You can always ask someone you trust for help.

A referendum is when people say what they think about one important question.

You go to the polling station, like for an election.

A report is a text that says what researchers found out about a topic.

For example, a report about jobs for people with intellectual disabilities.

A researcher is a person who finds out things about a topic.

Then they write a report about what they found.

When you have rights, you are allowed to do and to have things.

Rights are written in laws and in constitutions.
Nobody is allowed to take your rights away.

Segregation is when people are kept apart from others for an unfair reason.

For example, because they have a disability.

Self-advocacy is when people with intellectual disabilities speak up for themselves.

These people are called self-advocates.

Services are the support that people with disabilities get.

Social media are websites and apps where you can make and share things.

For example, photos, videos and news.

Apps is short for applications.
Apps let you use social media on a phone or a tablet.

Special education schools are schools only for children with disabilities.

The children learn apart from other children.
Inclusion Europe works for inclusive education instead.

A spitzenkandidat is the best candidate of a European party.

If the party wins the European elections,
this person can become president of the European Commission.

A strategy is a plan with goals for the future.

The plan also says how these goals will be reached.

A support person helps people with disabilities to do things.

For example, to do the shopping.
Or to understand a difficult text.

Supported decision making is when people with intellectual disabilities make their own decisions with help from another person.

They can get support to:

• make choices about their lives
• start a family and raise children
• sign contracts, also work contracts
• have a bank account
• look after their money and their things
• decide about their health
• take part in politics and vote

A training is a class where people learn new things.

Trainings often happen at work.

The UN CRPD is an important document about the rights of people with disabilities.

Its full name is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Countries that sign it must respect these rights.

It was written by the United Nations.

The UN CRPD Committee is a group of people.

They check what countries do to respect the rights of people with disabilities.

Its full name is the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The United Nations is an organisation of countries from all over the world.
We call it the UN for short.

The UN works for peace and for human rights.

The UN has offices in different places.
For example, in New York and in Geneva.

A volunteer is a person who works to help others and does not get paid.

For example, helping at an animal shelter.

To vote means to choose the people who will make decisions for us.

You vote in a polling station.
You put your voting slip in the ballot box.

You can vote in your town, in your country,
and at the European elections.

Every person has the right to vote.

A voting booth is a small closed space in the polling station.

You go there alone to vote in secret.

A voting slip is a paper you get when you go to vote.

On the voting slip you show who you are voting for.

Work-life balance means having time for things outside of work.

The European Union made a law about this.
It is called the Work-Life Balance Directive.

Families of people with intellectual disabilities often find it hard to find time to support them.

With this law they can get more time off work.

The law is also important for parents with intellectual disabilities.
They need more time for their children.

Work-life balance is part of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The World Congress is a big meeting for self-advocates, their families and people who work with them.

It is organised by Inclusion International.

It happens once every 4 years.