Summer School 2015
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Human Rights and Disability-Inclusive development
June 22nd-26th, 2015
ILAS, NUI Galway
Download Programme Details and Biographies: DSS Programme 2015
About the School
The purpose of this five-day International Disability Summer School was to equip participants with the insights and skills necessary to translate the generalities of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into tangible reform for persons with disabilities.
The core focus of this year was on Human Rights and Disability-Inclusive Development. This was an important year for global development, as governments will agree a new vision for development in September at the United Nations. This new vision must be inclusive of and respect the rights of persons with disabilities if future poverty reduction efforts are to succeed.
The participants included persons with disabilities, their families, civil society groups of persons with disabilities as well as advocates for disability law reform, lawyers, policy makers, policy analysts and others.
The faculty included senior academics, practitioners, advocates and policy makers from around the world. Most of the speakers have been directly and actively engaged in drafting and implementing the Convention. Others are advocates for change and reform.
This was the seventh International Summer School on disability law and policy offered by the Centre for Disability Law & Policy. In 2014, the summer school attracted over 100 participants from 39 different countries – from Africa, Asia, Latin America and China. We believe it is the biggest such event in the world.
In keeping with the practical orientation of the Summer School there was a Moot Court competition based on a problem disseminated at the beginning of the Summer School and culminating in a mock court at the end. All participants were expected to be involved at some level.
Prior legal knowledge or experience was not required. The aim was to provide the participants with a forum to sharpen their argumentative strategies based on the CRPD and to identify weaknesses as well as strengths in the different argumentative approaches. Delegates were mentored throughout the week in crafting their arguments by the international Faculty. The participants demonstrated what they have learnt in arguing before a mock UN Committee.
You can view more photographs on Flickr and watch videos from the Summer School on YouTube.
