European Year of People with Disabilities

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The year 2003 was designated the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD) by the European Commission. It is sometimes called the European Year of Disabled People.

The European Commission set aside 12 million euros to recognise the European Year of People with Disabilities.

The Year was officially launched under the Greek Presidency in Athens on 26 January 2003. The opening ceremony in Athens was co-hosted by Julie Fernandez.


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Events from the year 2003 in the European Union.

<i>Statue of Europe</i>

The Statue of Europe is a sculpture symbolising peace through European integration, while at the same time aiming to demonstrate the motto of the European Union (EU), "United in Diversity". It is located in the garden of Convent Van Maerlant in the crossroads of the Rue Van Maerlant/Van Maerlantsraat and the Chaussée d'Etterbeek/Etterbeeksesteenweg, in the European Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Made out of resin, the statue measures more than 5 m and weighs nearly 800 kg. It was inaugurated on 9 December 2003 by Neil Kinnock and Viviane Reding, who respectively were Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Culture at the time. 2003 was the European Year of People with Disabilities, and the Eastern enlargement of the EU was awaited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Control Commission (Albania)</span>

The International Commission of Control was the commission established on October 15, 1913, on the basis of the decision by the six Great Powers made on July 29, 1913, according to the London Treaty signed on May 30, 1913. Its goal was to take care of the administration of newly established Albania until its own political institutions were in order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia at the 2004 Summer Paralympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Australia competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. It was Australia's 12th year of participation at the Paralympics. The team included 151 athletes. Australian competitors won 101 medals to finish fifth in the gold medal table and second on the total medal table. Australia competed in 12 sports and won medals in 8 sports. The Chef de Mission was Paul Bird. The Australian team was smaller than the Sydney Games due to a strict selection policy related to the athletes' potential to win a medal and the International Paralympic Committee's decision to remove events for athletes with an intellectual disability from the Games due to issues of cheating at the Sydney Games. This was due to a cheating scandal with the Spanish intellectually disabled basketball team in the 2000 Summer Paralympics where it was later discovered that only two players actually had intellectual disabilities. The IPC decision resulted in leading Australian athletes such as Siobhan Paton and Lisa Llorens not being able to defend their Paralympic titles. The 2000 summer paralympic games hosted in Sydney Australia proved to be a milestone for the Australian team as they finished first on the medal tally for the first time in history. In comparing Australia's 2000 Paralympic performance and their 2004 performance, it is suggested that having a home advantage might affect performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamish MacDonald (athlete)</span> Australian Paralympic athlete

Hamish Anderson MacDonald, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete. He was born in Melbourne and lives in Canberra. He has cerebral palsy. His achievements and advocacy have made him one of Australia's most respected Paralympians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Epstein</span> Australian Paralympic weightlifter and powerlifting coach

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WeThe15</span> Human rights movement

#WeThe15 is a global human rights movement which aims to make persons with disabilities, who make up 15% of the world's population, visible. An initiative of the International Paralympic Committee and the International Disability Alliance, it is supported, by a number of organisations from the world of disability sports, disability rights, non-governmental and governmental organisations. It was launched as part of the 2020 Summer Paralympics in 2021. Landmarks across the world were lit up in purple to coincide with the opening ceremony. The movement was given particular focus during the closing ceremony.