The Ministry of Equality’s Supported Needs and Disability Office teamed up with the Youth Service to host an extraordinary Youth Symposium, whereby youth volunteering within NGOs were invited to attend a question and answer session with a panel of youth with disabilities.

The session proved to be fruitful as it provided an opportunity to promote understanding and empathy, and educated the youth to help break down barriers that perpetuate misconceptions about the capabilities and contributions of individuals with disabilities. This will help to create a culture change by “amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”, which is this year’s UN theme of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, to be marked next week.

The Minister for Equality, the Hon Christian Santos GMD MP, said: “This Youth Symposium was very successful in creating a platform for people with disabilities to engage and answer questions about lived experiences that at times can be overlooked. I am also extremely impressed by the enthusiasm and level of discussion by the Youth Symposium participants to understand more and share their own thoughts. A special thank you to the panel; Manar Bentahayekt, Benji Borastero, Jack Fisher, Lauren Aitchison and Adriana Lopez, and to Rebecca Figueras and Jenny Victory for their part in organising the event.”