IL 25 år Dokumentation - Hadar Cars

Dear guests and friends,

 

For me, in my capacity as representative for the City of Stockholm, it is a great pleasure to welcome you all to Stockholm It is a privilege for Stockholm to have you here because your organisation, not only the one in Sweden, but your international message has meant a fantastic lot. I think, it is right to say that it is one of the most successful kinds of organisations you can find because you have been able to make so many concrete changes for the people that you are representing. I do not have to go into details, changes to do with lifts and pavements and everything that make life more comfortable for people with disabilities. More important than that is the changes that you have been able to make in the way we are looking at people with disabilities. The way people earlier talked not to people with disabilities but above their head, without respect. You have requested that this must be changed. As I said, I think that you have had more success than any other similar organisation. Be very very proud of yourselves. We are extremely proud to have you in our city.

 

I hope you foreign guests who are here will have time to walk around a bit in Stockholm during the conference. You will see that we have made progress in areas were you are particularly engaged. This does not mean everything is fine. The city has a program leading up to 2010 when we are supposed to have changed what is to be changed. If that can be done in the years that are left depends, I think, to an extent on how eagerly your organisation in Sweden is hunting us politicians to make sure what we have promised to do will happen.

 

I wish you all a very successful conference and congratulations to the anniversary of Independent Living in Sweden. You are now celebrating the 25th anniversary. One could hope that it will not be necessary to have an organisation like this for decades to come. However, I do believe that it is important, not only for this country but for the rest of the world, that your organisation continues for a long time. So let us hope we will all meet again in 25 years from now to celebrate another 25 years of great progress. Thank you very much for coming to Stockholm.