For a labour market without barriers: The Zero Project Report and Conference 2017

34th UN Human Rights Council, Geneva

What is the Zero Project?

• International initiative

• Involving <100+ partners & a network of <3,000 disability experts, 150 countries

Martin and Gerda Essl

What is unique about the Zero Project?

• Combining three objectives:

1. Monitoring the CRPD implementation (Indicators)

2. Identifying effective solutions (Innovative Policies &

Innovative Practices)

3. Promoting knowledge exchange and sharing

identified solutions • Tools: Zero Project Report, Conference, Website &

social media, as well other events, bilateral meetings

• 5 annual thematic Zero Project Reports • 5 high level Zero Project Conferences, of which 4 at

the United Nations Office in Vienna • All research available for free on www.zeroproject.org

Which results we produced so far?

ZERO PROJECT 2017:Employment, Work and Vocational Training

The Zero Project 2017 Indicators

OBJECTIVE?To complement the work of

national monitoring bodies & international organizations

WHAT?21 questions concerning the

implementation of the UN CRPD (Employment, transport, accessibility, data, education,

in 2017 for the first time Sustainable Development Goals)

WHO?

155 experts from 121 countries Countries from which the Zero Project received thehighest number of replies, 2013-2017

Intuitive, Educative and Simple:

Are official statistics about education and employment of persons with disabilitiespublished at least every ten years?

The Zero Project Indicator research also shows that:

• number of employed persons with disabilities seems to not increase globally

• public sector employment quota does generally not lead to sufficientemployment rates

• lack of data on young people with disabilities in the workforce (SustainableDevelopment Goal 8, Target 5 “full and productive employment including youngpeople and persons with disabilities“)

Issues frequently mentioned:

• Compensation is paid instead of fulfilling the quota

• Conflict of federal and regional competencies

• Disability employment is no priority

• Lack of monitoring

Number of questionnaires received in 2017 from each region

56 Innovative Practices & 11 Innovative Policiesadvancing disability-inclusive skills development and employment

Canada’s Ready, Willing, and Able Initiative

MIGUEL TRUJILLO, OWNER OF ORTOPEDIA TECNICA: “We produce 50 orthopaedic chairs per month.”

“For a long time I had to live with limitations due to my lack of resources to buy a wheelchair, but my tireless spirit was the engine that drove me to realize my own dream: to build orthopedic wheelchairs for people with reduced physical mobility. I thank also Ecuador’s Productive Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities Programme.”

Egypt’s Helm (“Dream”) FoundationSupport for employers to meet the disability employment quota

Visit the Zero Project Website to find out more!

Zero Project Conference 2017: A platform for sharing solutions, learning & networking

• 550 participants from <70 countries

• 44 sessions, 168 speakers• <2.800 friends on Facebook, <1.300 followers on Twitter

• Own conference app

• Annual gathering for: - Policymakers, - Entrepreneurs, - Academics,- Practitioners working on

human rights and disabilitiesissues.

Networking

Business and Employers Day

• Persons with Disabilities are holders of human rights,with skills and ability

• Focus of all policy interventions should be the removalof barriers, on employers and on changing the labourmarket

• Policy needs to be backed up by incentives andconsequences

• Respect for diversity & Change of mindset• The importance of an ongoing process of partnershipwith a range of stakeholders, and developing sharedvalues over time

•Mainstreaming of the rights of persons with disabilitiesin the whole employment cycle

• Revisit the relation between Government and market•Understand the costs of exclusion and benefits ofinclusion

Some key messages

The Zero Project Report 2018 will focus on Accessibility

and the Zero Project Conference 2018 will be held for the

fifth time at UNOV.

What comes next?

Join the Network!

Website www.zeroproject.org

On Facebook www.facebook.com/zeroproject.org

On Twitter https://twitter.com/zeroproject.org

On Youtube www.youtube.com/user/Zeroprojectorg

Get in touch office@zeroproject.org

Participate: Accessibility

Nominate innovative practices & policies!Fill in the UN CRPD questionnaire for your country!Spread the call!

Ingrid HeindorfGeneva Liaison Office, Zero Project/World Future Council

Ingrid.Heindorf@worldfuturecouncil.org

Thank you!