To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, the EIB organised a full week of events to promote exchanges on disability inclusion with staff and expert guests such as Alice Maynard, director of Future Inclusion and Daniel Theisen, director of ALAN, Maladies Rares Luxembourg.
Symbolically, the Bank lit up the iconic Chair outside its building in purple for the duration of Disability Awareness Week, joining the global #PurpleLightUp movement. #PurpleLightUp celebrates and draws attention to the important economic contribution of the 386 million disabled employees around the world.
The events and activities during EIB’s Disability Awareness Week highlighted actions from the Bank and its partners to uphold the rights of people with disabilities and facilitate the removal of barriers that hinder development. Topics discussed during the different panels ranged from disability-inclusive language to inclusion in recruitment and the onboarding of staff. The EIB also celebrated the very tangible contribution of colleagues living with a disability, and raised awareness and advocacy for disability rights through the promotion of its staff-led enAble network.
Disability inclusion has become a clear priority at the EIB and is reflected in its Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and by the work done in recent years to institute pragmatic improvements in its systems, policies and practices. Earlier this year, the EIB proudly joined The Valuable 500, becoming one of the 500 internationally renowned organisations that put disability inclusion at the top of their management agenda.
Furthermore, the Bank became a member of PurpleSpace in the summer of 2021. PurpleSpace is the world’s leading organisation for supporting disability networks, enabling network leaders to contribute to the disability inclusion agenda in their respective companies.
Watch EIB President Hoyer “Leader to Leader Conversations”