The research team of the European Research Council funded project ‘Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity through European Union Law: Exploring New Paths – DANCING’ presented in various panels at the International Society of Public Law (ICON•S) 10th Annual Conference in Madrid.
Hosted by IE University Law School in Madrid, Spain, the conference was held over three days from 8-10 July 2024 comprising 521 parallel sessions and saw more than 2000 participants from around the world attend. Members of the DANCING team presented current research in three different panels and in a book roundtable.
Professor Delia Ferri first presented on ‘Digital Accessibility as Gateway to Equality for Persons with Disabilities’ in a panel that considered ‘Disability Rights, Digitalisation, and the Role of AI’. Following this, Iryna Tekuchova and Eva Krolla presented in a panel entitled ‘The Future of Disability Rights: Regional Trends and Intersectional Perspectives’ chaired by Professor Ferri. While Iryna Tekuchova discussed ‘The Global Reach of EU Disability Law in Eastern Partnership Countries’ as part of her ongoing PhD research, Eva Krolla considered ‘The EU as Key Actor in Advancing Disability Rights’ with a specific emphasis on the European Commission; research prepared under a forthcoming collected volume edited by Professor Ferri and Eva Krolla.
Dr. Ann Leahy and Léa Urzel Francil were part of a panel that looked at ‘Realizing Inclusive Equality for Persons with Disabilities: Socio-Legal Perspectives on Barriers, Digital Challenges, and Facilitators of Cultural Participation’. Presenting research conducted under work package 1 of the DANCING project, Dr. Leahy focused on ‘Barriers and Facilitators to Cultural Participation by People with Disabilities: A Qualitative Analysis’. Similarly, Léa Urzel Francil discussed certain findings under this work package and parts of a forthcoming paper under the heading ‘Leveraging on EU Law to Realize Inclusive Equality in the Cultural and Creative Sectors: Socio-legal Insights’. This panel also included a contribution by Dr. Philip Finn, post-doctoral research at the School of Law and Criminology and Irish Research Council Fellow, on ‘The Impact of the Welfare State on the Cultural Participation of Artists with Disabilities’ and in particular the case of Ireland.
Furthermore, together with her co-editors, Professor Francesco Palermo and Professor Giuseppe Martinico, Professor Ferri took part in a book roundtable on their recently published collected volume ‘Federalism and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Implementation of the CRPD in Federal Systems and Its Implications’ (Hart 2023).
Professor Delia Ferri is Professor of Law at the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University and Co-Director of the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute at Maynooth University.
