Deafblind community of the Valencian region marches for social inclusion

Deafblind community of the Valencian region marches for social inclusion

Deafblind community of the Valencian region marches for social inclusion. Image: AytoElche

THE deafblind community of the Valencian region marched on the streets of Elche on Saturday, July 2 to raise awareness of the “complexity of their needs and to promote social inclusion.”

The demonstration, under the slogan ‘Fighting for our Rights’, was made up of hundreds of people from the deafblind community.

The march started from the Plaça de Baix and reached the Congress Centre at around 11 am.

Once at the centre, the group made their way through a 12-point manifesto.

The manifesto specifically demanded that the group be able to live independently on equal terms, guaranteeing access to information (including television content) and healthcare, promoting the development and innovation of accessible material resources, specific attention to deafblind girls/women, funding to establish a 24-hour emergency guide-interpreter service, qualified professionals in old people’s homes specialising in deafblindness and a reference centre that brings together the services used by the group.

The group also called for financial support to minority organisations from the deafblind community in need of resources.

Elche’s councillor for Social Rights and Inclusive Policies, Mariano Valera, who attended the briefing at the Congress Centre, said: “We echo each and every word that has been said today.

“We share every demand, every objective, every aspect that has been verbalised in the manifesto, but, above all, we want to make them our own and support them as the administration that we are.”

He added: “We must make the necessary commitments to improve the quality of life of society as a whole.”

Valera promised that the council would “make deafblindness more visible by launching campaigns that provide information, advice, guidance and awareness.”

“Here you have your City Council always by your hand to carry out this kind of campaign,” he said.

There are believed to be more than 600 people with deafblindness in the Valencian Community, while there are more than 7,000 in the whole of Spain.


Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Written by

Matthew Roscoe

Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

Comments