The General Assembly of the European Disability Forum (EDF) elected Gunta Anca as the new President of the representative platform for persons with disabilities in Europe on 9 May in Cyprus.
The new EDF President is of Latvian origin, was the only candidate put forward for the position, and succeeds the Greek Yanis Vardakastanis, a true institution within the European disability movement, who has chaired the Forum for the past 25 years.
Gunta Anca is President of the Latvian National Council of Persons with Disabilities and had until now served as Vice-President of the European Disability Forum. Upon accepting the position, she stated that she felt “deeply honoured and grateful”.
“But this is not only a personal moment for me,” she warned, “It is a responsibility towards the Forum’s members, towards persons with disabilities across Europe, and towards the movement that has shaped my professional journey for so many years.”
Regarding future prospects, Anca indicated that the coming years “will not be easy”. However, she pointed out: “Our movement was not built for easy times. It was built by people who refused to remain invisible and who continue fighting for rights, dignity, accessibility, inclusion and equality.”
The new President concluded her message to EDF by stating that within the European Disability Forum, “we will continue ensuring that persons with disabilities are heard, respected and included in every decision affecting our lives, nothing about us without us”.
Renewal of the Board of Directors
The Assembly also renewed the Board of Directors and other governing bodies and auxiliary structures of EDF. Alongside President Gunta Anca, the new board is composed of the following individuals:
Vice-Presidents:
• Thorkild Olesen, President of the Danish Organisation of Persons with Disabilities
• Nadia Hadad, Co-Chair of the European Network on Independent Living
Treasurer: Vera Bonvalot, Vice-President of the European Federation of Brain Injury and Families
Secretary-General: Ana Peláez Narváez, Commissioner for Women’s Affairs of the Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities (CERMI)
Members:
• Alexandre Bloxs, Director of European Union Policy at the European Union of the Deaf
• Pietro Cirrincione, member of the Board of Directors and former Vice-President of Autism-Europe
• Meelis Joost, President of the Estonian Chamber of Disabled People
• Pirkko Anneli Mahlamäki, from the Finnish Disability Forum
• Jonathan Elebjörk Wahlström, from the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People and former Co-Chair of the EDF Youth Committee
• Foteini Zafeiropoulou, member of the Executive Secretariat of the National Confederation of Disabled People of Greece.
