A speech was given by the President of the Republic of Slovenia and Borut Sever, the President of the National Council of Disabled Persons’ Organisations of Slovenia. The ceremony was also attended by Dane Kastelic, President of the Council for Persons with Disabilities.

Mr Borut Sever said that the discrimination of disabled persons has only increased during the Covid-19 epidemic, and that disabled persons are faced with even bigger difficulties than others in these times. He thanked the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the relevant ministries for including disabled persons, organisations for disabled persons and companies, in the anti-corona packages. The participation of disabled persons in the preparation of measures for mitigating the consequences of the epidemic will also be essential in the future, he said.

Each year, on the International Day of Disabled Persons, the presidents organise a reception of the representatives of organisations for disabled persons. Since that proved to be impossible this year due to the epidemiological situation, the representatives and members of organisations for disabled persons could only follow the ceremony via live stream.