In every issue our newsletter we introduce to you one of the people leading the work of our member organisations. In this edition, we are heading to Luxembour to meet Raymond Ceccotto, APEMH CEO and President of ARFIE.
About APEMH
- In a few words, I would describe APEMH (Association of Parents of Children with Mental Disabilities) Foundation as an association that for 50 years has diversified its offer of services to people with intellectual disabilities, constantly adapting it to the demands and needs of the users and their families. To achieve this objective, all the players were actively involved in order to provide the widest possible range of answers/services and thus offer a real choice to the users!
- Our key objective is to put into practice the values set out in our associative program: personalisation of the support, self-determination and social inclusion of people with disabilities, in order to guarantee them the best quality of life possible!
ARFIE
- We joined ARFIE because we give great importance to the best qualifications of our staff and that is encouraged, inter alia, by constant exchanges with selected European partners. Furthermore, we are convinced that the confrontation with other organisations from different Countries improves our professional practices.
- I would describe ARFIE to a stranger as a dynamic, competent and convivial network, capable of adding up, without formalism, a surplus to the formidable work that our associations provide on a daily basis. A partnership that shows the positive side of the social Europe …
In Luxembourg…
- Disability is considered a priority …But it is not yet sufficiently supported by a consistent policy that too modestly supports the setting up of innovative and creative projects.
- Our key partners in Luxembourg are other service providers for persons with disability, associations that complete and help us improve our services, the public authorities that support us financially, and in general the civil society that support our efforts for inclusion.
- The major challenge for Luxembourg today is to maintain an adequate level of funding of our structures (acquired in recent decades), and to ensure the respect and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, especially with regard to an inclusive education, a real participation and active citizenship of our users, and the full exercise of their rights, in particular through a fundamental reform of the guardianship and curatorship law!
About yourself
- I like reading (when I have the time!), and spending time with my friends. I also like to make small trips to discover and visit other Countries …
- In my spare time, I enjoy listening to music and going to concerts to hear my favourite live performers and organise meetings with family and friends!