The photography exhibition “Fifteen Percent” opened at the Palais des Nations in Geneva to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on the 3rd December 2018. The aim of the exhibition is to celebrate difference and diversity and raise awareness and understanding of the need to build a society that encourages inclusion and participation so that everyone can contribute towards the enrichment of communities.  

The project was sponsored by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, along with Italy and other countries that are members of the Group of Friends of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was organised to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The exhibition was opened by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Geneva. The ambassador took the opportunity to reaffirm Italy’s intention to support the rights of persons with disabilities on the Human Rights Council, focusing in particular on their rights in emergency and post-conflict situations, promoting greater support to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and boosting efforts in the areas of advocacy and awareness.

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An accessibility program is incorporated into the exhibition in an attempt to make the works and the message accessible to a wide range of people.