Rui Coimbras, President of the Federation of Portuguese Cerebral Palsy Associations, is the candidate of CP-ECA for the Board of Directors of the European Disability Forum.
Download Rui’s candidate profile here: Rui_Coimbras_Candidate.
Having been born with cerebral palsy, Rui studied Information Technology in Lisbon before working in both the public and private sectors. He is now an IT Solutions Architect for Softinsa/IBM and, as well as being co-author of a globally used computer tool, he has been closely involved in the creation of an Accessible Vote System to allow any citizen, with any type of disability, to exercise their right to vote autonomously and secretly.
Despite all his professional activity, Rui has always managed to dedicate himself to social activities, and has been engaged in organisations dedicated to cerebral palsy both nationally and at European level since 1994. As President of the Federation of Portuguese Cerebral Palsy Associations, he is active in defending the rights of citizens with cerebral palsy and working with various government entities. Within EDF, he was involved in the organisation of the Portuguese Presidency of EU and lobbied in Strasbourg for approval of the Accessibility Act. He is a member of the Expert Group on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
On the accessible voting system, Rui believes that we should continue to work intensively as support is growing at European level and we have a proven solution ready to go. He believes that we should set ourselves the goal of having as many accessible election points as possible in time for the next European elections in 2024.
Rui combines personal knowledge of a disability that (despite being the most common form of childhood-onset disability) is poorly understand by policymakers and the public at large, with long experience as a person with disabilities navigating the labour market, as well as a professional background in IT, which offers so many opportunities for people with disabilities. He would also also bring to the Board of Directors creativity, a strong sense of responsibility and a great capacity to work.