The Galway Centre for Independent Living jointly celebrated International Day of People with Disabilities, European Year of Equal Opportunities For All and the launch of their newly updated IT Learning Centre by holding a reception at their office in the Town Park Centre on Monday, 3 December. This state of the art facility was officially opened by Mayor of Galway city, Councillor Tom Costello, who tested the Learning Centre for himself.

Shivaun Quinlivan, Lecturer in Law at NUI Galway, gave an address on Disability and the Law to an audience of those dedicated to promoting equality and rights for individuals with a disability or impairment.

Ms Quinlivan spoke about the shift in thinking in recent years from charity to rights where "people with disabilities are not problems, they have rights and equally legitimate hopes and aspirations for their lives" and that while there are national, European and international influences via legislation, "it is important that we don't forget what drives the change at that level and they are local influences. When we want to see independent living projects in practice then we need not look to the international treaties, but to groups like the Galway Centre for Independent Living. GCIL in their practices live the ideal of promoting equal opportunities, they do so by providing people a chance to gain a qualification in technology, this in turn offers people the opportunity to pursue a career and an income, which is the key to independence and so to have a real choice in life."

The Learning Centre now has ten state of the art computers with 22-inch monitors together with the most recent software and hardware specifically designed for use by individuals with a disability or impairment. The facility is also available to groups or individuals and is one of GCIL's methods of generating revenue to support other services offered by the orgainisation, primarily the Personal Assistant Service on which the ethos and philosophy of independent living is founded.

Jack Callanan, Chairperson of Galway Centre for Independent Living said that "while in general things have improved for people it is our goal that by the provision of this facility we can continue to bridge the divide between those who have access to technology and those who don't, and this will open the door to knowledge and lifelong learning."

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