QUEEN VISITS BENIDORM
Huge crowd listen to her speeches in English and Spanish
HM Queen Letizia of Spain was in Benidorm on Wednesday where she attended in her capacity as honorary president, the final day of the Conference of the World Federation of the Deafblind - involving a huge se- curity operation. The week long event took place at the Hotel Gran Bali and Wednesday marked International Deaf- blind People day – with a special closing ceremony at the town hall square.
Around 600 deafblind people and their interpreters attended the town hall event, including a number of officials – Ximo Puig, president of the regional government in Valencia, Carmen Montón - minister of health, César Sánchez – president of Alicante provincial government, Geir Jensen – president of World Federation of the Deafblind and Benidorm mayor Toni Pérez plus all councillors.
Representatives from a number of participating nations each read a manifesto out, then Queen Letizia took to the stage to join them, addressing the audience in both Spanish and English.
Firstly, she began by thanking all those involved in defending the rights of deafblind people, stating that improving their quality of life is a matter that “concerns us all” and also thanked the mayor for hosting the event in Benidorm.
“It is very important that we take into consideration the integration and inclusion of deafblind people in our society so that they can take a lead in their lives with the support of organisations around them.
"We should aim to reduce their vulnerability and achieve universal accessibility and inte- gration on a global scale and for deafblindness to be recognised as a unique disability. It is a great achievement for a deafblind person to be able to make a leap over the darkness to achieve his or her rights”.
Queen Letizia made specific reference to the incredible work that the interpreter guides do and noted that without their voice it would not be possible for them to achieve the struggle that deafblind people are making.
She then took time to greet and kiss each of the deafblind people on the stage, having a word with each and also thanking the ladies that were signing to the audience, showing real compassion and thoughtfulness.
When she entered the town hall, she was introduced to the councillors and unveiled a plaque commemorating International Deafblind Day then headed to the mayor’s office, where she signed the City’s Book of Honour.
She then went on to hold a number of meetings and discussions with representatives of the WFBD and FASOCIDE and finished her trip to Benidorm by meeting with participants in the town hall square before heading back to Madrid.