Hello,
I just found out about this (see below), from Israel - may be worth keeping in
mind for next year....
Also, the City of Toronto(www.toronto.ca) marks the day every year.
Cheers,
Susan
Knesset Members Disabled For a Day
by Malkah Fleisher
For the first time in the Knesset, many Members of Knesset – including Knesset
Speaker Reuven Rivlin – experienced first-hand the issue of accessibility for
disabled persons.
They walked with guide dogs, went up ramps in wheelchairs and tried to speak
sign language as part of International Disabled Persons Day that was observed
Tuesday.
The event took place under the auspices of a special project conducted by
"Access Israel" to increase awareness of accessibility issues, using
experiential stations to subject the Knesset Members to the challenges faced by
thousands of Israelis. "The idea behind the project is to allow Knesset Members
to sense, learn and feel, if only for a few minutes, what people with
disabilities feel every day their whole lives," said a representative of the
organization.
The organization stressed that "a lack of access to so many places causes
720,000 people with disabilities and their families a lot of suffering, and
often prevents them from leaving their homes and taking part in society as
citizens with equal rights in a democratic country."
"Access Israel" hopes that the day of experiencing the challenges of life with
disabilities will encouraged Knesset Members to pass more legislation and
regulations in favor of people affected by the challenges.
Other organizations involved in the experiential day were the Association of
Guide Dogs, Tower of Light, an organization assisting the blind, as well as the
Golan Winery, which provided wine for a blind wine-and-ice-cream taste test.
Quoting Charlie Bowen <[log in to unmask]>:
> Hello,
>
> Is anyone, in any part of the world taking part/putting on any events to
> mark the International day of disabled people on December 3rd.
>
> I run a youth project at Derbyshire Coalition for Disabled People (DCIL) and
> we're organising some events to mark this day. It would be great to link up
> with any other events going on in any part of the world.
>
> Our young volunteers (aged 16 - 25) will be holding a coffee morning at
> DCIL, in Ripley, Derbyshire. We'll be promoting the work of DCIL,
> launching our newsletter (Clued up, produced by the young people at DCIL)
> and our youth executive. We're also holding a poster competition asking
> people to design a poster promoting positive images of
> disability/disability equality. Some of our volunteers would love to skype
> other disabled people or disability organisations who also will be marking
> this day. It'll be a chance for all our members, volunteers and the local
> community to come together. We hope to develop plans further over the next
> couple of weeks.
>
> Please get in touch if you're marking this day, or please pass this email on
> to your contacts.
>
> Many Thanks,
>
> Charlotte Bowen
>
> Youth Development Officer
> V Project
> www.dcil.org.uk
>
> ________________End of message________________
>
> This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for
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>
Susan B. Barak, BA, MEd
PhD Student, Critical Disability Studies
4th Floor HNES Building
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M3J 1P3
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