International Day of Persons with Disabilities
By Lobna Mahdi & The CultureAlly Team
Every year on December 3rd, millions of people around the world commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD). Officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992, IDPWD was born out of a vision to create inclusive and accessible societies where people with disabilities can live and thrive without ableist barriers. While each year has a different theme, IDPWD is generally used to celebrate and promote the rights, dignity, and well-being of people with disabilities as well as to bring attention to the disability justice movement.
Why Celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities?
While the fight for disability justice and inclusion rages on throughout the year, dedicating one day to celebrating IDPWD allows organizations and individuals to allocate some time to reflect on their commitment to accessibility for all, acknowledge the work that is yet to be done, and express their solidarity with people with disabilities. It also allows us to learn about the intersecting barriers that people with disabilities face when they hold multiple marginalized identities, and actively work with various communities to break down those barriers.
Throughout the pandemic, the discrepancies between able-bodied people and people with disabilities have become ever more intensified. As a result of barriers when accessing healthcare, disruptions in support services due to pandemic restrictions and lockdowns, among other reasons, people with disabilities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Consequently, the themes for 2020 and 2021’s IDPWD have focused on the interdependency and critical relationship between post-pandemic recovery strategies and the renewed fight for disability justice and inclusion. While last year’s IDPWD theme was “Building Back Better: Toward a Disability-Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post COVID-19 World,” this year’s theme is “Fighting for Rights in the Post-COVID era.”
It is important to remember, however, that while many of us in North America have begun seeing a slow return to our pre-pandemic lifestyles, a large proportion of the world’s population, particularly those living in the Global South, still do not have access to COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, promoting the rights of disabled people must include continued advocacy for international vaccine equality, so that disabled people both in North America and abroad do not continue to face the imbalanced consequences of COVID-19.
Disability: 6 Facts and Statistics
About 15% of the world’s population (over 1 billion people) are estimated to have a disability or experience being disabled at some point in their lives (World Health Organization)
In the United States, 40% of Non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives have a disability, which is higher than the national average of 26% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
In Canada, women are more likely to have a disability than men (24% as opposed to 20%) (Statistics Canada)
The number of people with disabilities is increasing due to an increase in chronic health conditions (World Health Organization)
Disability is more prevalent in lower-income countries, highlighting the correlation between disability and poverty (World Health Organization)
In Canada, people with disabilities are more likely to be living in poverty than able-bodied people (Statistics Canada).
How To Observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the Workplace
Support Organizations and Small Businesses Led by People with Disabilities
There are plenty of small businesses and organizations across North America that are led by talented, creative, and innovative people with disabilities. Consider supporting deaf-owned and run restaurants, such as Mozzeria, by giving your employees an employee discount or visiting the restaurant for a nice team meal. Consider supporting disability-identified artists by encouraging your employees to visit art galleries run by people with disabilities, such as Tangled Disability Arts. Consider supporting non-profit organizations run by blind people, such as the CNIB, by donating to their various programs and initiatives.
Accessibility Check-in: Progress Report and Feedback Session
Re-iterate your commitment to accessibility by taking some time to present any changes you have made to your work space and culture over the past year to your team, and/or encourage them to make suggestions about how to make your work space and culture more accessible. Adding wheelchair ramps, hiring ASL interpreters whenever necessary, and adjusting your typical daily routine to better accommodate neuro-divergent folks are just some examples of the changes you can make. Not sure where to start? Don’t hesitate to reach out to CultureAlly to help you with an accessibility audit or work with our partners to become certified through the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification process.
Open up Your Space for Disability Justice Advocates
Invite advocates for disability justice and inclusion to give a workshop or participate in a panel about the current barriers and struggles facing people with disabilities and the work being done on the ground to change the status quo. Give your employees and team members an opportunity to learn how to best support the movement.
Spend Some Time Updating Your Website and Social Media
Do you accompany all images on your website or social media with descriptive image captions? Do all of your videos have subtitles? Do you avoid special characters or fonts that are eligible for assistive reading technology? Do you ensure that your text is written in a font colour that is easy to read? If you answered no to any of these questions, you may not be up to date on the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Take some time to update your website and social media accounts on IDPWD. By making some minor changes, you can ensure that your content is easily accessible for everyone interested in your work.
Reflect on your Partnerships for the New Year
Almost every organization and company now has at least one member in charge of partnerships and collaborations. Spend some time on IDPWD searching for disability-led organizations you’d like to build a partnership with for the upcoming year, and think about how you and your potential partner could contribute to one another.
Host a Workshop on Universal Design (UD) and Universal Design Learning (UDL)
In the 1960’s and 70’s, a group of North American architects began cultivating a new approach to architecture that prioritizes accessibility for all regardless of age, race, disability, or status. “Universal Design,” a term coined by American architect Ronald Mace, was popularized to label this new philosophy of architecture. Inspired by this accessibility-first movement, teachers, instructors, and others involved in the teaching and curriculum-development profession applied the same principles of UD to develop a new approach to teaching and learning that centers accessibility for all. This approach was labelled “Universal Design Learning” (UDL). To celebrate IDPWD, consider hosting a workshop with UD and UDL experts who can discuss the history of both movements and the innovative philosophies and principles they have introduced to their fields. After the presentation, consider hosting a brainstorming session with your team about how to introduce UD and UDL principles to the work that you do.