This week, it’s time to come together and encourage others to ‘see the ability in disability’, as we celebrate International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) on Thursday, December 3. 

Held annually, IDPwD is a United Nations observed day celebrated internationally. Its goal is to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability, and to celebrate their achievements and contributions – something we at Civic strive to do on a daily basis.

The Australian Government has been supporting IDPwD since 1996 and provides funds to promote and raise awareness of the day around Australia. The theme for IDPwD 2020 is “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World”.

Each year the UN announces a theme to observe for International Day of People with Disability. The annual theme provides an overarching focus on how society can strive for inclusivity through the removal of physical, technological and attitudinal barriers for people with disability. This has been occurring since 1992 when the General Assembly announced 3 December as the International Day of Disabled Persons.

Civic partners with Casula

Civic have again partnered with Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, who will be showcasing the work of artists living with disability in an online Exhibition. 10 artists from the Civic community, and examples of their work, are featuring in the exhibition, each of whom have been taking part in Civic @ Home’s online art course throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you will join us in celebrating and sharing this event on Thursday. 

There are plenty of other ways to get involved, with events listed on the IDPwD website. Across Sydney, individuals, communities and workplaces are creating colourful paperchains to decorate their spaces. By sharing photos of these decorations on Thursday, along with the hashtags #idpwd and #includeme on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, its hoped the message of inclusion and ability will overwhelm the internet. 

Join us in Making a IDPwD Paperchain

1. Print out the paper chain PDF which you can find on the IDPwD website.
2. Cut out each colourful strip, then cut the strips in half.
3. Take your half-strip and join them together at the ends to make a small loop. You can use a stapler, a glue stick, or sticky tape – whatever works best for you.
4. Take another half-strip (maybe of a different colour) and thread it through your first loop.
5. Join the ends together, and now you have the beginning of a chain.
6. Keep threading the half-strips through the loops until your paper chain is as long as you’d like.
7. You now have a paper chain to decorate your home or IDPwD event. You can also take a photo of your paper chain and share it on social media leading up to or on 3 December 2020. Make sure to use the hashtags #idpwd #includeme on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to show how you celebrated IDPwD.

How are you celebrating inclusion and ability? Share your stories with us!