We Celebrate: International Day of Persons with Disability #IDPwD2015

Theme for 2015: Inclusion matters: Access and Empowerment for People of all Abilities

There are about ONE BILLION people living with disabilities in the world. This amounts to about 1 in every 7 persons around us. So, the case for celebration of this day cannot be anymore clearer. Notice the clear shift in this year’s theme – ‘people of all ABILITIES’. This is because everyone is made of an ability…every person is capable of completing some task. Be it eating, sitting, sleeping, drinking, typing, computing, painting, cooking, gifting, analyzing, coding, sewing or weaving. No matter how little the task is…no one is totally incapacitated!

This year, we are focused on building inclusive societies. For us @ The Learning Craft, advocacy is focused on Inclusive Education which encourages building schools that can embrace, accommodate and teach children with varying abilities regardless of limitations. A strong case for this is in sustainability in which typically developed children learn and share same school environment with children with difficult abilities. Inclusive schools build empathic and caring citizens who will ultimately use their skills to build future cities, buildings and amenities that caters for every person.

Read further to find out more on what the UN has stated concerning this very special day so dear to my heart.

The estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide face many barriers to inclusion in many key aspects of society. As a result, people with disabilities do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation.
The right to participate in public life is essential to create stable democracies, active citizenship and reduce inequalities in society.
By promoting empowerment, real opportunities for people are created. This enhances their own capacities and supports them in setting their own priorities. Empowerment involves investing in people – in jobs, health, nutrition, education, and social protection. When people are empowered they are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities, they become agents of change and can more readily embrace their civic responsibilities.
The sub-themes for the 2015 observance of the International Day are:
Making cities inclusive and accessible for all
Improving disability data and statistics
Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development
More information about the International Day and the UN Enable programme is available at UN Enable.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is marked around the world annually on 3 December, as perGeneral Assembly resolution 47/3 of 14 October 1992, to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues pertaining to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development