Don't DIS my ABILITY


Don't DIS my ABILITY is an educational campaign in New South Wales, Australia. The project is supported by the NSW Government's Family and Community Services to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The goal of Don't DIS my ABILITY is to change misconceptions surrounding disability. Ambassadors are selected as role models for the campaign from the arts, sports and business sectors and events are held throughout metropolitan and regional NSW. The campaign publication, Made You Look is circulated across NSW in arts and community venues, news agencies, libraries and schools.

History

In 2004, the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care – now Family and Community Services – set out to celebrate International Day of People with a Disability by creating a public awareness campaign with the slogan "Don't DIS my ABILITY." The campaign aimed to challenge society's stereotypes around disability and invited people to reconsider their relationships and attitudes toward people with a disability.
A reference group was assembled that included government bodies and key stakeholders from the disability sector. Each year the event program has grown and in 2009, more than 100 public events were held during the campaign.
In 2007, the event program was published and circulated in a new street press magazine, Made You Look. In 2009, the event program was published on the back of the campaign poster, and Made You Look was devoted to publishing stories by and about people with a disability.
In 2008, as part of the campaign a film festival was made fully accessible for people with a disability in NSW. Sponsored by the then ADHC, Access All Areas Film Festival visited five regional cities throughout November culminating in a special event in Sydney on 3 December to celebrate International Day of People with a Disability. In 2009, Access All Areas grew to incorporate a short film program for school children. The film festival visited regional towns in 2010, culminating with an event in Sydney on December 3.
In 2010, the campaign focus was on social media, with a new campaign blog, a YouTube channel, Facebook page and Twitter account.

Events

Each year events are held throughout NSW to celebrate Don't DIS my ABILITY and International Day of People with a Disability. 2010 feature events, supported by Family and Community Services included the Access All Areas Film Festival, Accessible Arts Small Arts Grants, the Queanbeyan Festival of Ability and Companion Card's Get DIS party started!
Other events, hosted by councils, sports clubs, community groups and other organisations are posted on the Don't DIS my ABILITY website. Each year these events are attended by over 25,000 people.

Ambassadors

Each year ambassadors are selected to support and strengthen the Don't DIS my ABILITY campaign. Ambassadors are chosen from the arts, sports and business fields. They attend various events throughout the campaign. From this group, key ambassadors are chosen to be the public face of the campaign. These include: