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Disability Day aka the International Day of People with Disability has been commemorated on December 3rd of every year. Disability is otherwise called an impairment in a person’s body. There are millions of people from all over the world. It not only concerns mental or physical disabilities but also deals with the cognitive, developmental, intellectual, sensory, or some combination of these. On concerning the challenges faced by people with disabilities, the UN has decided to mark a celebration Day for those people. Disability Day aims in promoting an understanding of disability issues. Thereby providing the well-being of disabled individuals and mobilizing the support of their dignity and rights.
“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.” – Stephen Hawking
History of Disability Day
The first observance of Disability Day was held in the year 1992. United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3 had proclaimed this Day. It is now an international observance promoted by the United Nations. The celebration Day is otherwise called the International Day of People with Disability (IDPD). It is a special Day that assists people with disabilities to lead a better life like all other people in the world. It has been celebrated with different degrees of success from all around the globe. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding regarding the disability issues and thus helps in mobilizing the support for them concerning the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with the disabilities.
The observance Day also attempts to increase awareness of the profits that are to be derived from the integration of the disabled person in every aspect of life in political, social, economic, and cultural aspects. The Day was originally called the “International Day of Disabled Persons” until 2007. Each year the day focuses on a different issue with a theme. The plan for this international observance was started in the year 1976. The United Nations General Assembly had proclaimed the year 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP). IYDP’s theme was “full participation and equality.” To provide equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation, and prevention of disabilities, IYDP had called for a plan of action at each level including the national, regional, and international levels. The General Assembly proclaimed the decade between the years 1983 and 1992 as the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons.
The year and theme of the International Day of People with Disability are as follows
- 1998 – Arts, Culture and Independent Living.
- 1999 – Accessibility for all for the new Millennium.
- 2000 – Making information technologies work for all.
- 2001 – Full participation and equality: The call for new approaches to assess progress and evaluate outcome.
- 2002 – Independent Living and Sustainable Livelihoods.
- 2003 – A Voice of Our Own.
- 2004 – Nothing About Us Without Us.
- 2005 – Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Action in Development.
- 2006 – E-Accessibility.
- 2007 – Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities.
- 2008 – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us.
- 2009 – Making the MDGs Inclusive: Empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities around the world.
- 2010 – Keeping the promise: Mainstreaming disability in the Millennium Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond.
- 2011 – Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.
- 2012 – Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all.
- 2013 – Break Barriers, Open Doors: for an inclusive society and development for all.
- 2014 – Sustainable development: The promise of technology.
- 2015 – Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities.
- 2016 – Achieving 17 Goals for the future we want.
- 2017 – Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all.
- 2018 – Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.
- 2019 – Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda.
- 2020 – Not all Disabilities are Visible.
- 2021 – Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities.
- 2022 – Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world
Other Celebrations on December 3
December 3 is also celebrated as
How to Celebrate Disability Day
Celebrating Disability Day is very simple. Never discourage disabled persons by any means. Indulge yourself to educate people around you that people with disabilities are capable of serving society. Make this Day for holding discussions, campaigns, and forums regarding the issues faced by disabled persons. You can conduct meetings and positivity rallies as a way of encouraging people who are impaired. Organize events, games, and activities for these people in your local area on this celebration Day. You can share your thoughts and celebration Day images on social media using the hashtags #Disability Day or #InternationalDayOfPeopleWithDisability.
Thank you for reading the post. You can celebrate every day with Happydays365.org and Happy Disability Day 2023.