What International Day of People with Disability means to me – by Susan Seipel
International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is celebrated annually on the 3rd of December. The day was first observed in 1992 by the United Nations, with the aim of raising awareness, understanding and acceptance of people living with disabilities throughout the world.
As a person living with a disability, I want to encourage everyone to recognise this day and share ways to participate. I think IDPwD is important because it can be used to prompt conversations about disability in a respectful way that challenges attitudes, assumptions and misconceptions. IDPwD creates awareness by celebrating the achievements, stories, and contributions of people living with disability. In addition, IDPwD should also be a catalyst for action by schools, workplaces, and communities to improve accessibility and reduce inequalities.
Some ideas to get involved include attending an IDPwD event in your community, encouraging your school to hold educational classes, creating a disability action plan for your workplace, read/watch/listen to lived experiences, take action to remove barriers and share resources with friends and family. For example, there are a number of excellent podcasts discussing all things disability by people with lived experience, two of which I highly recommend are “What’s Wrong with You?” and “ListenABLE” (both available on Spotify). Also, there are so many great books written by authors with disabilities available in different formats, one of my favourites is “Growing up Disabled in Australia” edited by Carly Findlay.
The disability community is a really diverse group with many different perspectives, all of which add value and diversity to society. We can learn so much from each other’s unique experiences while having the common goal of creating a society that is more inclusive. Please comment on how you will celebrate IDPwD!
About the Author:
Susan Seipel is a diverse para-athlete with a background in swimming, and equestrian, and is a triple World Champion in the sport of Paracanoe.
She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and was the first Australian in history to win a medal in Paracanoe at the Paralympic level. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, Susan won a silver medal in the inaugural women’s canoe event. She is currently training for Paris 2024.
Outside of sports, Susan is a proud ambassador for RSPCA Queensland and is passionate about animal welfare. She is also studying Psychology at university.
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