Backgrounder
International Day of People with Disabilities
In support of the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the City of Toronto, together with its community partners, annually hosts an event to celebrate International Day of People with Disabilities in Toronto.
The 2009 event, to be held at Variety Village on December 3, marks the City‘s 5th annual observance of the International Day of People with Disabilities. Additionally, December is proclaimed Human Rights Month in the City of Toronto.
The Planning Group
The Planning Group, which organizes the event to mark the International Day for People with Disabilities, consists of a cross-divisional team from the City of Toronto and representatives from various community agencies and business partners. Deputy City Manager Sue Corke is the executive sponsor for the event and staff from the Toronto Employment and Social Services Division co-ordinate the event.
Members of the Planning Group seek sponsorship opportunities and in-kind support to help offset the costs of promoting and hosting the annual event.
The Event
The goals of the event are to increase awareness of disability issues and to celebrate and recognize the contributions of people with disabilities in Toronto. It highlights the City’s and the community’s accomplishments concerning disability issues and initiatives, and acts as a forum to inform residents about services provided by the City, the province, community agencies and businesses.
Unsung Heroes
A focal point of the event is the recognition of unsung heroes of the disabilities movement. The unsung heroes segment of the program resulted from a 2005 survey of agencies and groups representing individuals working with a range of disabilities who indicated the disability community places a high priority on celebrating achievements by recognizing unsung heroes.
Invitation to Poetry
Each year, people are invited to submit their poems about any aspect of disability. Selected poems are read by the poets at the event. They receive a framed copy of their poem and it is published on the City’s website.
Backgrounder
Invitation to Art
Invitation to Art is a new initiative which will be introduced in the 2009 event. Artists with disabilities are invited to display and sell their work at the International Day of People with Disabilities celebration. It provides an opportunity to showcase and promote the work of artists with disabilities.
Imagination Session
The Imagination Session is an open forum which gave participants an opportunity to discuss how the Toronto Government can further enhance access to services. It is a facilitated discussion and the results are summarized in a report to the City’s Disability Issues Committee. Key issues have included access to employment, housing, income support, transportation services, TTC, health care services and equitable service delivery.
For detailed information about the annual event, visit
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