The international day of persons with disabilities is a way for the whole world to come together to mark and celebrate the courage of the disabled community across the globe.

This day allows every human the opportunity to spread compassion and attempt to understand the challenges faced by people who are disabled. 

A community that continues to suffer not just from the physical limitation caused by a disease but also from the lack of acceptance received by the outside world, failing to acknowledge them as productive members of the society.

History of International Day of Persons with Disabilities

The movement dates back when The United Nations termed it as the “Decade of Disabled Persons” from the year 1983 to 1992, as a goodwill gesture to engage governments and other organizations to bring forth measures that can improve the daily lives of the disabled community across the globe.

It was only in 1992, that the UN General Assembly declared December 3rd as the International Day of Disabled Persons, making it the first-ever day observed for this particular cause and was simultaneously the observance’s name was changed to the “International Day of Persons with Disabilities” from the previous name; “International Day of Disabled Persons” 

All these efforts by the global leaders aimed at promoting equal rights for the disabled in all spheres of society and development and to help spread awareness regarding the conditions of the persons with disabilities in every sphere of political, social, economic, and cultural life.

Developments Made For the Disabled across Global Platforms

Further progression in the UN’s work meant calling for actionable and implementable measures to be taken whereupon the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted in the year 2006. Soon after several steps were taken to provide a roadmap such as:

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2020

Given the current pandemic outbreak of Covid-19, it is has become pertinent to have a closer look at the deepening pre-existing inequalities, threatening human society to the point of exclusion.

More than a billion people are being directly effected by the current lockdown conditions making matters worse. With hospitals and medical centers occupied on the frontlines combating the pandemic by prioritizing coronavirus patients, providing basic medical attention towards the most vulnerable segment has become a challenge. 

Disabled are now more than ever less likely to get access to basic health care, education, employment opportunities. The need of the hour is to ensure that the most vulnerable groups in the society like persons with disabilities are not neglected and advance with an inclusive approach to recover from the harm that has been done, building back better.

Global Disability Statistic:

Source: WHO World Report on Disability 2011

Theme For The Year 2020: Not All Disabilities Are Visible

December 3rd marks this year’s International Day of People with Disabilities, and will be celebrated with the theme: ‘Not all Disabilities are Visible’. A theme that demands attention on disabilities that are not immediately apparent, such as mental illness, chronic pain or fatigue, sight or hearing impairments, diabetes, brain injuries, neurological disorders, learning differences, and cognitive dysfunctions, among others. 

According to the UN statement at the first-ever official World Braille Day in 2019, “39 million people were legally blind globally, while 253 million suffered from a sort of vision impairment”. Whereas in the year 2020, a World Health Organization report stated that at least “1 billion people are vision-impaired or blind due to unaddressed refractive error (123.7 million), cataract (65.2 million), glaucoma (6.9 million), corneal opacities (4.2 million), diabetic retinopathy (3 million), and trachoma (2 million), as well as near vision impairment caused by unaddressed presbyopia (826 million)”.  

An inclusive approach towards disability has become more essential than ever; it is an investment in a better future. Several major events were conducted in the year 2020, joint efforts of researchers, ophthalmologists, social workers and tech and healthcare companies to advocate and educate the general masses regarding blindness, and visual impairment e.g. Envision Conference East, Vision Expo West 2020, and many more such events, have a look here. 

A year earlier the first-ever World Braille Day was celebrated in 2019, in remembrance of the late Braille inventor, Louis Braille.

Braille is a unique mode of communication for the visually impaired as it provides a tactical system of raised dots that represent alphabetic and numerical symbols for the blind and partially-sighted people. The six dots present in the Braille card represent each letter, number, even musical and mathematical symbols. 

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) has also stated its significance in education, freedom of expression and opinion, access to information, and social inclusion for those who use it. Realizing the importance of Braille amongst the general masses is the first step of fostering more accessible and disability-inclusive societies.

A Helping Hand for the Vision Impaired Each Day of the Year 

Here at IrisVision, we consider the disabled as not just an important but an integral part of any productive society. Upholding the virtues that stay true to our mission of helping the vision impaired community to See Clearly, Live Fully! With this mission; IrisVision an unmatched low vision solution was introduced to the world that was less invasive and more affordable. 

Developed by leading vision scientists in the U.S., backed by top vision institutions such as the National Eye Institute (NEI) grant, and validated by eye specialists at John Hopkins University, IrisVision combines the latest mobile virtual reality (VR) system and a customized smartphone qualifying it as the top breakthrough technology,

The team behind IrisVision is working relentlessly to change the conversation around blind and partially sighted peoples’ everyday lives. Paving the way for a brighter and clearer future for the vision impaired, helping them regain their independence. Our efforts have been recognized by global platforms and have been awarded as the World Changing Idea for 2020 by Fast Company. 

We believe understanding the challenges faced by disabled people is the first step to realizing what their needs are and with that goal, our team that also includes individuals suffering from sight loss themselves, contribute their lived experience to our practice.

Here are 2 stories that brighten up our day knowing our contribution has resulted in a positive impact in their respective journeys:

Pledge to Support Disability Inclusion

This year let’s all pledge to help and support people with disabilities, treating them as equal members of the society dignity.

Let’s play our part in contributing towards providing equal opportunities for the disabled community be it such as helping them find employment, or livelihood opportunities, accessing public services etc. 

Governments must ensure the provision of proper facilities in public spaces such as public toilets, restaurants, hotels, libraries for the disabled to easily access public spaces. With this hope and motivation, let us create a more inclusive environment and a friendly atmosphere contributing towards Building Back Better.