This time of year sees an odd change in pace, as some activities slow down before the long summer break while others become frantically busy in an attempt to finish them before the end of the year. The UNSW Disability Innovation Institute has held its final Steering Committee and Advisory Council meetings for 2021, and we’d like to thank everyone who gives up their time to advise and support us. It’s always a great morale boost to sense the enthusiasm and interest from the communities outside the Institute and beyond UNSW itself.
Some members of our Advisory Council have come to the end of their terms and are stepping down. Among these is Graeme Innes, our current Chair. Graeme is a very well known figure in the Australian disability landscape, and has been a huge supporter of the Institute since it began. We thank Graeme for his work with us, and welcome Therese Sands as our new Chair. Therese is a former Chair of People with Disability Australia, a member of Women With Disability Australia, and already serves on our Advisory Council.
You can hear some of Graeme’s views on the Institute and the overall idea of disability inclusion in conversation with Rosemary Kayess in our first podcast. Our second podcast of the 2021 series focuses on Inclusive Research, with insights from Professor Iva Strnadová, is currently in production and will be available soon.
We also congratulate Iva on the publication of the sixth edition of Inclusion in Action, which she co-edited with Michael Arthur-Kelly and Philip Foreman. It’s not common for academic texts to go through so many editions, and it demonstrates the need and demand for this area of work. You can read more about Iva's new book here.
The United Nations International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) was established in 1992. Celebrated around the world, it aims to increase public understanding and acceptance of people with disability and raise awareness of their achievements and contributions. The theme for IDPwD 2021 is Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world. To mark IDPwD this year, the Institute is collaborating with the Division of Equity Diversity & Inclusion and the Be A Better Human Campaign to host an event in which Nicole Lee, advocate and family violence survivor who uses a wheelchair, speaks about her experiences in conversation with Jackie Leach Scully. Read more and register here.
Finally, we’d like to introduce you to a new honorary member of the Institute. In early November I paid a visit to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, where I adopted one of the disabled residents on behalf of the Institute. Evans Head CW is a young male koala who came to the hospital after being hit by a car. As a result of his injuries he will probably never be released to the wild; not only has he lost one eye but minor brain injury means he tends to walk in circles when on the ground, and so is highly vulnerable. His name reflects his story: CW stands for Cangleska Wakan, meaning sacred circle, while Evans Head is where he was found. You can read more about the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital here.