It’s 1st March 2013 and The 6th International Wheelchair Day is here!
If you are holding or have already held any events or activities, big or small, please let us know at steve@wheelchairsteve.com, on Twitter with hashtag #IWD2013 or on the IWD Facebook page. We’ll add the details to this website in due course as this day of celebration and reflection grows year on year.
For the third successive year, International Wheelchair Club member, Hannah Ensor of Stickman Communications, has designed an impressive International Wheelchair Day logo. I look forward to seeing it around the World as we build up 2013 as being the biggest celebration yet.
Click here to download logos – feel free to use them for your 2013 celebration events
International Wheelchair Day was first established by Steve Wilkinson aka “WheelchairSteve” on 1st March 2008.
The 1st March was chosen to commemorate the birthday of his late mother, Joyce, who did so much to help him cope through childhood with the life challenges presented to him after being born with Spina Bifida in 1953.
What is International Wheelchair Day?
- It’s a day when wheelchair users celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has had in their lives.
- It’s a day to celebrate the great work of the many millions of people who provide wheelchairs, who provide support and care for wheelchair users and who make the World a better and more accessible place for people with mobility issues.
- It’s also a day to acknowledge and react constructively to the fact there are many tens of millions of people in the World who need a wheelchair, but are unable to acquire one.
International Wheelchair Day 2013
It’s time to start the build up to International Wheelchair Day on Friday 1st March 2013.
If you are planning any events, please let us know at steve@wheelchairsteve.com.
For the third successive year, International Wheelchair Club member, Hannah Ensor of Stickman Communications, has designed an impressive International Wheelchair Day logo. I look forward to seeing it around the World as we build up 2013 as being the biggest celebration yet.
Click here to download logos – feel free to use them for your 2013 celebration events
Events in 2013
South Africa
An organisation in South Africa called Adapt To Change (www.AdaptToChange.co.za) have been collecting bread tags (they use these to keep the bags that cover loaves of bread or fruit closed) with the support of Avondale Primary School in Atlantis, Cape Town, South Africa. They plan to deliver everything they have been able to collect to the Bread Tags for Wheelchairs Foundation on International Wheelchair Day 2013.
Bread Tags for Wheelchairs Foundation was established by Mary Honeybun of Cape Town, South Africa in 2006 and she works in association with the Wheelchair Foundation, a non-profit organization with a goal to provide a free wheelchair to every child, teen and adult worldwide who needs one, but has no means to acquire one.
Australia
Adelaide is once again showing that the South Australian Government support International Wheelchair Day by holding a number of open days and launching the activities with a tour of the Independent Living Centre by the new Disability Minister, Tony Piccolo MLC and Kelly Vincent MLC.
My thanks go to former Disability Minister, Ian Hunter MLC, Kelly Vincent MLC and Michael Griffiths, who works for the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion and has been organising activities in the months leading up to the day.
United Kingdom
On the Isle of Wight, Steve Woodford, a “Children’s Champion” working for the Director
The local Red Cross have provided wheelchairs for Steve and a colleague to take on the challenge. They have purchased International Wheelchair Day T-Shirts and will be shadowed for a half a day on 18th February by the local media so they can cover the story and produce a piece to go out in the weekly newspaper on 1st March.
The two will then do the full challenge on International Wheelchair Day and write a reflective piece themselves to send to national magazines such as ‘Children and Young People Now’.
International Wheelchair Day 2012
The 5th International Wheelchair Day on 1st March 2012 was the most significant yet, as it was the first truly “international” celebration. The day began with an official launch event attended by Steve Wilkinson and hosted by the Disability Information and Resource Centre (DIRC) in Adelaide, South Australia. We were honoured that two key representatives from the South Australia Parliament, Hon. Ian Hunter MLC, Minister for Disabilities and Hon. Kelly Vincent MLC, Dignity for Disability, attended and spoke at the event.
At the event, Steve also officially launched the International Wheelchair Club and Gail Miller, who was instrumental in organising the event with Letizia Gentile, Director of DIRC, spoke about her book and schools education programme “What we’re Wheelie like…”
On 28th March 2012, Hon. Ian Hunter MLC made a supportive speech in Parliament about International Wheelchair Day.
Other events and activities held around the World to celebrate International Wheelchair Day 2012 included:
A rally entitled “Shall We Fly” was organised by the Spinal Injuries Resource Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal.
92 wheelchair users took to the streets to highlight the issues that exist there relating to access to roads and buildings.
See further pictures, video and media reports from this event on the Spinal Nepal Facebook Page.
A celebration event was held at Percy Hedley Sports Academy in Killingworth on North Tyneside.
Amongst various activities that took place, there was a demonstration wheelchair basketball game involving the Newcastle Eagles Wheelchair Basketball team. After the match, head coach and former Paralympian, Lee Fawcett, was gunged along with Adam Parry, Sports Development Manager, and Pete Gartland, who along with Andrew Pickering, organised the event.
http://www.leefawcett.co.uk/news/lee-fawcett-gets-gunged/.
Danni went outside for 5 minutes in her wheelchair.
It’s not all about events that take a lot of organising. Perhaps this one took a lot of courage? Danni Dominie Brennand from the North East of England reported in her blog that she celebrated International Wheelchair Day by going outside for 5 minutes in her wheelchair. Fantastic!
http://dannilion.com/2012/03/improvement-2/