Raising Awareness

Step 1: Brainstorm!

Discuss the following questions with your group:

Does society (our community) need to change its views towards disability?
How do we change society?
How do we raise awareness on the right of persons with disabilities to be fully included in our communities?
How can people be advocates?

Step 2: Summarize your discussion

Summarize the ideas presented for raising disability awareness. Ask group members to choose one idea and develop a strategy to achieve change.

Key points to remember while you lead and gather the group’s ideas:

Be positive and empowering in your statements. Use encouraging phrases such as: "We can do this!" "As a group anything is possible!" "We can create social change. It’s up to us!"
Be flexible and follow the ideas of the group. Try to brainstorm some simple ideas along with some more advanced ones.
Emphasize that some ideas can be acted on individually (e.g., treating all people with respect) and some ideas may benefit from group taking action (e.g., speaking to a board of education to allow a student with a disability to attend school).
Seek out for allies and partners.
Have a plan. Define specific outcomes you want to achieve.
Pick some easier tasks to accomplish first to create a positive trend and enthusiasm among others.

Ideas for how to raise disability awareness

Create posters of people enjoying human rights that include people with disabilities. Post them around your community. Add a slogan such as “Inclusion for All!” to the bottom of your posters.
Speak to your families and friends about the rights of persons with disabilities, including children, and what you have learned from the programme.
Demonstrate awareness through action. If you hear anyone talking disrespectfully of a person with disabilities say something to them. Remember always to educate others respectfully.
Approach store owners, schools, community buildings and ask that they put in a ramp or make their buildings accessible.
Create an organization or group that includes people with disabilities.
Document rights violations that you witness in your community in a safe manner (e.g., by keeping the names of the victims anonymous) and use these to raise awareness and to bring about change.
Approach your local or national newspapers and ask them to report on a story on the rights of persons with disabilities and the value of inclusion.
Create a newsletter or column in the local newspaper about disability rights.
Stand up for your rights! Self-advocacy can be the most powerful means of raising awareness. Achieve your rights, be independent, live in the community, participate in school and lead by example.
Speak out against barriers in your community and propose alternatives to remove them.
Create partnerships with decision-makers to get allies for your cause.