Celebrating the Paralympics and campaigning for #DisabilityRights – CBM supports WeThe15 campaign

As the eyes of the world turn to the Paralympics in Tokyo and we prepare celebrate the incredible achievements of athletes and sportspeople with disabilities from around the world, CBM UK welcomes the launch of WeThe15, a new global campaign to end discrimination against all people with disabilities.

15% of the world’s population are people with disability – 1.2 billion people in total.  And yet too often, people with disabilities are overlooked or ignored, denied access to rights and opportunities such as education, health care or the chance to earn a living. For over 100 years, CBM has been working to build a more inclusive world, where all people with disabilities can enjoy their human rights and fulfil their potential; in that time we’ve seen great progress, but there is still a long way to go – and the Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted starkly this year the inequalities faced by people with disabilities around the world.

Mary Keogh, Director of Disability Inclusive Development at CBM Global says:

“Building international solidarity is critical for advancing disability rights, the #WeThe15 campaign presents a good opportunity for organisations of persons with disabilities and allies, such as CBM Global, to advocate for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities.”

WeThe15 is led by the International Disability Alliance and the International Paralympic Committee together with partners from the worlds of sport, human rights, policy, culture and entertainment. The campaign aims to act as a global movement to publicly campaign for disability visibility, accessibility and inclusion. It was launched on 19 August and will be featured at the Paralympics Opening ceremony on 24 August.

WeThe15 will raise awareness, change attitudes and create more opportunities, as well as improve accessibility by:

• Putting persons with disabilities at the heart of the diversity and inclusion agenda.
• Implementing a range of activities over the next decade to drive social inclusion for persons with disabilities.
• Breaking down societal and systemic barriers that are preventing persons with disabilities from fulfilling their potential and being active members of society.
• Ensuring greater awareness, visibility, and representation of persons with disabilities.

Find out more about WeThe15 here (open link in new tab).