All have top role to play

Disability Action Week promises plenty

CELEBRATING and building inclusive communities will be the key focus of this year’s Disability Action Week.

Cairns Regional Council has partnered with several local organisations to present a program of activities designed to celebrate differing abilities within the community.

Kicking off today with a We Will Remember Forum, the council has teamed up with Innisfail State High School and Education Queensland to build awareness of the contribution of Australia’s armed services.

Mayor Bob Manning said, although the week officially started on Sunday, the council was already on board.

“We’re getting in early with a special forum today involving high school students, who will explore some very important themes around the experiences of people who have served our country,” he said.

A series of inclusive events for the whole community will follow until Thursday to encourage everyone to think about how they can help to build a more inclusive community.

On Tuesday, a free Inclusive Games Day will be held at Fogarty Park where people of all ages and abilities can have a go at sports such as sailing, NRL, AFL, cricket, softball and tennis.

The games are a joint effort between Arc Disability Servi- ces, Life Without Barriers and Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland.

“The aim is for those clubs to showcase that they can offer sports to everybody,” Arc Disability Services programs general manager Sheridan Lawton said.

“It’s all about knowledge and awareness that people can have a go at anything.”

Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland Assistant Human Rights Officer Greetje Mann-Baas said it was the first time the event had been moved outdoors.

“This year we decided to focus on sports readily available in the Cairns region and showcase all these sports that can be inclusive and available for people with disabilities,” she said. The theme for Disability Action Week is everyone has a role to play.

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