Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Delving into ‘Disability Day’
TOMORROW marks the UN International Day for Persons with Disabilities. Artscape Theatre CEO Marlene Le Roux recently embarked on discussions around how to better the lives of persons with disabilities and make inclusivity more than just a temporary discussion.
In a statement, she gave insight into the challenges and how to overcome them.
Le Roux contracted poliomyelitis at a young age, which left her with a weakened leg, leading to her strong advocacy for women and girls with disabilities.
With the current 7th AfriNEAD Conference and 9th ArtsAbility Festival happening at the Artscape until tomorrow, the activist delved into what December 3 means those like her.
“What does this day really mean for people who, like me, live with disability on a daily basis, having to deal with ongoing discrimination meted out in the workplace and society at large, because we struggle to see, walk, hear, speak, with a constant uphill battle for recognition of our skills and expertise?
“Is this a day for the sole purpose of ticking a box, in order to say that at least on this day we thought of people who live with disability, to soothe our conscience? Or is it possible for this very important day to be a start of 365 days of recognising, being aware of, making every effort to include, and implementing real change to ensure equal rights for all persons living with different forms of disability?”
While the Artscape Theatre homes the two big events, Le Roux highlighted how accommodating the arts hub has become, since inclusivity became a priority. She touched on how transformation has occurred since the venue adopted a new name from the former ‘Nico Malan Theatre’.
She referred to ‘The Global Goals’ targets to describe her motivation of change: “Our bold changes of real implementation, informed by the Sustainable Development Goals 8 of ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ and 10: ‘Reduced Inequalities’.
“Artscape has utilised a transformative lens to inform its engagement as a public institution. These transitions have resulted in the current positioning of Artscape as an inclusive, transformed and transforming space.”
Le Roux listed the notable changes to the Artscape Theatre, which started with a change in HR policies enabling an inclusive environment and enforced a shift in the mindset of cultures and employee wellness, including duty of care and leadership style.
The theatre also boasts personalised amenities to make things more accessible for persons with disabilities.
Among them is the lowering bars for wheelchair users, the carpet for partially-sighted persons to navigate their way around the different theatres, and the loop system for hard of hearing to cut out the white noise in the theatres. Get festival tickets at Webtickets.