About
International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is held on 3 December each year.
IDPwD is a United Nations sanctioned day that is celebrated internationally. It aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate their achievements and contributions.
The Australian Government has been supporting IDPwD since 1996 and provides funds to promote and raise awareness of the day around Australia.
Information on how individuals and organisations can get involved in the day and how to break down barriers (both structural and attitudinal) for people with disability can be found on this website.
The annual International Day of People with Disability theme
Each year the UN announces a theme to observe for International Day of People with Disability. The annual theme provides an overarching focus on how society can strive for inclusivity through the removal of physical, technological and attitudinal barriers for people with disability. This has been occurring since 1992 when the General Assembly proclaimed 3 December as the International Day of Disabled Persons.
The theme for International Day of People with Disability for 2019 ‘Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda’. According to the United Nations, 2019’s theme focuses on the empowerment of persons with disabilities for inclusive, equitable and sustainable development as envisaged in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which pledges to ‘leave no one behind’ and recognizes disability as a cross-cutting issues, to be considered in the implementation of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The National Disability Strategy 2010–2020
In Australia, the National Disability Strategy 2010–2020 commits all governments to a nationwide approach aimed at improving the lives of people with disability, their families and carers. The Strategy’s ten-year national framework for reform focuses on better inclusion for people with disability and seeks to create a society that enables people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal citizens.
Today, countries all around the world celebrate the day.