Disability is the central theme of this year’s “Diversity is you” campaign

The Pla de l’Estany County Council’s Social Welfare Area has begun preparations for the 3rd year of the campaign entitled “Diversity is you”. This year, it will revolve around disability and accessibility barriers.

The initiative came about in 2018 with the intention of going beyond one-off actions and organising an annual campaign which, month by month, would also generate public awareness on specific topics and provide a framework for activities carried out by different areas within the County Council. The first year’s theme revolved around the LGTBI community while the second year focused on racism. This year, it has been decided to focus on intellectual and functional disability.

This year will also be the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Pla de l’Estany Disability Panel, a cross-disciplinary body created to coordinate work in the field of disability. Its members are different organisations and services in the county that advocate the rights of people with disabilities in all fields of activity. Specifically, the Panel’s members are: the parents’ associations Associació Junts i Endavant and Associació Famílies Presents, the Fundació Estany, the Fundació Autisme Mas Casadevall, the Grup MIFAS, Granés Fundació, the Centre El Puig, the Educational Psychology Help team at the Pla de l’Estany Educational Service and the County Council’s Social Welfare Area.

The goal of the “Diversity is you” campaign is to transform the patronising, exclusionary perception of disabled people. To normalise it as simply an alternative way of being and acknowledge their right to be more independent and live life in equal conditions with the rest of society. Within the campaign, a number of activities have been organised throughout the year to take this message to the entire county. One of them will be to organise a film cycle halfway through the year with people who are experts in the subject. Another is the monthly dissemination of messages for reflection which will be published via free magazines, social media and communication media, and will also be sent to schools, libraries and other public facilities.