Last night locations in Dublin and Belfast were among 125 around the world to light up purple for the launch of WeAre15, a global campaign set to last ten years and transform the lives of the 15 per cent of the world’s population that have a form of disability.
The International Paralympic Committee, Special Olympics, the United Nations and many more global organisations are coming together for the first time to end discrimination towards persons with disabilities and act as a global movement publicly campaigning for disability visibility, accessibility, and inclusion.
Spearheaded by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and International Disability Alliance (IDA), WeThe15 brings together the biggest coalition ever of international organisations from the worlds of sport, human rights, policy, business, arts, and entertainment. Together they will work with governments, businesses, and the public over the next decade to initiate change for the world’s largest marginalised group who make up 15% of the global population.
Harnessing sport’s unique ability to engage massive global audiences and create positive change, the IPC, Special Olympics, Invictus Games Foundation and the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (Deaflympics) have teamed up for the first time in history.
The four organisations will use the profile of their international sport events and athlete communities to further raise awareness and understanding of the issues facing persons with disabilities around the globe.
Last night the Purple light shone on the Mansion House, Wood Quay and City Hall in Dublin and on the Titanic Building (above) and Belfast City Hall on the island of Ireland.
It also shone on the Old Walls of Jerusalem, the Empire State Building, the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo, the Coliseum in Rome, Edinburgh Castle and the Niagra Falls.
It is a campaign which we will follow with interest over the next ten years.
Here is a little more about what it hopes to achieve.
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