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Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities

12/02/2022

We celebrate and recognize International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) every year on December 3 since it was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1992. Organized under a new theme annually, this year’s is especially timely “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world.” 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, established to increase understanding of the lived experiences of persons with disabilities and mobilize communities around the world in the spirit of celebration, learning, optimism, and action.

At Saint Louis University, we are inspired by the Jesuit idea of ‘the magis’-which leads to excellence in all pursuits, Cura Personalis-the care and dignity of the individual, and concept of educating the whole person while being with and for others. As persons with disabilities represent one billion people worldwide (one in seven people globally) and a growing number of scholars and colleagues across our SLU communities, we are called to apply our own excellence in innovation to transform our world into an accessible and equitable one. 

In the United States, persons with disabilities became a federally protected minority group in 1973 with the enactment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and later gained access to further civil rights protections with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. In the spirit of learning and celebration, we recognize and honor the legacy of the late Lois Curtis.

An African American artist, advocate, and civil rights champion with developmental and intellectual disabilities (in addition to schizophrenia), Curtis was a plaintiff in the 1999 Olmstead Decision and passed this November. The Olmstead Decision was a landmark case for persons with disabilities in the United States that upheld the ADA guidance that prohibits public entities for discriminating against persons with disabilities by reason of their disability — and applied it to institutional settings. 

Our living, learning, and laboring communities are disability expansive, cross cultural in nature, and our journeys and lived experiences with disability is complex. To our SLU scholars, staff, and faculty with disabilities (apparent and non apparent)-we celebrate and honor you! To our SLU community that are parents, guardians, and caretakers of persons and children with disabilities, we celebrate you as well as key members of our community that play vital roles in building access and equity with and for the community.

We celebrate our own Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources (CADR), whose mission is to foster equitable experiences for students with disabilities at Saint Louis University. The Center provides academic and housing accommodations for students, supports faculty’s implementation of accommodations within the classroom, and advocates for accessibility campus-wide.

To learn more about International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations shares more on this year’s theme, alignment towards global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and additional resources here. SLU will be participating in a virtual commemorative event hosted by the United Nations on Saturday, Dec. 3, inclusive of three interactive dialogues across the following themes:       

Submitted by the Division for Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement