International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December 2022
Today, the world population is over 7 billion people and more than one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability; 80 per cent live in developing countries.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities promotes the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities at every level of society and development and raises awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic, and cultural life. The observance of the Day also aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.
TU Dublin Celebration
TU Dublin will celebrate the event on Friday, 2 December, when St. Laurence's Church, Grangegorman campus, will light up in purple in recognition of the Day. The turning on of the lights will take place at 4pm.
More about IDPD 2022
This year's IDPD theme is - Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world.
Inspired by the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly opening on 13 September under the theme, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”, and in recognition that the world is at a critical moment in the history of the United Nations, it is time to act and find joint solutions in building a more sustainable and resilient world for all and for the generations to come.
The complex and interconnected crises facing humanity today, including the shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other countries, a tipping point in climate change, all pose humanitarian challenges of an unprecedented nature, as well as threats to the global economy.
Most often, in moments of crisis, people in vulnerable situations, such as persons with disabilities, are the most excluded and left behind. In line with the central premise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “leave no one behind”, it is crucial for governments and public and private sectors to collaboratively find innovative solutions for and with persons with disabilities to make the world a more accessible and equitable place.