Assembly marks International Day of Disabled People

A new structure will take shape at the Senedd on Thursday December 3 to represent the barriers disabled people face in our society.

The 8 foot wall will be part of proceedings for International Day of Disabled People. Throughout the event delegates will post examples of what barriers disabled people have to overcome in their daily lives. This year’s themes are disability hate crime, access to democracy, and access to information.

Presiding Officer for the Assembly Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas said. “We want people to engage with the work of the Assembly, to be able to find information about our official business, and to observe us in action, whether in person in the Senedd, at home on digital TV, or online at Senedd tv.”

“To ensure that we are an accessible parliament, we, as an organisation, have made arrangements and adjustments to ensure that our buildings and services are accessible to visitors. It is impossible to have an accessible democracy if people cannot access the very seat of that democracy.”

Also at the event, next year’s Disability Pride day will be officially launched. It will take place in June at Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff Bay. The same event held in 2008 attracted around ten thousand people.

Event begins in the milling area of Ty Hwyel building at 13:30. Workshops begin at 14:30 and the wall will be built in the Senedd at 17:30.

The event will finish at 19:45 after a speech from the Presiding Officer Lord Elis-Thomas.

An earlier launch event for Disability Pride will take place at Winter Wonderland in Cardiff city centre at 10:30. Further information can be found at http://www.disabilitypridecymru.org.uk/