Every year on the third Thursday of October, a purple/ blue glow can be seen across Canada. Last year, Northern Lights College’s Dawson Creek campus glowed too!
On Thursday, October 17, NLC and other locations will be awash in purple and blue in support of disabled working Canadians.
Last year, NLC was one of almost 700 locations, in almost 150 communities, across the country that were alit in purple and blue. This year, in BC alone, there will be at least 176 locations in 20 communities that are committed to lighting up.
Light It Up! For NDEAM® (National Disability Employment Awareness Month), was started in 2020 by the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN), and has since gone national through collaboration between ODEN, the Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE), Mentor Ability Canada and Jobs Ability Canada, as well as many supportive businesses and communities.
According to ODEN’s website, “Light It Up! For NDEAM® spotlights the many ways people who have a disability contribute to businesses and their communities, helping companies be successful and competitive.”
There is more work to do in Canada and the world to achieve true inclusion, but in 2022, Employment and Social Development Canada produced the first ever Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan. “. . .[The] Action Plan aims to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Canada. The work required to achieve this — to make Canada inclusive, fair, and free of physical, societal, and attitudinal barriers — will be extensive.”
This goal is a large one, but workers with disabilities forge ahead, day to day, making their way in life. Doing so without barriers and denigration is truly a hopeful vision.
Check out ODEN’s gallery of the event across Canada!
We’re proud to be doing it again this year, and you can too! Check out this link for more information.
LightItUpForNDEAM
LightItUpForDEAM
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