The Department of Human Services is leveraging South Australians’ sense of humour in a new campaign to challenge perceptions of people living with disability.
Backing the See Me for Me campaign the Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook said the campaign would remind the community that we all have diverse tastes and opinions regardless of our physical abilities and other attributes.
“See Me for Me aims to shift the narrative of what it truly means to live with disability,” Ms Cook said.
“It celebrates the unexpected qualities, abilities and preferences of a diverse range of people with disability who live full and rich lives – not defined by disability,” she said.
The Minister said the campaign used humour to challenge unconscious bias and helped people rethink what was possible.
She said the campaign asked: Would you expect a person with vision impairment to be … a rev-head motor sport fanatic? A wheelchair user to be most embarrassed about … their taste in music? Or a person with down syndrome to shock his friends by … wearing crocs with socks?
“The campaign demonstrates that disability is a natural and ordinary part of human diversity and people with disability live full lives with interests, desires, and dreams – just like anyone living without disability,” Ms Cook said.
“The whole community has a role to play in improving access and inclusion, and it starts with challenging and changing ableist attitudes.
“We want to normalise access and inclusion in our communities – whether it be at home, school, sport or work – so it’s not just encouraged, it’s expected,” Ms Cook said.
The campaign video, with sound, and resources can be accessed on this PS News link.
