Advocacy in motion
Canada’s provincial premiers recently signed a declaration to improve accessibility and inclusion for Canadians with disabilities. I hope it doesn’t gather dust.
“What makes something significant enough for a museum collection – and what gets overlooked?”
Questions like these framed our family’s conversations as we toured the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) this summer. Together, we viewed countless exhibits, from prehistoric fossils and an ancient Egyptian cat mummy to First Nations art and modern furniture, testifying to years and years of life on Earth.
The latest buzz
One of our favourite ROM exhibits was “Bees: A Story of Survival,” created by the National Museums Liverpool in partnership with award-winning artist Wolfgang Buttress. We learned of the remarkable story of bee adaptation and survival and the amazing relationship these very small creatures share with us and the natural world.
Sometimes our family feels like a living exhibit when we venture out. While I’m curious to see where Rachel and Janneke settle their eyes in a place like the ROM, I’m also catching the long stares from other visitors at our girls in their wheelchairs. Most of the expressions suggest innocent interest; I try not to interpret and instead invite conversation, with the hope of normalizing disability and difference.
Man in motion
Over forty years ago, after sustaining a spinal cord injury in an accident, Canadian athlete and activist Rick Hansen was inspired to create awareness of disability and normalize differences on a global scale. In March of 1985, he began his Man in Motion tour, which would take him in his wheelchair through 34 countries across four continents and raise $26 million for disability initiatives. What began with one individual grew into a global movement for accessibility and disability inclusion.
In recognition of the 40th anniversary of Rick Hansen’s Man In Motion World Tour this year, an agreement of historical significance was made in Charlottetown, P.E.I. At the annual Council of the Federation in July, Canada’s provincial premiers signed a declaration committing to working together to improve accessibility and inclusion for Canadians with disabilities.
Collective agreement
The memorandum of understanding the premiers signed intends to advance accessibility nationwide by coordinating barrier-free standards across the country, applying accessibility best practices to publicly funded construction and advocating for a National Accessibility Retrofit Fund to help make existing spaces more accessible. It also means supporting a national Man In Motion Day to celebrate progress and raise awareness of accessibility in action across Canada.
While it’s an agreement that inspires change and might be museum-worthy at some point, I’m worried it will gather dust. It was disappointing not to see national coverage of this collective commitment to do better. Unless you have an algorithm that sweeps in news from the disability world, you might have missed it.
It was disappointing not to see national coverage of this collective commitment to do better.
Take note
Reflecting on the bees and Rick Hansen’s work, it’s evident that survival and participation aren’t just about how well an individual adapts; it’s also about whether the world around them adapts. Whether or not the collective declaration becomes historically important remains to be seen. And hopefully not overlooked.
