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Disability awareness to be celebrated at Mid ValleyA variety of ‘Disability Awareness’ activities will take place at Mid Valley Shopping Centre on Thursday 4 December to celebrate this year’s International Day of People with a Disability. By Latrobe City Council - 28th November 2003 - Back to News The theme of the day is ‘Be Informed. Not Afraid’, and activities such as shopping in a wheelchair, communicating with simulated hearing loss and vision awareness tasks will take place in the Food Court between 11am and 2pm.
Latrobe City’s Rural Access Project Officer, Bill Lawler, said that the day is about increasing disability awareness in the local community.
"A community forum was held in July this year to seek input from people with a disability to decide on activities for the event. Participants in the forum thought that there needed to be more disability awareness in the community to help people understand what it is like for people to live with a disability.
"The focus of this year’s event will be to inform the community about a range of different disabilities via participation in ‘hands on’ activities and information in free fact sheets," Mr Lawler said.
The winners of the Disability Awareness Quiz, which has been published in the last four editions of the Latrobe Valley Express, will be announced at 1pm on the day by ABC Radio presenter Jo Spargo.
People who bring along a copy of the International Day of People with a Disability advertisement, which appears in the Express on Monday 1 December, will also go into a draw for a prize.
"The United Nations has declared December 3 International Day of People with a Disability, and celebrations are held around the world to celebrate, either on or around the day," Mr Lawler said.
"A local Steering Committee made up of representatives from Latrobe City Council, Gippsland Vocational Training Unit, Deaf Access Victoria, Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, Gippsland Disability Resource Council, Gippsland Citizen Advocacy, Centrelink and Latrobe Personnel have been planning the 2003 event over the last few months," Mr Lawler said.
"We hope that people in Latrobe City take the chance to increase their disability awareness by attending Thursday’s activities," Mr Lawler concluded.
For further details contact Rural Access Project Officer Bill Lalwer, on 1300 367 700.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com

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