The University of Waterloo is coming together to raise awareness about this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). The theme for 2021 is Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible, and sustainable post-COVID-19 world. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted persons with disabilities, such as limiting access to healthcare and supports, when they already face many barriers in daily life. It has also driven innovation that has allowed for equal access in unexpected ways, such as video meetings with audio support and closed captioning and asynchronous learning for students. The experience gained during the pandemic can educate us on how recognizing and embedding the needs of persons with disabilities in a post-COVID-19 world can drive innovation to build systems that are better for everybody. Dr. Liu, Dean, Faculty of Health notes, “More than ever, it’s important that persons with disabilities participate and have leadership roles to help ensure that our campus is equitable, and in turn, future generations of students and scholars experience a more equitable society.” Learn more about how the pandemic and resulting innovations have impacted members of the Waterloo community.
Thursday, December 2, 2021