Red River College’s Disability and Community Support program and its Diversity and Intercultural Services department came together this week to raise awareness of the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

On Wed., Dec 3, students and staff gathered in the Library hallway at the Notre Dame Campus, where they offered passers-by holiday baking. Others fanned out across campus, distributing stickers and bookmarks with powerful messages.

The bookmarks were made to address how societal attitudes can present a barrier to those faced by people with disabilities in achieving full acceptance and integration in society. They offered ideas for appropriate and respectful language related to disabilities, while also addressing less respectful terminology.

“The goal of the event was to raise awareness about local issues such as Manitoba’s Accessibility legislation,” says Cheryl Martens, lead instructor of Disability and Community Support. “By connecting with the RRC community face-to-face, we hoped to focus on awareness on a local, global and personal level.”

Disability and Community Support student Breanne Borowski says she was very pleased to receive a positive response from students at RRC.

“The event gave us an opportunity to get an advocacy movement in place and step outside the classroom to get our College involved,” she said.

The theme of this year’s international event was Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology.

Click here to learn more about the Disability and Community Support program at RRC, and here to learn more about Diversity and Intercultural Services.