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Australia: Videos showcase achievements of people with disabilities

Graphic: Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes speaks at the launch

The 20th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act has been celebrated with the launch of twenty short films by Australia’s Governor-General.

The twentieth anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act has been celebrated with the launch of twenty short films by Australia's Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO.

Called Twenty Years:Twenty Stories, the Australian Human Rights Commission, in partnership with the Sydney Community Foundation, made the films to show how people have used the law to change their lives and the lives of others.

The Disability Discrimination Act provides Australians with disabilities – and their relatives or associates – with the opportunity to pursue a complaint if they are treated less favourably than other people in a range of areas of public life.

Going to school, catching a bus, watching a movie or entering a building are things we do every day. But some of us have had to fight hard to be able to do them, Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes said.

He said the films show that the biggest barrier Australians with a disability face is not the disability itself, but negative attitudes towards disability.

Ms Bryce said the film series "reaches into our hearts, tugging at every emotion we have".

"It is also of great practical import, filled with constructive advice and valuable information for the way forward."

Twenty Years:Twenty Stories is available at: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/twentystories/index.html

Date: 5 March 2013

Source: Australian Human Rights Commission


Image credits

  1. Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes speaks at the launch - Australian Human Rights Commission/Francesca Diaco Photography