Some of Our Parts

The 2014 Disability Sport & Recreation Festival is Victoria’s premier event for the disability sport and recreation sector. Running from 1 to 7 December, this unique community event promotes and celebrates physically active lifestyles for all people of all abilities through participation in accessible and inclusive sport and recreation.

During the Disability Sport & Recreation Festival, sport and recreation providers across Victoria are opening their doors for people with disability, their families, friends and carers to ‘pop-in’ and try an activity.

Anyone who’s listened to Triple J will be familiar with the authoritative tones of newsreader Nas Campanella. What few people will be aware of, however, is that Campanella is blind.

The 26-year-old Sydneysider has been blind since she was six months old, when a rare abnormality caused the retinas to tear away from her eyes, leaving her able to see shadows and some light, but little else.

The Other Film Festival is the big party where everyone gets invited. The festival programs the very best new cinema about the lived experience of disability from around the world. The festival screens these films in the most accessible way possible, delivering global best practice in meeting the access requirements of all patrons. All speeches are Auslan interpreted, all films are captioned, all films are audio described and the venue is fully accessible. Inclusive, accessible and welcoming, the festival reveals how disability looks right now.

The Other Film Festival will run from the 3rd-7th December at the Melbourne Brian Centre,  Kenneth Myer Building, 30 Royal Parade (cnr Genetics Lane), University of Melbourne, Parkville (Melways Ref: 2B B7).

See the full program here.

It’s the end of another week (and hopefully the end of another exam for you guys! Here’s some disability related news to take you into the weekend.

• A letter to my wheelchair.
• The International Day of People with Disability is only around the corner! This year’s theme is Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology.
• A typeface designed specifically to assist dyslexic people read
• Here’s a quick guide on service dogs and small business
• Did you miss Quippings at the Fringe Festival?
• Passionate about disability and the arts? Join the Guardian‘s live webchat next week.
• What does this state election mean for you and your disability?
• What about the mental health of kids with intellectual disability?
• Another perspective on dying with dignity

Following the success of our student night for Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, we are pleased to offer an exclusive student night for Jean Paul Gaultier in the first week of the school term. An opportunity for senior secondary students and tertiary students to see this inspiring exhibition before it closes on 8 February.

The program will include pop up talks, fashion drawing with an artist, Auslan and audio describing tours, and a pre-event lecture at 5pm for VCE Studio Arts students (bookings essential).

Tickets at a special student price of $13. Individual tickets available for purchase on the evening (student ID required for student price) Bookings for groups of ten or more now open.

The more you know, the more skills you have in using things like technology or asserting your needs, the more likely you are to succeed. There are some great programs out there to assist people with disabilities in the workplace. Make sure you are prepared and knowledgeable for the workplace. This all starts at Work Experience. Don’t miss the opportunity!

Choosing Your Path. Disclosure: It’s A Personal Decision’ addresses these challenges for people with disabilities, employers and educators. The website provides substantial information about options and pathways that people with disabilities can use in disclosing their disability in post secondary education and employment environments. The website also articulates the role and responsibilities of employers and educators in relation to disclosure . ‘Choosing Your Path. Disclosure: It’s A Personal Decision’ is a web based, collaborative project, written and funded by the University of Western Sydney, Federation University and the National Disability Coordination Officer Program.

JobAccess is a free service providing help and workplace solutions for the employment of people with disability.

Happy Friday! The first week of exams is over! Hope everyone is taking some time out to look after yourself with study breaks.

Here are some fun things happening in the disability related world:

• Can a Deaf person also be a sign language interpreter? Sure can!
• Smells like sign language! (note, this video is ASL, not Auslan)
• Video games which open the door for the blind to play
• Disney petitioned to produce a film hero with Down’s syndrome
• Have you seen the trailer for The Theory of Everything?

Good luck with those exams!

There are few people who need the benefits of online shopping more than the disabled, but one blind woman says she is being discriminated against because of problems with the Coles website.

Gisele Mesnage is now taking on the supermarket giant in the courts and if she succeeds her lawyer said it could have implications for other websites.

Read more at ABC News.