Some of Our Parts

Happy Friday (again!) – these long weekends and short weeks can stay! Here are some links to take you through:

• The inspiring A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story premiered at SXSW last month.
• After a transgender diva and a bearded drag act, a group of middle-aged punk rockers with learning disabilities could be the next performers to challenge prejudice at the Eurovision song contest.
• Check out Jackie Hagen’s comedic celebrity take on her “stump”
• Seems you can now use the same technology that Stephen Hawkings does to speak with facial expressions – for free!
• Sensory gardens are outdoor spaces designed to stimulate the senses and increase awareness of the body.
• Not everybody wants to be “fixed” – an insight into living deafnesss
• New York – Glamazon Amputees.
• In March and April 2015, the National Gallery of Victoria will be offering free access tours of their general collection.

Monash Alumni and CEO (Chief Enabling officer of I CAN Network, an organisation empowering young Australians with autism with an “I CAN” attitude, has written an article on the way in which the education system  could better support students with autism by turning their attention to individual strengths.

“I have met kids on the spectrum across 140 schools. I have seen some great practice and some terrible practice. I have found that the strengths of students with autism include our intense focus, memory retention, attention to detail and, for some, visual/linguistic perception. Often, these strengths are specialised around certain subjects. When I was nine, I had no care for my brother’s interest in AFL, but I could tell you everything about Europe’s royal families”

Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Sydney Opera House lit blue on April 2, 2015, the United Nations' World Autism Awareness Day. Photo: Christopher Pearce

PAID INTERNSHIPS WITH PwC IN SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, BRISBANE, ADELAIDE AND PERTH

APPLICATIONS CLOSE 6 APRIL 2015

Stepping Into… is a paid internship program specifically designed for students with a disability, who want paid, hands-on work experience that is relevant to their degree and chosen field of study. We have been successfully assisting students to obtain paid internships since 2005.

Australian Network on Disability (AND) are partnering with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to attract successful candidates who want to gain meaningful work experience within a range of disciplines next summer. PwC are pioneers within their field and are taking a leadership role in providing internship opportunities to students with disabilities.

• Internship opportunities with PwC are available in the following business and services groups:
• Assurance – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth
• Tax and Legal, Corporate Tax – Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane
• Consulting – National

To be eligible:

• Be in your penultimate or final year of study;
• Be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident;
• Be registered with Disability Services at your university.

How to apply:

Complete and submit the Application Form, along with all of the required documents, via email to applications@and.org.au

Applications close at 11:59pm AEST Monday 6 April 2015 (Late applications will not be considered)

Do you have a learning difficulty such as dyslexia? Are you interested in meeting other adults who are similar to you?

Speld Vic’s Adult Support Group provides adults with learning difficulties the opportunity to meet other like-minded individuals, share experiences and build-up a social network. Speld’s Patron and notable dyslexic, Keith Houghton will be the driving force behind the Adult Support Group, where people can share their experiences and stories.

“If you are dyslexic you are not alone. You may not want to come out but you are not alone.”

Register your attendance here.

Wednesday, 1 April 2015
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

SPELD Victoria Inc.
60 High Street
Preston, VIC 3072

It’s been a really busy couple of weeks, but here are some disability related link to take you through the long weekend.

• A Critical Disability Studies Workshop is being run at La Trobe University on Wednesday 8 April 2015
• It’s Autism Awareness Day! And these young people are challenging media stereotypes to see the person behind the disability in some beautiful photos.
• And Tracey Spicer suggests that we need to change the way that we talk about Autism.
• Been to any great gigs lately? Thought about how venues and bands can work together to improve access?
• A fascinating read on Disability and Technology at Slate.
• ‘I can have sex and I can have babies. I am a cheap drunk.’ When a performer challenges her audience.

HAPPY LONG WEEKEND!

Luke King and Geoff Riding are putting their hands up to teach a weekly class in the basics of Australian Sign Language. Learn how to communicate in everyday Auslan over six Thursday evening classes, which has got to be one of the coolest skills a person can have. Be quick as spaces are limited.

26 March 2015 – 30 April 2015
Thursdays 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Schoolhouse Studios, 81 Rupert Street, Collingwood

Schoolhouse Residents $90 / Non-residents $120 Limited places.

• Feminism and Disability at the Wheeler Centre
• Studies in Ableism: Illuminating Disability Jurisprudence – a public lecture by the Melbourne Law School
• Designers at Tokyo Fashion Week are stepping up for models with physical disabilities
• Chantelle Winnie really is hot right now
• Get Out There – literally!
• Have you got any more questions? Disclosing disability and getting the job
• Meet the heart melting Winter, Autism Assistance Dog.

I’ll let Iggy take it from here…

beyondblue is bringing its big blue bus ‘Roadshow Rhonda’ to Monash University, Clayton for Survival Week! Currently on a 50,000km journey around Australia to encourage and support people everywhere to ‘Take 1 step’ for better mental health, the beyondblue team will set up at Monash University, Clayton:

Wednesday 25th March
11am-1pm
Free BBQ and activities
Law Building Forecourt, 15 Ancora Imparo Way
No bookings required

The visit is a great opportunity to find out more about depression and anxiety and where to get support. For more details, visit www.beyondblue.org.au/take1step

The Hallmark Disability Research Initiative presents a free one hour lecture with speakers Beth Gaze and Lisa Waddington. This lecture will cover current disability discrimination law for European and Australian jurisdictions. It will then cover the current major gaps in law and suggestions for future law reform. There will be a discussion on the future directions in the field of disability discrimination law.

Professor Lisa Waddington

Maastricht University

Lisa Waddington holds the European Disability Forum Chair in European Disability Law. Professor Waddington’s principal area of interest lies in European and comparative disability law, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and European and comparative equality law in general. In 2000, she received an ASPASIA award from the NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). Between 2004 and 2007 she coordinated a large EU research and education project on European non-discrimination law. Professor Waddington is currently a visiting professor at the Melbourne Law School.

Professor Beth Gaze

Beth Gaze is a professor in the Melbourne Law School and has published extensively on anti-discrimination law, including employment discrimination, and on tribunals, and has conducted socio-legal research in both areas. She has acted as an expert adviser to parliament and is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Discrimination and the Law. With Anna Chapman, she is presently engaged in a major project on the intersection between provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and anti-discrimination law.

The event is FREE an you can register here.

Room 1.09, Level One,

Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham Street

Carlton, Vic 3053

Australia

Tuesday, 24 March 2015 from 4:45 PM to 6:00 PM

ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival is the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. Co-founder, Isaac Zablocki talks to NPR about disability, media representation and cliches.