Saturday, December 3, marks the 30th annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, as acknowledged by the United Nations General Assembly. Here in Charlottetown, a group of local organizations representative of PEI’s disabled community has come together to recognize this day on PEI.

Events of the day will include a flag raising at City Hall on Friday, December 2, at 9 am and a panel discussion that will be held at the Fox & Crow at UPEI on Saturday, December 3, at 2 pm. All are welcome to attend.

The organizing committee, Disability CARE PEI (CARE stands for Celebration, Awareness, Representation, Education), is made up of representatives from the PEI CP Association, UPEI Accessibility Services, UPEI Student Union, Black Cultural Society of PEI, Health PEI, Spinal Cord Injury PEI, and PEERS Alliance. The group is being led by UPEI international student Antwaun Rolle. Rolle, originally from the Bahamas, is a third-year political science major with a deep interest in learning about developing nations. Rolle was born with cerebral palsy (CP)—a brain disorder that affects movement, muscle tone, and posture—and has recently decided to use his lived experience with CP to help him advocate for people living with all forms of disabilities.