(New Zealand Disability Strategy Objective 9: Support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture for disabled people)

Opportunities for disabled people to participate in leisure and recreation are increasingly acknowledged as being an integral part of their participation in the community. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises the importance of such opportunities in its inclusion of a specific article on this, Article 30: Participation in Cultural Life, Recreation and Sport.

Increasing the opportunities for disabled people to take part in leisure and recreation helps to improve their health and quality of life, as it does for non-disabled people; it also promotes their visibility in the community, and provides chances for disabled people and non-disabled people to get together.

As discussed in relation to Resourceful citizens: Getting healthy and staying healthy, Sport and Recreation New Zealand provided funding in 2008/2009, and will continue to do so over 2009 – 2012, for the Halberg Trust and Special Olympics New Zealand to support initiatives to get more disabled New Zealanders involved in and supporting sport and recreation.

The following actions will also help to increase disabled people’s opportunities for leisure and recreation:

• a resource document "Arts for All" launched in December 2009 by Creative New Zealand in partnership with Arts Access Aotearoa - a practical resource guide for arts organisations to encourage them to market the arts to disabled people (Ministry for Culture and Heritage)
• open rehearsals of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for blind people and the general public: its timing is still to be determined (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).