Encourage the emergence of a non-disabling society that respects and values the lives of people experiencing disability and supports integration within communities.

Key steps:

• Educate communities (including employers, educators, government agencies, media and service providers) on disability issues, focusing on development of local disability education networks, and destigmatisation programmes.
• Educate communities about their inclusion of older people experiencing disability, and the issues they face.
• Debate disability issues widely including: ethical and bioethical issues, the role of children in decision-making, parenting choices, abuse, the role of family and whānau in decision-making, use of language, Deaf culture, and Māori and Pacific concepts of disability.
• Ensure that publicly funded curriculum development and workforce training incorporates discussion of disability issues and involves people experiencing disability.

"When I was about one, a hearing specialist told my parents I was Deaf.

My Mum, Roimata, and my Dad, Chris, had always dreamed that their kids would grow up speaking te reo. The specialist told them that if they wanted me to speak te reo, my only chance would be an operation to restore some hearing. Then I could concentrate on spoken language and not have to learn sign.

At that time, my parents didn’t know anyone who was Deaf. What they did know was that they needed to get more information. Eventually they made contact with members of the Deaf community, who told them about Deaf as a culture in itself, and the need for me to be exposed to that culture, and learn the language of that culture.

My parents had to go out and seek that information - and that’s always going to be the case. But as a society, we don’t know much at all about disability issues, and for some reason we don’t seem to like to talk about them."

Matiu

Questions

6. How should communities and individuals be educated to be more aware of the ways that society disables people?

7. How can we increase debate on disability issues?