Westmeath County Council, in conjunction with Westmeath Disability working group members, were delighted to be take part in the National Make Way Day 2023 campaign, which took place on, Friday last, September 22.
‘Make Way Day’ is a campaign that brings the disability and wider community together to consider the needs of people with disabilities in the public spaces we all share.
It is led by the Disability Federation of Ireland and is a unique collaboration across Ireland and the voluntary and local government sectors. But most of all it’s about people with disabilities.
The core aim of ‘Make Way Day’ is to make the public aware of an issue that is fully within their power to change. It’s about one impactful, co-ordinated and decisive day of action.
Leading the charge are people with disabilities, Westmeath County Council, Westmeath Community Development, Independent People with Disabilities, Athlone Access Awareness, Irish Wheelchair Association, Mental Health Mullingar, Airc Midlands and the local Garda. The organisations, armed with an online tool that was specifically designed for Make Way Day, will be highlighting obstacles that block the way and complicate the lives of people with disabilities.
“Hey, this blocks my way!” is the core message on ‘Make Way Day’.
Access is the most basic of all disability rights. The public footpaths are for everyone, and we can all agree on that. In a wider context, this one day focuses the mind on people with disabilities, their lives, and needs.
This year the areas targeted in Westmeath were Athlone, Moate, Kilbeggan, Rochfortbridge and Mullingar.
The campaign was phenomenally successful last year, reaching over 1,000,000 people on social media and appearing on RTE news bulletins across the day.
