Local authorities will host virtual meetings, at 11am tomorrow with their local disabilities groups.
Citizens will be able to highlight access issues from their lived experience of disability.
However, this year they will not take to the streets due to Covid-19. Instead they will meet virtually with the designers and decision makers on their local authority. Working together, action plans will be produced to tackle local access problems.
In Galway city, Sharon Lawless, Galway City Council access officer, will co-host with Access for All, Galway City Partnership, Galway City Community Network, and Disability Federation of Ireland, a virtual meeting that will listen to the lived experiences of people with disabilities in relation to accessibility issues in the city.
Lisa Fenwick, community development officer, Disability Federation of Ireland said; “There is nothing as powerful as hearing about access issues directly from those experiencing them. Especially when we will have people with the skill and resources to address those issues there on Make Way Day at our virtual meeting.”
Community warden of the Galway City Council, Tommy Harper, said; “Make Way Day gives every single one of us an opportunity to be more mindful of the 10,133 people with disability living in Galway city. Vehicles parked across dropped kerbs or very close to a dropped kerb restricts access to wheelchairs / prams etc.”
A spokesperson for the campaign said; “The objective this year is to build a digital Make Way Day story. Our hope is that this online version of the event will collapse the distance between people and offer solidarity to people with disabilities who continue to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This we believe will build a sense of community and belonging for people with disabilities in your city.
“Make Way Day is striving to positively impact the lives of people with disabilities and reflect a culture where people with disabilities are given optimum choice, control and respect.”
