People with disabilities from all over Western Australia came together on 19 and 20 June at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle for one of the world’s few disability led conferences. The theme for our third conference, “Participate and Contribute”, once again drew from the Western Australian State Disability Strategy 2020–2030, emphasising the importance of empowering people with disabilities to fully engage in all aspects of life. This includes opportunities to be involved in education, employment, volunteering, and cultural and civic activities.
This theme is especially important because it shifts the focus from passive inclusion to active contribution. Recognising that people with disability have valuable skills, perspectives, and experiences that enrich society.
In keeping with the practice we initiated at our first conference in 2020, a minimum of 80% of our speakers and suppliers are individuals with disabilities. The conference was planned and governed by our amazing CRG, which is comprised exclusively of people with disabilities. Thank you to Emily Edgar, Karen Harvey, Kate Heaslip, Gia Hilditch, Stuart Jenkinson, Dureshawar Khan, Sam Leiw, Anne Oliver, Tanya Orchard, Kushagra Rathore, Helena Rusanen, Rachel Sambell, Shazzy Tharby and Briana Toy for all the hours of work you put in.
Thank you to the Department of Communities, our event sponsor for the conference. Without their support, the conference would not have been possible. Thank you also to Lotterywest, who once again supported us with a grant that allowed us to subsidise tickets for people with disability and have people from rural, regional and remote WA attend the conference.
PWdWA would also like to thank our Gold Sponsors, the City of Fremantle and Youth Disability Advocacy Network (who also sponsored our Networking event). Our Silver sponsor, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia. Bronze Sponsor, Perth Airport and our table sponsors, Peer Pathways, Health Consumers Council and Curtin University. Thanks also to Community Commercial Insurance for their Community Underwriting grant.
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