Historical & Current Events dictionary

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

International Day of People with Disabilities [ in-ter-nash-uh-nl dey uhv pee-puhl with dis-uh-bil-i-teez ]

What is International Day of Persons with Disabilities?

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an annual event devoted to raising awareness about the experiences of people with disabilities and to promoting their wellbeing and rights.

The focus of the day encompasses people with physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, and other disabilities. Observance often involves educational events. These often highlight the unique barriers they face to inclusion in all parts of life, including work and healthcare, among many others.

Note: While the name of the day uses the phrase persons with disabilities, not all people prefer such phrasing, with some instead preferring disabled people or other terms. Phrasing like persons with disabilities is often referred to as person-first language, while disabled persons is an example of what’s often called identity-first language. Person-first language literally mentions the person first, before any characteristics, as a way of avoiding defining people by such characteristics. Preferences for phrasing considered identity-first language are often based on the idea that such characteristics are an inherent and important part of a person’s identity that should be valued put first (especially in order to avoid any implication that such characteristics are a negative). It’s always best to use the terms that an individual person prefers.

⚡️When is International Day of Persons With Disabilities?

International Day of People With Disabilities is observed each year on December 3.

Related words

Autism Awareness Month, Autism Acceptance Month

Where does International Day of Persons with Disabilities come from?

The day that became International Day of People with Disabilities was first declared by the United Nations in 1992. It grew out of earlier observances, including the International Year of Disabled Persons (1982) and the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons (from 1983–1992). The day was originally called International Day of Disabled Persons. The name was changed to International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2008.

Examples of International Day of Persons with Disabilities

This year International Day of Persons with Disabilities is highlighting that not all disabilities are visible. Disabilities are diverse and they can be dynamic. I have #EDS and I never know what my day is going to be like 1/
@HaleyABranch, December 3, 2020
International day of people with disabilities. I see you. This is my first year as an amputee but I was disabled for decades before they amputated. It was unseen. So I see you. I understand. I advocate for you and for myself and the many barriers we still face.
@andreajwilliams, December 3, 2020
Nearly 15 percent of the world's population has some kind of disability according to the World Report on Disability (WHO), making people with disabilities the largest minority group in the world. And yet, people with disabilities still receive so little representation in the media. The International Day of Persons With Disabilities, December 3, is an annual observance started in 1992 by the UN General Assembly that aims to "promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society." In 2020, that includes social media.
Madison Lawson, Allure, December 3, 2020
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Who uses International Day of Persons with Disabilities?

Did you know … ?

  • It is estimated that more than 1 billion people have disabilities—around 15 percent of the world’s population.

What are other words used in discussion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities?

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of International Day of Persons with Disabilities like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of International Day of Persons with Disabilities that will help our users expand their word mastery.