3 December is the United Nations International Day of People with Disability. It’s a day that’s marked around the world and has been acknowledged in Australia for more than 30 years, since 1992. Here in Canberra, 3 December 2025 will mark one year since a groundbreaking decision by the ACT Government to hand the management and messaging of I-Day, as it’s known here in Canberra, over to people with disabilities, making the ACT the only State or Territory where I-Day is in complete community control.
In the ACT, I-Day is now managed by the ACT disability community and hosted by Advocacy for Inclusion and Women with Disabilities ACT, with oversight from a Steering Committee selected from the community with a majority of people with disability.
Since the start of the year, the steering committee has been busy putting together a program of events that speaks to themes and circumstances facing people with disabilities in 2025. This includes a great deal of change and uncertainty, and a rising level of hate speech and disinformation directed at some in the community at home and abroad.
According to Ravi Krishnamurthy JP and Taryn Lee, two spokespeople for the committee, the new program reflects months of deliberation and a determination to root celebrations in the here and now.
Ravi says, “This year’s agenda encourages open conversation on topics such as how misinformation about disability spreads, its real-world impacts on employment and wellbeing. We are also keen to build on learnings from other communities, including the multicultural community.”
Taryn adds, “Safety, dignity, and truth are everyone’s responsibility. Governments, organisations and citizens can each play their part in upholding dignity and respect. We’re creating space for people to commit to shared action. We can all do something.”
According to AFI co-chair Craig Wallace, “an array of events will invite people to take part in dialogue and also find ways to open their own services, businesses and minds to people with disabilities on I-Day”. It’s about “ideas, but it’s also about much more than that – we’re providing practical ways to forge a welcoming community,” Craig says.
A powerful dialogue … with a great special guest
A must-see online event from 12 noon on 3 December will be MCed by the ABC’s Ellen Fanning, known to viewers and listeners from ABC Radio and ABC’s The Drum, which will invite Canberrans to open their minds, savour creative works, arts and voices and reach for change.
Halting Hate, Finding Kindness: Rebooting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the 2020s will open with the launch of IDAY in the ACT by the acclaimed actor Michael Theo. Michael is the breakout star of ABC’s Love on the Spectrum and Austin.
His dapper style, hilarious one-liners, big heart and warm personality made him an instant fan favourite both in Australia and internationally, where he earned a legion of overseas fans, including Ellen DeGeneres, appearing on her US talk show Ellen in 2021.
Michael will be followed by a special message from Professor Nicolas Levrat, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and a thought-provoking panel including Professor Gerard Goggin, Dr Ashleigh Haw, Professor Nicole Asquith and AFI Policy Head Craig Wallace.
Provoked by discussion and art in the opening ceremony, people of influence in the city will examine the impacts for discrimination, the economy and jobs and mental health and violence while a closing plenary will ask whether it’s possible to make the reboot we need as we push towards the ACT’s first ever I-Day Declaration – a call for action and legacy work across the remaining 364 days of the year.
Striking words and images
The event will also see the presentation of a lively and provoking arts showcase based on the community theme written and created by people with disabilities themselves and previewed in this edition of the Canberra Weekly. Halting Hate, Finding Kindness – words, sounds and images features new and original creative work by people with disabilities challenged by the community themes.
I-Day co-chair Kat Reed said, “This an era where we know that words and images can have unintended consequences and unseen power. We invited people to imagine words and images which answer back and appeal to better aspirations. Our community have answered with some interesting and unexpected responses and we’re looking forward to sharing them at the headline event on 3 December.”
Toward a welcoming community
A welcoming community doesn’t just spring from a single event, and that’s why the focus of the organisers for this year’s I-Day is to encourage the whole community to come forward to open their doors and celebrate I-Day together.
That is why this edition of Canberra Weekly includes your eight-page celebration pass with events to attend, discounts and offers, practical things to do and ways to start a conversation about access and inclusion.
You can also listen to I-Day editions of the new podcast The Independent Assessment, focused on this year’s I-DAY theme and an I-Day edition of The Canberra Business Podcast focused on the Pledge on Disability Action.
I-Day in the ACT is a community initiative coordinated by Advocacy for Inclusion and Women with Disabilities ACT and supported by funding and media partners, including the ACT Government, Hands Across Canberra and Canberra Weekly.
