How we celebrate the festive season 🎄
Plus: Another relatable disability lol about an out of order lift...
Kia ora and welcome to the very first day of December! 😱 With the festive season upon us, we asked some of our friends how they celebrate. From sticking a candle into fruit pudding to a bonfire and bingeing TV shows in bed, here's what some of our friends from The D*List community do around this time of the year.
This week in relatable disability lols (yeah, I’m bringing them back!) the office lift was out of order, which meant a WFH day or my preference, which is WFC (or working from a cafe) day. Although it was nice to have a change of scenery, it wasn’t really a lol moment because it was a frustrating reminder that the world is not designed for us 🙃 Wanna share your relatable disability lol? Send us an email to kiaora@thedlist.co.nz and we’ll share it in the next newsletter!
Broken lift aside (which is now functioning, btw!), in more exciting news: some of The D*List team caught up with our friends from the National Disabled Students’ Association, a rōpu which advocates for disabled tertiary students. We chatted about each other’s mahi and the importance of coming together as a disabled community.
Samoan-Tongan dancer, youth worker and advocate Lavinia Lovo was interviewed in the New Zealand Herald about her recent Pacific Toa Award and work in the community. She said she was anxious to receive the award, but grateful because she saw it as living proof of what happens when the right support is given to a young person’s dream.
On RNZ this week, Disability Support Network chief executive Peter Reynolds was interviewed to share his disappointment the new Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds doesn't have a seat at the Cabinet table. You can listen to the full interview here, or we have transcribed the interview here below ⬇️
D*List contributing writer Ite Lemalu shared his experiences of attending three different high schools between form three and four. Being placed in a special learning unit was a disaster for him, but he finally flourished when joining the music department at another school. Read more of his story here. Ite is also a massive wrestling fan and he’s previously written about his passion for it here.
In the lead up to International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, contributing writer Robyn Hunt has written up a brief history of our day, as well as how it was hijacked and what we’re doing to claim it back.
👐 Did you know the Auckland Museum has NZSL interpretation for some of its exhibits via an online hub? To build on this work, the Museum is looking for NZSL-users with an interest in natural and cultural heritage to shape new NZSL content for D/deaf audiences. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact Lizzie Wratislav for more information and to register your interest: lwratislav@aucklandmuseum.com.
🧺 My Life My Voice is hosting a picnic in Hamilton to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The event on Sunday 3 December, from 3pm to 5pm, will be held at the new Magical Bridge Playground in Claudelands Park. More info here. And in Tāmaki Makaurau, there is another picnic being held at Western Springs Park at 11am on Sunday 10 December - find out more details here via Facebook.
🎉 If you are celebrating IDPWD this week, we’d love to hear or see photos of how you are marking the day. Send us an email to kiaora@thedlist.co.nz, and if you’d like us to we can share it in the next newsletter what you’ve been up to.
- Olivia Shivas, Editor
