In June, I had the opportunity to participate in a rally for Independent Living near 10 Downing Street in London that was organized by the U.K. disability community, with strong leadership coming from a service provider called “Scope.” Scope has been spearheading a campaign in the U.K. called “Time to Get Equal.” The symbol for the campaign is a bright yellow circle with a bright blue equal sign, and there were a number of people at the rally in wheelchairs who had that symbol covering the wheels of their chairs. The image was very powerful.

After the rally, two AAPD staff members and I had a chance to visit the Scope offices and meet with their senior staff. Scope has historically been a large service provider not unlike UCP in the United States. From what I saw and heard, I believe Scope could be a real model for what a modern disability service provider organization should be. A majority of Scope’s board of directors are people with disabilities, and they have disabled people in significant numbers at all levels on their staff. Their organization had the look and feel of a large disability-controlled organization like Independence First in Milwaukee or Granite State Independent Living in New Hampshire. They have been working with renowned disability activist Rachel Hurst to transform their organization, and they are well on their way.  They spend close to $10 million annually on what they call “campaigning” and what we would call “advocacy” and “lobbying.”

Scope’s Time to Get Equal campaign is about ending discrimination against people with disabilities in the U.K. It covers a broad range of areas including but not limited to abuse, access, attitudes, education, employment, the internet, and transportation. The messaging is edgy, field-tested, and appealing to young people and seniors. In short, the campaign is effective and is having an impact on the way people with disabilities are perceived in English society. The rally attended was part of a “Time to Get Equal Week” of activities throughout the U.K. to raise awareness of the campaign and sign up individuals who want to get involved. To learn more about Scope and the campaign, go to www.scope.org.uk.

As you might imagine, I was inspired by what I saw in the U.K. and I will be working with the AAPD Board, staff, members, and coalition partners to develop something equally effective for the U.S. disability movement. I encourage AAPD members to send me your ideas at ImparatoA@aol.com.

The week before I went to London, I had the opportunity to attend a televised awards ceremony in Dublin for organizations that were recognized for being the best in seven categories related to customers, employees, and constituents with disabilities.   The ceremony marked the end of a nine months assessment process which examines excellence in business practices related to disability (www.theabilityawards.com), and is the brainchild of a dynamic blind Irish woman named Caroline Casey. Casey founded and runs the Aisling Foundation, which developed the concept, pulled together the right partners, and is involved in evaluating and selecting the awardees with the help of a blue ribbon panel of judges. 

What was most impressive to me about the Ability Awards was not the posh ceremony at DublinCastle, although that was very impressive. The thing that really excited me was the level of media attention that this awards program receives in Ireland. This happened in part because the ceremony included a strong showing from disability, business and government leaders, including the President of Ireland. The ceremony was televised on one of the top Irish television networks on Thursday night between 10:45 and 11:45 p.m. Two days after the ceremony, Ireland’s leading newspaper, the Irish Times, had a special section of their newspaper devoted to profiling the honorees and related sidebars that explored a variety of topics related to the business case for disability best practices. I was able to do a radio interview on one of the top national radio shows in Ireland the afternoon before the awards ceremony. I also had the opportunity to have lunch with Gar Holihan, the CEO of the AuraCobhLeisureCenter, the company that received the top honor. Holihan’s company is a medium-sized leisure/fitness company in Ireland that completely gets the business value of welcoming customers with disabilities and their families at their facilities and events.

Having had the opportunity to meet many disability and business leaders in Ireland and the U.K., I came back to the States convinced that AAPD and our partners can do a better job making the business case for doing the right thing by our community, engaging CEOs and other top managers in our work, getting attention to our issues in the mainstream media, and taking creative and innovative approaches to getting our message out. To be sure, our friends in Ireland and the U.K. disability communities feel they have a lot to learn from AAPD and other disability organizations in the U.S. as well. With the goal of sharing ideas and best practices and building a stronger global disability movement, I am committed to engaging in more cross-Atlantic dialogues and sharing in the months and years to come. Working together rather than in isolation, we will get to equal faster.