New Brunswick Disability Awareness Week

New Brunswick will observe Disability Awareness Week, May 26 to June 1. The theme this year is Disability Awareness Week ? Ready and Able to Work! Disability Awareness Week covers all types of disabilities and age groups. "This annual campaign is an excellent opportunity to remind governments at all levels, employers, service providers and the public that many persons with disabilities still face barriers in their efforts to be included in all aspects of community life,? said Randy Dickinson, co-chair of Disability Awareness Week. ?We should celebrate the progress we have made toward inclusion while working hard to break down those barriers that still remain." Disability Awareness Week events are being co-ordinated by the Premier's Council on the Status of Disabled Persons in partnership with the Réseau Mieux-être Péninsule Acadienne, the Neil Squire Society and the Provincial Disability Awareness Week Executive Committee. This year's event will mark the 26th Anniversary of Disability Awareness Week. It continues the tradition of National Access Awareness Week, established in 1988 to promote better community access for people with disabilities. This campaign developed in response to a request from Rick Hansen following his Man in Motion world tour. The Réseau Mieux-être Péninsule Acadienne will host the official kick-off event on Sunday, May 26, in Tracadie-Sheila. Other activities will include the annual breakfast, employment workshops and walk-and-roll events, carried out at the same time as a media awareness campaign. Local groups are encouraged to organize events.