Established in 1992, International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is marked on December 3. The observance was developed by the United Nations to increase awareness and understanding of the diversities of disability issues and to advocate for the rights of all disabled persons.
The observance also seeks to recognize how persons with disabilities must be integrated in all facets of political, social, economic and cultural life without barriers and be able to represent their vast experiences, perspectives and identities.
At UBC we’re committed to supporting disability inclusion and removing and preventing barriers to accessibility. In February 2023, the inaugural Accessibility Committee was established and are currently working to develop and implement an accessibility plan. UBC community members can share feedback on accessibility planning and disability equity issues at UBC with the Committee using the following email address: accessibility.committee@ubc.ca.
Read a statement from the Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion issued on the occasion of IDPD.
Resource Groups
The DAG is a group, a collective, a community of disabled folks from both UBC Vancouver and Okanagan open to all members of the UBC community. They provide support, share stories and resources, and take positive action to improve the lives of past, current and future UBC colleagues.
The DUC is an advocacy and support resource group for disabled students at UBC. They aim to increase accessibility on campus and provide a safe and empowering space for neurodivergent and physically disabled students.
This Discord server is a space to connect, created by students for students. The server aims to bring together disabled students at UBCO as a place to form friendships, discuss interests and passions and pursue disabled-led advocacy, beginning at UBC.
UBC Services
The Centre for Accessibility at UBC Vancouver facilitates disability-related accommodations and programming initiatives designed to remove barriers for students with disabilities and ongoing medical conditions in all aspects of university life.
The Disability Resource Centre at UBC Okanagan advances access and inclusion for disabled students in all aspects of university life.
The CWA is a central hub for resources, tools, and programs that help remove barriers for faculty and staff with disabilities or ongoing medical conditions.
The Human Rights Advisors provide confidential, trauma informed advising to students, faculty and staff who have concerns related to discrimination. Advisors can explain UBC’s Discrimination policy, which includes protected grounds under BC’s Human Rights Code (HRC), such as disability. Advisors can discuss the duty to accommodate that appears in the HRC as well.
Resources for allies
This guide is intended to assist all UBC staff in planning events, public consultations, celebrations, and other occasions so that they can be equally accessible to, and inclusive of, community members who have a disability.
This resource from the Learning Technology Hub explains key considerations to help your online teaching—synchronous or asynchronous—be accessible and inclusive.
The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology has curated guidelines around culturally and linguistically considerate communication and accessibility when designing and carrying out presentations.
The equity and inclusion glossary provides a list of terms related to equity, diversity and inclusion that are often used at UBC. This list is inclusive of terms related to accessibility.
The following list was curated by the DAG to provide support to disabled UBC community members, as well as allies. Resources include helpful websites, job boards, and a reading list for persons with disabilities and allies.
Funding Support
Have an idea to build disability inclusion on campus? The StEAR Enhancement Fund provides funding to students, faculty and staff seeking to advance equity priorities on campus. $500 – $10,000 in funding is available to projects that support one or more of the three thematic streams, including ableism/disability equity.
The WAF supports disability-related accommodations for faculty and staff at UBC. Funds can be used for accommodation and accessibility solutions such as software, specialized furniture or human support services.