Celebrating National AccessAbility Week at RRU

It's National AccessAbility Week — a time to recognize the leadership, contributions, and achievements of persons with disabilities, while reaffirming our commitment to breaking down barriers and building a more accessible and inclusive Canada for all.

Last week, we held our keynote event “Celebrating Indigenous Knowledge to Decolonize Disability” with Dr. Rheanna Robinson. In the session, Dr. Robinson drew on her experience as an Indigenous scholar who lives with chronic illness and disability to describe how Indigenous knowledges offer the world meaningful and varied representations of equity and inclusion.  

We also heard from Dr. Patricia Stukes, who teaches in the MA in Disaster and Emergency Management program. In her RRU Pocket Class, she spoke about Hurricane Katrina and the unequal impacts of disasters. While the effects were devastating across communities, she shares how many people with disabilities were disproportionately affected and often excluded from disaster planning and response efforts.

We also shared two feature stories highlighting alumni perspectives on accessibility, inclusion, and the importance of creating more equitable communities. Accessibility beyond accommodation features Master of Global Management alum Margarita Jarrin and her research on the barriers faced by international students with disabilities. And in Leading without limits, Master of Arts in Leadership alum Diane Bergeron shares two key lessons from her leadership studies and how they reshaped her career, her confidence, and the impact she’s making around the world.

Conversations like this align with our broader commitment to accessibility and inclusion across our campuses as well as local and global communities. 

Here at home, the John Horgan Campus was recently certified Gold in Accessibility by the Rick Hansen Foundation. A huge congratulations to everyone who made this possible. This certification is setting a high standard for inclusivity and helping us on our journey towards barrier-free learning.

Together, we can continue to make campus more accessible. A great resource is Accessibility Bites created by BC Campus where you can access quick sessions and resources on topics including assistive technologies, learning disabilities, access friction, web accessibility and more.

Finally, visit RRU’s National AccessAbility page where you will find additional resources including events and activities happening in the community, news stories and videos.