What makes an inclusive community? Spaces, supports and everything in between

You can read the full transcript of the event here.

You can watch the full recording here.

Event summary

This Open Dialogue was about what makes a community inclusive.

The event was hosted by Todd Winther and Skye Cusack. Todd is a university political lecturer and an NDIS Home and Living specialist. Skye is a Dulgubarra-Yidinji writer, journalist and comedian.

In the weeks leading up to the event, there was a survey sent out to people who had registered for the event. Todd and Skye began the event by sharing some of the answers people gave. People said they wanted environments that made people with disability feel included and supported.

Next Todd and Skye spoke about the Inclusive Communities Fund. The Inclusive Communities fund will support community organisations to run inclusive activities.They explained that today’s event will be included in the Disability Dialogue’s submission to the government about inclusive communities. This is to ensure the Australian Government can hear directly from people with lived experience about how we think that money could and should be used.

The first speaker was Kirsty Nowlan. Kirsty is the Executive Director of The Achieve Foundation. Kirsty spoke about how people with disability can feel included and the many barriers they face. Kirsty said that building an inclusive Australia starts with changing how people think about disability and that inclusion must be built in from the start, not as an afterthought.

Our next speaker was Melissa Hale. Melissa is the Policy and Advocacy Manager of DANA. Melissa spoke about how the Inclusive Communities Fund can help people with disability to feel more included. Melissa said that true inclusion comes from a genuine sense of belonging, not just physical access. She explains that the Australian Government’s Inclusive Communities Fund aims to help local groups become more accessible.

Following a 10-minute break, the next speakers were Sonia Hume and Riley Buchanan. Sonia is an Inclusion Advisor at Inclusion Australia and a member of the Disability Dialogue Steering Committee. Riley is a Policy and Advocacy Manager at Inclusion Australia. Sonia and Riley talked about what makes a community welcoming for people with intellectual disability. Sonia explained that feeling safe and included relies on easy-to-understand information, like Easy Read formats, and respectful attitudes from others. Sonia and Riley shared that to make spaces truly accessible we have to look at the whole picture. Real inclusion is having all the support you need to fully participate and feel safe.

Melissa Hale was brought back to discuss how the Inclusive Communities Fund can be used most effectively. She said funding should go directly to disability-led groups. Melissa encouraged people with disability in the audience to join the open consultation and have their say.

Then there was an audience Q&A with all the speakers.

The event closed with an invitation to fill out the feedback survey.