National Award for Napier Disability Strategy

Published: 14 November 2019

Napier City Council’s decision to make its draft Disability Strategy available in an Easy Read format has earned it a national award.

The Easy Read format is a way of presenting information to make it easier for people with learning disabilities to understand. People First NZ, which provides advice and services for people with learning disabilities, gives the Make It Easy Award out annually to an organisation or person who has shown a great commitment to making their information available in Easy Read.

The award was presented yesterday at People First’s AGM in Christchurch, to Jude Henderson, who chaired the Napier Disability Advisory Group, and representing NCC, Natasha Mackie, Manager Community Strategies.

“We are rapt to receive this recognition from an organisation that so strongly supports the rights of people with disabilities. It is much an award for Council as it is for the people in the disability community who helped create it,” says Ms Mackie.

This strategy puts the focus on the provision and delivery of NCC activities and services and has meant looking at how we make our services, facilities and events more accessible, and how we can make Napier a place for everyone, where everyone is valued, she adds.

It was formally adopted by NCC in September and will shortly be available in a range of formats besides Easy Read, including plain text and NZ Sign Language.

The award is timely with international Day for Persons with Disabilities taking place on 3 December. Napier and Hastings annually alternate an event to recognise the day. This year the event will take place in Hastings.

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