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For Hannah Diviney, growing up with cerebral palsy often meant knowing other people with CP without ever really feeling part of a community
I would only ever really see those people in therapist or medical settings Outside of that in the everyday world, I never saw people with cerebral palsy or any other forms of disability really
Hannah Diviney
Now Hannah is calling for that to change not just for herself, but for the estimated 50 million people living with cerebral palsy around the world.
As an ambassador for Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Hannah is supporting a campaign calling on the Australian Government to back formal United Nations recognition of 6 October as World Cerebral Palsy Day.
The day is already marked in more than 100 countries and has grown from a 2012 initiative between Cerebral Palsy Alliance in Australia and United Cerebral Palsy in the United States into a global movement involving 187 partners.
For Hannah, formal UN recognition could help put cerebral palsy higher on the international agenda, particularly in countries where disability services, research, funding and even basic data are limited.
There are 50 million people around the world who have cerebral palsy, and those people live in all sorts of countries with all sorts of outlooks and cultural models around disability. Australia is unfortunately the exception and not the rule.
Hannah Diviney
Australia has made significant advances in cerebral palsy research and advocacy, but Hannah says there is still work to do, particularly when it comes to representation and ensuring people with CP are supported throughout their entire lives.
Because it is the most common disability in childhood, I think it’s probably likely that people know kids with CP, but somewhere along the way people seem to forget that those kids grow into adults
Hannah Diviney
For Hannah, the lack of representation had a profound impact growing up
If I had had people to look up to, that would have made a huge difference. If I had had World CP Day, or something that was recognized when I was a kid, that would have also helped a lot in terms of making me feel less alienated and isolated and alone.
Hannah Diviney
This year’s World Cerebral Palsy Day theme, #UniqueANDUnited, celebrates the diversity of people with cerebral palsy while recognizing the strength of a collective voice.
Hannah says that collective voice needs to be heard both internationally and at home. She also points to current concerns within Australia’s disability support system, arguing that recognition must be matched by meaningful investment and support.
I’m very, very conscious of changing [that] for the next generation of disabled kids, whether they have Cerebral Palsy or not
Hannah Diviney
Hannah Diviney is an ambassador for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. She is leading the charge for World Cerebral Palsy Day (6 October) to be recognized by the UN. For more information or to sign the petition, visit worldcpday.org/un.