PurpleSpace the world’s only organisation supporting disabled Employee Resource Group (ERG) / network leaders to drive cultural change. PurpleSpace will run a 24-hour online event on 3rd December. This free event will bring together disabled thought leaders, CEOs of multinational organisations, politicians, disability rights activists and network/ERG leaders to connect and celebrate disability inclusion.
#PurpleLightUp celebrates the economic contribution of disabled employees worldwide, is now in its fourth year, and is a mark of respect to UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. Over the past four years, thousands of organisations across the globe have previously celebrated by launching new inclusive workplace policies and practice for disabled employees, holding networking events and lighting up iconic landmarks purple.
The free 24-hour Global Broadcast will start in Oceania for Sunrise, before ending in North America for sunset, with the programme including discussions, interviews and best practice sharing across six continents. Continent partners are Network on Disability; the Bangladesh Business & Disability Network; Business Disability Forum (featuring Diane Lightfoot and Brendan Roach); Qaderoon; National Association of Disabled Staff Networks; business disability international; Community Business; Disability:IN; EnAble India; with support from the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation and the Valuable 500. The event is open to all. The catalyst of the #PurpleLightUp movement were disabled employees and we encourage as many people with disabilities as possible to join us on the day for some interactive and inspiring conversations.
Kate Nash OBE, CEO and Founder of PurpleSpace and creator of #PurpleLightUp said:
“When I first asked whether the time was right to use the colour purple to build a worldwide movement for disabled employees, I didn’t expect #PurpleLightUp to turn into such a worldwide movement, with thousands of people taking part each year. With this year being tough for many disabled employees around the world, we thought that it was more important than ever to make #PurpleLightUp bigger and better than ever before. As well as having the chance to celebrate with disabled employees across the world, it also gives organisations the opportunity to drive disability inclusion through the sharing of best practice from some experts.”
Speakers during the 24-hour Global Broadcast include Amr Khashoggi, CEO of Qaderoon; Disability Rights Advocate and Academy Award winning actor, Marlee Matlin; Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht, filmmakers of Netflix’s Crip Camp; Judy Heumann, world-renowned Disability Rights Activist, featured in Crip Camp; Stefan Tromel, Senior Disability Specialist, International Labour Organization; John Amaechi OBE, CEO of APS; Duncan Tait, CEO of Inchcape; Caroline Casey, CEO of The Valuable 500, Yetnebersh Nigussie, Senior Manager for Global Action on Disability (GLAD), International Disability Alliance; Professor Gerard Quinn, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Canadian Minister Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion; Canadian Deputy Minister Yazmine Laroche, Deputy Minister, Public Service Accessibility; Shanti Raghavan and Dipesh Sutariya, Founders of EnAble India along with CEOs and employees from leading organisations all over the world.
