Team Up supports #WeThe15 launches in PNG and Nauru

We the 15

Team Up, working with in-country partners in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, facilitated Pacific involvement in the global #WeThe15 campaign, lighting up landmarks in both nations in purple, the international colour of disability.

WeThe15 is a new human rights movement to represent the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities, spearheaded by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and International Disability Alliance (IDA). Launched ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, #WeThe15 aims to end discrimination towards persons with disabilities and act as a global movement publicly campaigning for disability visibility, inclusion, and accessibility. It brings together the biggest coalition ever of international organisations from the worlds of sport, human rights, policy, business, arts, and entertainment.  Together they will work with governments, businesses, and the public over the next decade to initiate change for the world’s largest marginalised group, who make up 15 per cent of the global population.

‘Championing a collaborative approach to disability-inclusive sport’ is one of the core focus areas of Team Up, and the program worked to create opportunities for Pacific nations to take part in the global #WeThe15 campaign. The Port Moresby event included a Q&A with PNG’s Paralympic team, athletes Nelly Ruth Leva (who works on the Team Up Inclusive Gymbad program) and Morea Mararos, as well as a spectacular sound and light show by event production company Next of Kin to celebrate APEC Haus being illuminated in purple.

“As a sport for development program that champions disability-inclusive sport in the Pacific, we were keen to support nations from our region to take part in this global event to shine a light on the role of sport in positively shaping community perceptions about disability,” explained Team Up Partnerships Manager Andrew Lepani, who led the event in Port Moresby.

In Nauru, the Australian High Commission partnered with the Nauru Department for People Living with Disability to turn the lights on the Boe Declaration commemoration wall purple using filters.

Port Moresby’s APEC Haus and Nauru’s Boe Declaration commemoration wall joined more than 100 global monuments and landmarks taking part in the event including the Colosseum in Rome, the Tokyo Skytree, the London Eye and even the Niagara Falls.

The PNG event was live streamed on the Team Up Facebook page. Watch it again here and explore the photo gallery from both events below.