Sesame Access are not only a disabled access lift manufacturer but we are also advocates for an accessible and inclusive society. We create products which change peoples lives and ensure they can access the buildings and places they WANT to go to and not just because it is accessible.

The news stories below demonstrate the struggles and obstacles the disability community face everyday. Raising awareness is essential to combat the issues and make a change. Educating society on these problems is the least we can do and implementing products which benefit the lives of wheelchair users is our passion.

WeThe15: 'Game-changer' plan for 1.2bn disabled people

A global campaign described as a "game-changer" has been launched to improve the lives of more than one billion disabled people by 2030.

WeThe15 wants to improve inclusion, raise awareness and end discrimination of disabled people around the world.

It brings together a coalition of organisations from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to Unesco.

The launch comes ahead of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games which begin on 24 August.

Using the event as a springboard, the IPC and International Disability Alliance has joined forces with arts, business and human rights organisations including UN Human Rights and The Valuable 500 to "raise awareness, change attitudes and create more opportunities" for disabled people.

The campaign has been set-up to represent the 15% of the world's population that is disabled - about 1.2bn people, according to the World Health Organization.

Full article here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/dis...

National Disability Strategy: PM’s ‘downpayment on building back fairer’ is just 29.5p

The government’s new National Disability Strategy – which promises to bring about “practical and lasting change” – has promised just 29.5p in new funding for every disabled person in the UK.

Analysis by Disability News Service (DNS) has shown the government has pledged just £4.13 million of new funding in the strategy, despite claims by prime minister Boris Johnson (pictured) that the document is the “down payment” on his promise to “build back better and fairer, for all our disabled people”.

Although ministers claimed last month that the commitments in the strategy were “supported by £1.6bn of funding”, more than a billion pounds of that was announced in last year’s spending review as part of a rise in spending on special educational needs, much of it allocated to supporting segregated schools.

The government has yet to explain where the other £500 million funding has been allocated, but it is not thought to be new money.

The few promises of new funding include up to £1 million to improve the accessibility of seaports on the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly; £180,000 for an autism awareness campaign; £1.5 million to help the smallest bus companies provide audio-visual information on their services; an extra £450,000 for new Changing Places toilets across the transport network; and up to £1 million to develop a new Centre for Assistive and Accessible Technology.

But when divided among the 14.1 million disabled people the strategy says there are in the UK, this total of £4.13 million amounts to just 29.5p per person.

Full article here https://www.disabilitynewsserv...

BBC deletes controversial ‘faking it’ social media post

The BBC has deleted a social media post that caused widespread anger among disabled campaigners for suggesting that some people with chronic illness were “faking” their health conditions on social media for “fame and money”.

The tweet linked to a documentary, Sickness and Lies, which claimed to explore “accusations of fakery” that have been directed at some disabled people with high profiles on social media.

The documentary (pictured), and the way it was promoted by BBC News on social media, were described as “wildly irresponsible”, with the BBC accused of spreading “harmful rhetoric”.

Now a BBC News tweet that asked if some “chronic illness influencers” were “faking it on social media for fame and money” has been removed by the BBC, although a link to the documentary remains, and the programme itself remains available to watch online.

A spokesperson for BBC News and Current Affairs told Disability News Service: “The original tweet does not reflect the full context of the programme and was removed.”

Full article here https://www.disabilitynewsserv...

Drive to improve motorway journeys for people with disabilities across the North

Staycations or day trips can be planned with confidence this summer thanks to Highways England’s access guides for motorway services.

With around five per cent of the driving population classed as having a disability, Highways England has partnered with AccessAble, the UK’s leading provider of detailed accessibility information, to help motorists plan where to stop for a break at any one of the 114 motorway service areas across England, including 34 services across the North.

Hull-based disability advocate and ‘The Deaf Traveller’ blogger, Ed Rex visited the Extra services at Leeds Skelton Lake on junction 45 of the M1 to test out the new guides.

Ed is profoundly deaf in both ears and relies on a hearing aid, cochlear implant and lipreading to communicate. Following his visit to the Yorkshire services, Ed emphasised that it’s the little things that can make a huge difference for people travelling with hidden disabilities.

Full article here https://www.gov.uk/government/...

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