Disabilities
Music Festivals Are Notorious for Inaccessibility—This Organization Is Pushing for Change In 2023
Music festivals are notorious for being inaccessible. People with disabilities working in the music industry have overwhelmingly chose not to disclose their non-visible conditions to their employers for a number of reasons. Event accessibility organization Attitude is Everything (AIE) is working to expel this stigma by partnering with music festival associations to ensure there are more practical measures embedded into their booking and operational processes. As part of a campaign called #FestivalsWithoutBarriers, AIE has reportedly started working with the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the Association of Festival Organizers (AFO) and the British Arts Festival Association (BAFA). These organizations’ employees and members are working on measures to establish a bet...
Accessible Festivals Launches Ticket Grant Program to Bring Live Music to All
Non-profit organization Accessible Festivals has launched its Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program, which provides free access to concerts, festivals and conventions for disabled music fans and their loved ones. Partnering with a number of the largest festivals in the country, the program has already granted complimentary admission to Electric Daisy Carnival, BottleRock Napa Valley, Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud, Stagecoach and more. All participating festivals have made a commitment to disabled fans by adhering to ADA Compliance programs, according to a press release. The grant program was born from the personal experiences of founder Austin Whitney. In 2007, Whitney sustained injuries from a car accident that severed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the waist down, leading to...
Innovative Digital Instrument Lets Disabled Musicians Make Music With Their Eyes
A new digital instrument is empowering disabled musicians and students to create music with their eyes. The assistive technology is called the EyeHarp, and it pairs with eye and head trackers so that players can control melodies—including chords, arpeggios and pitch—with only the smallest of movements. This feature makes EyeHarp uniquely accessible to players with all kinds of physical and mental disabilities, in therapy, teaching and performance settings. The technology is also adaptable to each user’s skill level and can change between the tones of more than 20 instruments, including piano, flute, trumpet and bass guitar. Watch it at work below, played by 11-year-old Joel Bueno. Recommended Articles According to founder Zacharias Vamvakousis, the idea for the EyeHarp wa...
EDM Producer Lachi Launches Music Coalition Dedicated to Disability Culture and Inclusion
“Disability has color, disability has gender, disability has sexual preference, and disability is not straight, white, middle-America male,” Lachi recently told The New York Times. The EDM producer, whose body of work spans drum & bass, trance, and house music, has now founded RAMPD, a coalition of musicians and industry professionals dedicated to disability culture. “Disability Culture is a celebration of people who identify as disabled, while acknowledging the vast diversity of the disability experience and each person’s inherent and equal worth,” reads the RAMPD website. “It is unapologetic, creative, innovative, adaptable, imaginative, and rooted in problem-solving. It is based on the premise that disability needs to be seen, respected, included and ce...
Study Reveals Music Workers With Disabilities Don’t Disclose Them to Employers Due to Fear of Discrimination
A new study conducted by Harbourside Artist Management and funded by the Arts Council found that many music professionals don’t disclose their non-visible disabilities to employers or colleagues. The study, which surveyed nearly 150 people in the music industry who have a disability or long-term health condition, found that 71% of the participants stated their disability was non-visible. Of those 71%, 88% mentioned they “sometimes” or “never” disclose their condition to those they work with. 69% admitted they believe this non-disclosure put their health and safety at risk. The participants also stated they don’t disclose the information out of fear it would make them seem less capable, receive less work, or precipitate discrimination. According to a prev...
NNPC, Shell donate 10 solar power water projects to communities in Borno
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) have donated 10 solar powered boreholes and 16 VIP latrines to some communities in seven LGAs in Borno. Speaking at the formal handover ceremony of the projects in Maiduguri on Wednesday, Borno Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, lauded NNPC/SNEPCO for the intervention. He said it would impact positively on the lives of the benefitting communities. Kadafur, whose speech was read by Alhaji Mohammed Wanori, the Commissioner for Inter-Governmental Affairs, said the intervention was in line with the administration’s policy of restoration of livelihood in communities worst affected by decade-long insurgency. “This administration places a high premium on the adage which says ‘water ...
Senator Gyang: Nigerian government hasn’t captured Plateau in housing units resettlement
Deputy Chairman Senate Committee on Defence and Senator representing Plateau North, Istifanus Gyang, said Federal Government is yet to consider Plateau State on the 500 housing units constructing for for destroyed communities in North East due to Insecurity. He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari in the spirit of fairness and Justice to come to the aid of Plateau communities, particularly destroyed communities in Barkin-Ladi, Riyom, Bassa and other villages in Plateau North. Sen. Gyang disclosed this on Monday during an interaction with Journalists at his constituency office, tagged, “The People’s Parliament” lamented over the the deteriorating security situation in the country. “I have being crying out for Federal Government to include Plateau State in the 500 housing units being build...
Kogi governor appoints cleaner as senior aide
The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has announced the appointment of Peter Aliyu, a cleaner, as his Senior Special Assistant on Sanitation. Bello’s spokesperson, Onogwu Mohammed, who broke the news on Saturday, said Aliyu, who is speech impaired, was a former cleaner under the Geemoney Cleaning Scheme. “His appointment was announced at the state executive council alongside other new government appointees of government,” he said. “In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Folashade Arike Ayoade, said the young man’s appointment came on the heel of His Excellency’s observation of the man’s consistency, diligence and dedication which also endeared the new appointee to many other individuals who have hailed his appointment According to the statement, “Governor Bello ha...
Governor Bello: Many PDP governors will join APC soon
Kogi State Governor and Chairman of Contact and Mobilisation Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yahaya Bello, has said more governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political bigwigs would soon join the party. This is coming amidst speculation that Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, was perfecting plans to dump PDP for the APC. Speaking with newsmen after a closed-door meeting of his committee at the APC headquarters on Thursday in Abuja, Governor Bello said governors in the opposition party know that things were happening in the APC. “I have a committee that is called Mobilisation of Youths, Women and People Living with Disabilities, mobilising them to join our party. “As much as we are mobilising youths, women and peopl...
Nigerian government distributes N20,000 each to 2,900 women in Benue
The Federal Government has disbursed N20,000 each to 2,900 women in Benue to improve their living standards. Mrs Sadiya Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, said this on Saturday in Makurdi during the inauguration of the grant for rural women project. Farouq, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Bashir Alkali, said that a cash of N20,000 would also be disbursed to about 125,000 poor women across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory. “Our target in Benue is to disburse the grant to about 2,900 beneficiaries across all local government councils. “The grant is expected to increase income and productive assets of target beneficiaries. “It is our hope that the beneficiaries of this programme will make ...
National Assembly to make smart card reader compulsory in future elections
File Photo The National Assembly plans to make the use of Smart Card Reader compulsory in future elections in Nigeria, a lawmaker has said. The Chairperson of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Aishatu Dukku, said this at a Joint Public Hearing on “The Bill for an Act to repeal the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended) and enact the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act, 2020″, on Wednesday in Abuja. The event was organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters. Ms Dukku said the amendment will affect about 300 clauses in the Act. ” In Section 49 of the Electoral Act 2010 under Use of Ballot Paper, Subsection (1) and (2) are to be amended to read: “A person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a pre...
No official data of persons living with disability – minister
The Federal Government has said the country does not have an official data of persons living with disability, maintaining that the 25 million number being bandied around should be taken with a pinch of salt. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, stated this yesterday, in Abuja at an event to mark the 2020 International Day for Persons with Disability. “The Disability Data in the Country is not comprehensive and there is lack of generally accepted estimate for the number of Persons With Disabilities in Nigeria. “The world report on Disability published in 2011, said about 25 Million Nigerians had at least one disability while 3.6 million of these had very significant difficulties in function. “The 2006 Nigerian Census reported 3,25...
- 1
- 2
