Champions Nicholas Lapsley and Meret Hassanen spoke at a Masterclass panel at the International College of Management Sydney on Diversity in Leadership. Led by Dr Trevor Clark, the Undergraduate Dean at ICMS, the panel explored the importance of diversity in leadership and what we can learn from it.

Nicholas spoke eloquently on the assumptions that others make around people with disability, the limitations that such assumptions create, and how he is always challenging those. He noted the lack of leaders with disability in organisations, which he is actively working to change alongside other champions and the CP community through CPActive and the Blaze the Trail Campaign.

Meret spoke about opportunities, and how she takes every one that is presented to her because it could lead to anything. She shared how her internship at SBS gave her a foot in the door, which led to her current job at ABC as a film producer. She uses her platform to advocate for including people with disability in film production. She expressed her gratitude for all the opportunities that have come up and shared the wisdom of not being too hard on herself.

Our CPActive champions show their leadership through sharing their stories, which are an incredibly powerful tool in creating meaningful change. Part of what makes our community so great is the collection of stories and experiences we bring with us when we come together – and sharing them brings us one step closer to making Australia the most inclusive place to live. 

If you or someone you know is a young person with CP interested in developing their leadership skills, advocacy skills and connecting with others – then stay tuned and keep an eye on your inbox for some big news! Join us at cpactive.org.au and never miss a beat.

It was great to hear a shoutout to CPActive from Hannah Diviney on national ABC show The Drum last Friday! If you missed it, you can listen to the panel discussion starting at the 15-minute mark by checking out the full recording here.

Hannah Diviney is a disability advocate, actress and the Editor-in-Chief of Missing Perspectives, a platform that elevates the voices of diverse storytellers, particularly young women who are often underrepresented in the news industry.

When asked about the impact of COVID lockdowns on potential outcomes in the NSW state election, Hannah didn’t hesitate to highlight the work of CPActive and the campaign commitments – or lack thereof – of most political parties.

“There’s a collective of young people with cerebral palsy … called CPActive, which has been lobbying for changes in education reform, particularly when it comes to how students with disabilities are treated in the education system and addressing some of the inequities that we’re exposed to it in the education system by COVID. Unfortunately, a lot of students fell behind and suffered negatively because they weren’t receiving face-to-face learning or the support that they need.

CPActive has been lobbying for education reform. We’ve had commitment from Chris Minns and the Labor Party, and if they’re elected they will honour and commit to our reform. We’ve had some positive responses from MPs within the Liberal Party, but we haven’t had a response from Dominic Perrottet.”

“Well there’s time yet, you just said it on national television so there you go!” responded Ellen Fanning.

“I would imagine if something was going to get him to respond, it might be this,” said Hannah.

It’s a big win for CPActive to not only be mentioned, but praised on national television for a well-run grassroots campaign.

We look forward to working with the newly elected Labor government to implement the reform designed by our CPActive Champions.

As part of the CPActive Blaze the Trail campaign, CPActive champions organised a ‘Day of Action’ that was held last week at the Allambie Campus.

These young trail blazers took it upon themselves to organise local candidates from all parties in the upcoming state election to hear about the lived experience of CP and to commit to build more inclusive school to work pathways for young people with disability.

CPActive champions welcomed commitments from local candidates from across different parts of the political spectrum that if elected, they will work with CPActive to make the pathways from school to work more accessible for people with disabilities.

Local candidates who attended the Day of Action at CPA Allambie offices and pledged their support were:

Toby Williams, Liberal candidate for Wakehurst

Michael Regan, Independent candidate Wakehurst

Susan Sorensen, Animal Justice Party candidate for Wakehurst

These commitments from local candidates come just weeks after the NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns and Shadow Minister for Disability Kate Washington announced that if elected into government, they will:

• Review supports for assessments at schools to ensure they are clear and consistent for young people with disabilities
• Explore pathways for people with disability to become teachers and support staff
• Improve inclusive employment practices in NSW government departments

With almost 200 new petition signatures in one day, plus the commitment from so many candidates, the CPActive champions consider the Day of Action a success.

“It became a successful day getting so many connections and contacts” said CPActive champion Eric Barrett. “It is great to get the word out to the wider community about what a great initiative this campaign is and it’s potential to keep growing Australia wide.”

“We really need every single person who reads this to join the campaign by signing the petition. By showing your support, you are strengthening the voices of people with lived experience. Every person who joins the campaign gets us a step closer to a better future with less barriers,” Nicholas said.

Sign the petition and share the campaign across your networks today!