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

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

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

Young people with cerebral palsy in NSW have welcomed NSW Labor’s commitment today that if elected they will introduce specific policies to make the pathways from school to work more accessible for people with disabilities. The CPActive ‘Blaze the Trail’ campaign has been advocating for these reforms for months and disability advocates say that it’s a major win for young people with disabilities in NSW. If you haven’t signed the petition yet – there’s still time to add your name and help other parties come on board! NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns and Shadow Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington announced today that if elected into government, they will: Blaze the Trail campaign spokesperson Tahlia Blanshard said it is a massive win for the campaign. “We have been making our voices loud and clear this election, telling all major parties that it is time to improve our school and employment