SINGAPORE, 27 November 2023 – In conjunction with International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 3 December, disability-focused charity SPD has once again partnered with local creative agency Societal and photographer Dominic Chua of Studio Daydream to produce its annual public education campaign “UNLABEL”. The campaign aims to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in different community living domains. This year’s theme, “The way you think can change the way they live”, confronts, breaks barriers, and promotes inclusion between all.
SPD chief executive officer, Abhimanyau Pal, said: “Through UNLABEL, we hope to break down stereotypes among persons with and without disabilities, and create a mindset shift to level the playing field. We are very thankful to Societal for helping us reinforce this message in this creatively executed campaign. Through this effort, we hope to pave the way for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in our society.” Mr Pal believes that this campaign sheds light on people with disabilities, providing them a platform to find their voice and share their testimonies – from finding love, breaking career barriers, to excelling in studies.
Finding love is never easy, more so if you have a disability. But love did make its way to Goh Kee Choon, who has a shorter left leg due to a surgery to remove a tumor when he was 19. Kee Choon is now happily married to Lam Ziying. The couple who got married in 2020 initially had doubts about getting together. However, they took the plunge and, during their courtship that lasted nearly two years, the couple proved that equal interdependency can exist in their relationship if they recognise each other’s strengths.
One of the other faces of UNLABEL this year is Alwyn Keng, an investment professional in the wealth management space. “The way forward is for society to acknowledge disabled bodies and minds in it. For this to happen, Persons with Disabilities have to come forth and be ‘visible’, which is why I am putting myself forth to show that Persons with Disabilities are not simply relegated to getting by with life, but rather, able to go above and beyond to thrive.”, said the 32-year-old who is a quadriplegic and a wheelchair user. But success did not come easy for Alwyn who faced numerous rejections from potential employers who learnt of the extent of his disability during the interview process. It took serendipity and one enlightened employer who was willing to recognise his potential and look beyond his disability to kick-start his career.
For 12-year-old Moza Alyka Baihakki, she enjoys school because her friends have never made her feel like she is different due to her disability. Granted she gets the occasional curious stares from young students who just met her, but she chose to use this as an opportunity to tell them more about her condition, known as amniotic band syndrome. Moza was born with the condition which resulted in an un-formed right limb.
“It’s always a privilege to work with SPD”, says Societal’s executive creative director and founder Kevin Geeves, “and we’re delighted to have been given the chance to create the latest iteration of this important campaign to help change how people think about persons with disabilities. This year’s campaign is deliberately challenging, and asks people to acknowledge their current mindset and think about what it could be instead.”
With the support of SMRT Corporation Ltd, posters of the campaign will be up at selected SMRT train stations and in-train panels from 23 November to 20 December 2023. Commuters can share their sentiments in a poll by scanning the QR code on the poster.
For more information about the campaign, members of the public can visit the website http://www.spd.org.sg/unlabel.
About UNLABEL:
In conjunction with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on December 3 each year, SPD has launched a public education campaign, ‘UNLABEL,’ to challenge existing stereotypes, misconceptions, and prejudices against persons with disabilities. Through this campaign, SPD strives to encourage the public to change perceptions and attitudes towards persons with disabilities—to UNLABEL them—by highlighting the achievements of those who have defied stereotypes.
