Facebook And Ipc Launch #wethe15 Film Series

Facebook and the IPC have launched a new series of films to support the #WeThe15 campaign, a new global human rights movement launched to represent the world’s 1.2 billion persons – or 15% of the population – with disabilities.

The series explores how sport has created a positive change for four disabled communities around the world – in the UK, the US, New Zealand, and Brazil. Facebook says it reflects on how the social media platform ‘enables communities to grow and come together online’, as well as the ‘real-world impact’ that these communities have offline.

One episode features The Derby Wheelblazers, a competitive wheelchair basketball team from the UK, which plays an important role in the local community, welcoming people of all abilities, including players who don’t have a disability. 

The film centres on Joe Hinsley, who has spina bifida, and who highlights the role the sport has played in his life, helping him grow from a shy child to a confident player and assistant coach. He talks about the challenge of recruiting new players and how Facebook helps his group overcome that and bond as a community.

The other groups featured as part of the series include Associação Bola pra Frente Esportes Adaptados, a community-run football team in Sao Paulo for players with disabilities, with a focus on amputees, the Te Arawa Swimming Club, an inclusive, community-run club in Rotorua, which believes that swimming should be accessible to all, and the Surf for All community from New York, a non-profit to get people of all walks of life to experience the joy of surfing.

Craig Spence, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at the IPC said, “We believe change starts with sport. The IPC want to halt discrimination against the world’s 15% with disabilities and make them active, visible and contributing members of a global society. Through the WeThe15 campaign, we hope to demonstrate the power sport can have in changing attitudes, improving accessibility and increasing opportunities for persons with disabilities around the world. This video series with Facebook shows the role technology and sport can play in helping people bring people together”.

Peter Hutton, Director of Sports Partnerships at Facebook, said, “As a global society, we must come together to support marginalised communities like the 15% of people with a disability around the world. That is why we’re supporting the #WeThe15 movement through this film series. The series demonstrates how Facebook plays an instrumental role in how communities grow and come together online – and the real-world impact that can have offline.”

The campaign, spearheaded by the IPC and International Disability Alliance – but with support from a host of other organisations – is bringing together the ‘largest ever coalition of international organisations from the world of sport, human rights, policy, business, culture and entertainment’ to initiate change. The decade-long campaign aims to put disability ‘at the heart’ of the inclusion agenda, alongside ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.