Get your diaries at the ready as we continue our series highlighting the important dates on the EDI calendar to help you and your teams plan activities and events in 2024.
We’re looking here at significant dates and awareness days for those with disabilities or neurodiversity here, but remember that the Empower Up list of important dates and events is constantly updated and can help you with month-by-month planning, as it covers the key dates associated with all groups and communities.
January 4th – World Braille Day
World Braille Day is a reminder of the importance of independence for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Link: https://www.un.org/en/observances/braille-day
February 4th – World Cancer Day
Created in 2000, World Cancer Day has grown into a positive movement for everyone, everywhere to unite under one voice to face one of the biggest challenges sadly facing many people around the world.
Link: https://worldcancerday.org
March – Endometriosis Action Month
Action Month is an opportunity to raise awareness, demand change, and show your support for the 1 in 10 women and those assigned female at birth who live with endometriosis.
Link: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org
March 1st – National Wheelchair User Day
International Wheelchair Day is an annual day of events and activities which take place around the world when wheelchair users celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has on their lives.
Link: https://internationalwheelchairday.wordpress.com
March 18th-24th – Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences.
Link: https://www.neurodiversityweek.com
March 18th-24th – Sign Language Week
An awareness week for sign language, celebrated every year in March to commemorate the first time British Sign Language was acknowledged as a language in its own right by the UK Government on March 18th 2003.
Link: https://signlanguageweek.org.uk
March 21st – World Down Syndrome Day
World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.
Link: https://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org
March 30th – World Bipolar Day
World Bipolar Day is celebrated each year on March 30th, the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who was diagnosed with bipolar after he died. The vision of World Bipolar Day is to encourage understanding about what bipolar is – and isn’t – and to banish stigma from the face of the planet. Each year Bipolar UK holds its annual conference and runs a number of activities to raise awareness and raise funds to celebrate this day.
Link: https://www.worldbipolarday.org
April – Autism Acceptance Month
Autism Acceptance Month is an opportunity for employers to raise awareness about autism and celebrate autistic colleagues.
Link: https://www.autism.org.uk
April 7th – World Health Day
Celebrated annually, this draws attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The date of April 7th marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.
Link: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day
May – Tourette’s Awareness Month
Tourette’s Awareness month aims to destigmatise Tourette Syndrome, showing the general public what the reality of Tourette’s Syndrome looks like, and dispelling some of the myths that surround it.
Link: https://www.tourettes-action.org.uk
May 1st-7th – Deaf Awareness Week
Deaf Awareness Week is an annual event that aims to raise awareness about the deaf community, its language, culture, and history.
Link: https://bda.org.uk
May 13th-19th – Mental Health Awareness Week
The Mental Health Foundation is the home of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Link: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
May 16th – Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is an awareness day focusing on digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people alive today who live with disabilities or impairments.
Link: https://accessibility.day
May 16th – Global Wellness Day
Global Wellness Day is a not-for-profit day, a social project dedicated to living well. The purpose of Global Wellness Day is to ask the question, even if for just one day, ‘How can I live a healthier and better life?’, to direct the thoughts of both individuals and society towards ‘living well’, and to raise awareness.
Link: https://www.globalwellnessday.org
June 17th-23rd – Learning Disability Week
Every year, during the third week of June, is Learning Disability Week. It is all about making sure the world hears what life is like if you have a learning disability.
Link: https://www.mencap.org.uk
July 25th – National Schizophrenia Awareness Day
National Schizophrenia Awareness Day shines a light on the everyday challenges the millions of people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia face and how we can tackle the stigma and discrimination around it.
Link: https://www.rethink.org
September – World Alzheimer’s Month
World Alzheimer’s Month is a global opportunity to raise awareness around, educate, encourage support of and demystify dementia.
Link: https://www.alzint.org/get-involved/world-alzheimers-month/
October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual event that has been running since 1985. Initially, the aim was to encourage breast screening and educate people about early detection, and it has developed to include fundraising by charities for vital research.
Link: https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk
October – Dwarfism Awareness Month
A time when members of the community are encouraged to raise awareness and share facts to help shake off any misconceptions about the conditions that cause Dwarfism.
Link: https://www.lpaonline.org
October – ADHD Awareness Month
During the month ADHD organisations around the world join together to show how people with ADHD need more support, understanding and access to services.
Link: https://adhdaware.org.uk
October 2nd-8th – Dyslexia Awareness Week
Celebrating individuals with dyslexia from all backgrounds and walks of life, and providing information about those with dyslexia and the challenges they face.
Link: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
October 7th – Dyspraxia Awareness Week
Dyspraxia Awareness Week is observed annually during the first full week of October, and aims to highlight the condition and how it affects individuals.
Link: https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
October 10th – World Sight Day
World Sight Day (WSD) is an international day of awareness held every October to focus attention on the global issue of eye health.
Link: https://www.iapb.org
October 10th – World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day is a day to talk about mental health and show everyone that mental health matters. It’s also a day to let people know that it’s okay to ask for help, no matter what you’re going through.
Link: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
October 10th-16th – OCD Awareness Week
OCD Awareness Week is an international effort taking place during the second week in October each year to raise awareness and understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorders, with the goal of helping more people to get timely access to appropriate and effective treatment.
Link: https://iocdf.org
November 16th-December 16th – UK Disability History Month
UKDHM provides an opportunity for all councils, service providers, education establishments, youth, play and sports organisations, health providers and employers to examine their approaches to disabled children and youth.
Link: https://ukdhm.org
To ensure that you’re on top of all the important dates in the EDI calendar, bookmark the Empower Up Events page here.
