Accessibility advocates announced as joint ambassadors for IDPWD 2022

• ●  International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD) is coming up on 3 December

• ●  Julie Jones and her son, Braeden, are going to be joint ambassadors for IDPWD 2022

• ●  Julie Jones is the founder of Australia's first (and only!) disability-specific travel magazine, Travel Without Limits

  14 November 2022: Accessibility advocates Julie Jones and her son, Braeden, have been named joint ambassadors for International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD), coming up on 3 December 2022.

  “One in 5 Australians live with a disability,” says Julie. “We want to bust the myth that they can't take adventures or explore the world. Being IDPWD ambassadors gives us a chance to shift perceptions about what people who live with a disability 'can't' do.”

  Braeden lives with cerebral palsy; he is non-verbal, a wheelchair user, and needs assistance with all of his day-to-day activities. With his family's support, and a positive can-do attitude, he has travelled around the world and experienced everything from helicopter rides over glaciers to Disneyland days.

  “We know what it's like to feel frustrated by barriers to travel,” Julie says. “But we also know that it's possible to break them down and forge a path through. We just need to look beyond the way things have always been done, and find something better.”

It was this desire to break down barriers that led Julie to launch Travel Without Limits–Australia's first (and only!) disability-specific travel magazine.

“People who live with disabilities rarely see themselves represented or catered for in mainstream travel media,” Julie says. “Travel Without Limits might be the only time they see a picture of someone like them in a magazine, or information they need to know about booking accommodation, or advice on activities that are accessible to them.”

“Being joint ambassadors for IDPWD is going to let us spread that message even further, and we couldn't be more excited!”

Julie and Braeden are joint IDPWD ambassadors this year, alongside Akii Ngo, Nathan Basha, Chloe Hayden, Eliza Hull, and Uncle Wilfred Prince.

This year's international IDPWD theme–”Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world”–parallels Julie and Braeden's goals for a world where opportunities to travel are accessible to all.

Julie Jones is available for interview across all formats. Get in touch at julie@travelwithoutlimits.com.au

About International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD)

• ●  IDPWD is a United Nations observed day aimed at increasing public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability, held on 3 December each year

• ●  By ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008, Australia joined other countries in a global effort to promote the equal and active participation of all people with disability. The Australian Government has been supporting IDPwD since 1996 and provides funds to promote and raise awareness of the day and support activities around Australia.

• ●  IDPWD Ambassadors to help promote the achievements and contributions of people with disability and champion inclusion. Previous ambassadors include para-swimmer and gold medalist Rachael Watson (2021), and paralympian Kurt Fearnley (2019).

  About Julie Jones:

• ●  Julie Jones is the co-founder and editor of Travel Without Limits, Australia's first (and only!) disability-specific travel magazine, published biannually since 2019

• ●  Julie also runs the wildly successful accessible travel blog Have Wheelchair Will Travel, with an online community of thousands of travellers. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Julie taking her advocacy online with the website/blog.

• ●  Julie has appeared on ABC Everyday, The Australian, ESCAPE, and the ListenABLE podcast with Angus O'Loughlin and Dylan Alcott (Australian of The Year)