Today we're celebrating a key point in time as it's 1,000 days to go until the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. At BT we're really excited and working very hard to prepare the communications infrastructure that will deliver a range of vital communications services and applications to help the Games run as smoothly as possible.

 

We're also recruiting BT volunteers to provide support during the annual BT Paralympic World Cup that serves as an excellent platform for our top disabled athletes to prepare.

 

I have to say that we are incredibly proud to be associated and involved with the 2012 Paralympic Games.

 

Not everyone realises this but at BT we have demonstrated our commitment to disability in the UK through our long association with the Paralympic Movement. We were the British Paralympic Association's first commercial partner in 1989 and we're a Partner of ParalympicsGB as part of our London 2012 Partnership. We are also the title sponsor for the BT Paralympic World Cup for the next three years.

 

The dedication, skill and talent of Paralympians is amazing. BT supports ParalympicsGB because we want our athletes to be the best they can be - and the same goes for our people inside BT. 

 

Many employees have told me how truly motivated they've been when they had the chance to meet some of the coaches and hear from our Paralympic Ambassadors - Oscar Pistorius, Ade Adepitan, Nathan Stephens, Lee Pearson and of course BT's very own Paralympian footballer, Richard Fox.

 

Our employees have been, and continue to be, truly inspired and frankly in awe of what these individuals have accomplished both on and off the sporting field. Their achievements are a great source of encouragement and motivation for our employees during what has been a difficult time for all of us during this period of recession.  Many employees are looking forward to getting involved in the Paralympic Games as a volunteer and will be signing up to take part.

 

As well as our association with the 2012 Paralympic Games we run a campaign called 'Including You'. This initiative brings together everything BT does on disability and inclusion from improving disabled customers' experience of BT's services to product design and policies and practices that allow disabled employees to deliver their best.  

 

Disability and Inclusion is not a specialist subject or something we can leave to the experts. We all have a part to play in creating products, services and a workplace that can be enjoyed by everyone and in which everyone can participate and contribute.

 

Statistics tell us that a third of all people in the UK are disabled or close to someone who is* and there are 650 million disabled people worldwide**. These are big numbers that cannot be ignored.  We should all play a part in making disability something that is normal and not something that is necessarily special or different. 

 

This 1,000 Days To Go milestone seems a good time to reflect on the bigger picture of Disability and Inclusion within the UK. The fact that London will host the 2012 Paralympic Games provides this country with a wonderful opportunity and, as well as considering whether we are doing all we can to raise the profile of Paralympic athletes and sport, we also need to look at whether we can do more to make disability a business-as-usual activity in our day-to-day work and home lives.

*ONS Census 2001
** United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007

 

Sally Davis is CEO of BT Wholesale and is the pan-BT Disability & Inclusion Champion. BT is the official communications services partner for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and title sponsor of the BT Paralympic World Cup.  For more information click here.