21st March - World Down Syndrome Day

March 21st has been marked by those engaged in spreading awareness about Down syndrome since 2006. The date refers to the third 21st chromosome in Down syndrome (trisomy 21). In 2011 the United Nations (UN) officially declared the day to be World Down Syndrome Day (UN-downsyndromeday). This is a dedicated day for celebrating diversity, as well as spreading awareness about Down syndrome which is the most prevalent single cause of intellectual disability.

photo: colourbox

There are a range of efforts made to promote and celebrate diversity on Down syndrome awareness day, such as  the lots-of-socks campaign, the Norwegian dagsverk for down which is a national campaign encouraging people to do/donate a days work for Down syndrome, and the ‘how do you see me?’ campaign. Olivia Wilde took part in a video for the how do you see me campaign (see link above), which aims to address people’s perspectives of individuals with Down syndrome.

The DSL+-project`s contribution this year was a  news story on Norwegian radio focused on Down syndrome and the importance of language and communication efforts for these children, as well as sharing information about the DSL+-project. Norwegian speaking readers can follow this link to listen to the radio story: EKKO - 21. mars. And in Bristol Liz marked World Down Syndrome Day with a cake bake. 





Cakes for World Down Syndrome Day

For more information about World Down syndrome day, and to keep up with events that have taken place to raise awareness and celebrate diversity, see the World Down syndrome day web page: worlddownsyndromeday.org

We hope everyone had a nice celebration for World Down syndrome Day this year!