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Three smiling children playing a video game, the boy on the right uses a wheelchair

Accessibility in Nova Scotia

Access includes everyone in everyday life

Imagine a world with no barriers. Everything — from education and employment to the physical environment, to music, sports, entertainment and everyday information — is accessible and available to everyone, no matter their background, circumstances or abilities.

Accessibility is a human right. Creating an accessible province for people with disabilities means more than building ramps and accessible restrooms. It calls for a change in overall attitudes, where everyone is included in all aspects of our society. People with diverse perspectives and experiences make our province stronger.

This is our vision for the future — and change is happening now across Nova Scotia. We’re identifying and removing barriers to inclusion and access in our communities, organizations, schools, workplaces and everyday lives.

Access includes everyone is a public awareness campaign about how accessibility fosters inclusion for Nova Scotians with disabilities. The campaign aims to increase awareness that accessibility is a human right and about the barriers that prevent Nova Scotians with disabilities from participating in everyday life – at school, work, home and in the community.

The campaign includes videos of three Nova Scotians with disabilities, as well as posters, social media ads and photographs. Meet one of these Nova Scotians, Kaylie, and check out related campaign materials by searching our Resource Hub

Stories from across Nova Scotia

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Meet one of these Nova Scotians, Kaylie

Learn more about Nova Scotians and how they're involved in shaping the future of access.

Celebrating accessibility and leadership

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 5061 - Group shot of four light-skinned people including one who is using a power wheelchair and another elder person who has their eyes closed and is holding onto a guide dog in harness. Two have beards and the other two have longer hair.

Learn more about how municipalities and other public sector bodies, businesses, organizations and leaders are implementing accessibility initiatives across Nova Scotia. 

Change starts with you

Every Nova Scotian should have access to communities, workplaces and services that enable everyone to participate fully in society.

Learn what you can do to improve accessibility

7439 - A light skinned young child with long hair and an adult beside them explore visual time telling tools on a table in a library. The child is wearing a t-shirt that says “inclusion is my love language.”

Nova Scotia Access Awareness Week: May 26-June 2, 2024

Nova Scotia was the first province in Canada to champion Access Awareness Week as an extension of Rick Hansen’s 1987 Man in Motion World Tour. During this initiative Rick and his team wheeled through 34 countries raising awareness about the potential of people with disabilities and the possibility of creating accessible and inclusive communities.

For 37 years, Nova Scotians have organized community events, press conferences, forums, concerts and lectures during Access Awareness Week to bring attention to the importance of removing barriers for people with disabilities. Through public awareness, community partnerships education and dialogue, Access Awareness Week aims to foster an environment of equal participation for persons with disabilities. To learn more about events and initiatives happening across the province see the Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities and Reachability.

Access Awareness Week Logo with two figures holding a torch within a circle that says nova scotia
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