WXXI-TV announced Friday that it will lead a pilot project to expand its Move to Include project to promote inclusion in five new communities across the country.
Funded by a $645,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, this 16-month project will scale up the multimedia initiative, developed by WXXI and the Golisano Foundation, that combines content production, curation, and engagement to encourage dialogue about disability issues.
“People with disabilities make up our single largest minority in this country,” explains WXXI President and CEO Norm Silverstein. “Now we’re proud to pilot Move to Include in five additional communities, using public media’s many platforms to promote equity and inclusion. Through Move to Include, we hope to build more inclusive communities by inspiring and motivating people to embrace different abilities and include all people in every aspect of community life.”
WXXI will lead a collaboration of partner stations: WFYI (Indianapolis), OPB (Oregon), WGCU (Southwest Florida), WCNY (Syracuse), and Iowa Public Television. Each station will work to organize community partnerships, acquire and create content, and provide outreach, engagement, and promotion for the initiative. They will also contribute content to the PBS LearningMedia collection used by teachers, families and students free of charge.
“Public media belongs to everyone, and Move to Include is an important part of our mission to ensure inclusion for people with disabilities,” said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “CPB is proud to support this effort to replicate through locally owned and operated public media stations, a community-based model that truly works.”
WXXI will create and manage a national Move to Include website to serve as a unified hub and oversee a unified strategy for sharing and reposting related content on social media.
The national project is slated to kick off July 2020 in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
