2012 was strange. As well as being another big year for anti-cut campaigns – among them Pat’s Petition, Scope’s Keep Us Close, Stolen Futures and The Hardest Hit – it also saw the biggest global arena for disabled and non-disabled athletes and performers ever.
After the Olympics, the 2012 Paralympic Games was the second largest sporting event in the world – and that’s not to mention the tremendous work that also went into their Opening Ceremonies. I am sure a lot of people are coming away wanting more than they did at the end of 2011 – in more ways than one.
So let’s start a meme, and wish upon a star for 2013. What would you most like to see happen next year? What campaign do you most want to succeed? What do you want people to achieve?
You can only make one wish, inspired by the events of 2012, and it must be in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year. Think about the headlines that affected you the most; the triumphs, the adversity, any issues arising in the last twelve months that you felt most passionately about.
There is no limit to the scope of your wish. It can be broad or narrow in context, personal or professional. You can wish for peace in Gaza, gay marriage rights, more live streaming subtitles, better press regulation, a return to human rights and equality, rewards for carers, another Olympics/Paralympics, a good prognosis for someone who is ill. It can relate to a single family member or friend, or an entire community.
The choice is entirely yours, but in keeping with the goodwill of Christmas, your wish must be positive or humanitarian in spirit. The aim is to promote good old-fashioned compassion via social media.
Once you’ve selected your wish:
- Grab the badge code in the widget (top right corner)
- Blog about it before January 1st 2013
- Link back to yours in the comments below and
- Say hello to somebody new!
Make sure you state your wish clearly – perhaps highlighted in bold – directly above the badge and in no more than a few words (one or two sentences will do).
I’d like to see this meme across all social media, not just in the blogosphere. Prefer Twitter or Facebook to blogging? No problem! Just use the hashtag #wishuponastar2013 and copy the badge when you declare your wish in up to 140 characters. Again, do it before 1st January 2013. Linking back to this post would be welcome, but you don’t have to!
The aim is for people to come together in celebration of the festive spirit, and enjoy the rewards that are to be gained from reading the charitable thoughts of others. I’ll start with mine.
My wish for 2013 is for all families of disabled children to be brought closer together, so that the children can play a more active role in their families’ lives.
