CoorDown’s musical call for disability inclusion is wonderful
By James Herring on Thursday, March 13, 2025
For World Down Syndrome Day non profit CoorDown is launching an international awareness campaign demanding that people with disabilities be included in decision-making at all levels.
With at least one billion people globally living with disabilities, according to the WHO, the campaign ‘No Decision Without Us’: highlights a crucial question: Where are these individuals when the world is being shaped?
The international awareness campaign created in collaboration with the New York-based agency SMALL takes the form of an engaging musical featuring Caterina Scorsone, the beloved star of “Grey’s Anatomy” and mother of a daughter with Down syndrome.
The entertaining campaign film, tells the story through a series of striking moments a girl with Down syndrome asserting her choice in what she wears, a wheelchair user demanding input in urban planning, a blind traveler challenging inaccessible technology, and more.
Featuring an original song performed by a diverse cast of actors with disabilities the film is a rallying cry for representation.
Too often, the rooms where policies are crafted and societal norms are set remain closed to them. CoorDown is pushing to change this by advocating not just for inclusion but for active participation.
CoorDown President Martina Fuga said: “We all know the weight of having decisions made by others, without being able to express our voice. The fact is that people with disabilities experience this frustration every day. They face it in their private lives, at school, at work, in the spaces they inhabit, when they travel, and in social life. After years of slow but significant progress toward a more inclusive world, today we are facing a worrying setback. With this campaign, we join our voice with all people with disabilities, launching a call to action that transcends every division and barrier. Only by standing united and firmly demanding a place at the decision-making table can we confront this historical moment that seems intent on relegating people with disabilities to silence and invisibility.”
