PENI - PEOPLE FOR EQUALITY NOT INSTITUTIONALISATION

August 2005 was the twentieth anniversary of the birth of People for Equality Not Institutionalisation (PENI), a landmark in the local history of the disability rights movement. PENI put disability rights on the political agenda by advocating for equal treatment and de-institutionalisation. Staging public actions and demonstrations throughout the 80s, PENI gained media attention to improve a range of living, working and social conditions for people with disabilities, especially with respect to transport, residential care facilities and access to public spaces and services.

PENI MULTIMEDIA PROJECT

The PENI Multimedia History Workshop enabled five key activists in PENI and associated causes to present highlights from their personal experiences, collective story and achievements, as a ten-minute digital story, as well as in a version print and audio/radio formats.

The PENI Multimedia History Workshop was initiated in mid-2005 by Anitra Nelson, a filmmaker, Steven Hurd, a disability rights advocate and activist, and Anne Burke, Education Program Manager, lab.3000 Incubator (RMIT University). Several workshops were held during August-October 2005. The project received funding from the Melbourne Community Foundation — The Paterson Family Fund. The resulting digital story and audio recordings provided material for transcription into a print version.

Grit Media in conjunction with project initiators hope to further develop the project this year and are currently seeking funding form various sources.