25th Anniversary Overview
When we dream alone it’s just a dream, but when we dream together it’s the beginning of reality. My dream is that Canada will continue to set the standard for excellence in spinal cord research and treatment, and show the world that a truly accessible and inclusive society is one that embraces the contributions of all its citizens. - Rick Hansen
March 21st, 2010 marks both the last day of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the first day of the 25th Anniversary of Rick Hansen’s Man In Motion World Tour, an epic journey that inspired millions and laid the foundation for a period of extraordinary progress in the spinal cord injury field. The Tour opened our eyes to the potential of people with disabilities and made us believe that, working together, we could build a better, more inclusive world.
Since the Tour, Canada has emerged as a world leader in research, treatment and quality of life initiatives. The pace of advances here proves that when knowledge and resources are shared across professional and geographic boundaries, we achieve together what none of us could achieve alone. This powerful idea has helped carry Canada to the halfway mark on the journey Rick began 25 years ago. But there’s still a long way to go before we can say that every person can walk away from a spinal cord injury, or that all barriers that prevent the full participation and contribution of people with disabilities have been removed.
Even after 25 years of progress, Rick Hansen’s dream is still urgent and relevant.
The 25th Anniversary is the half-way mark on a remarkable global journey. It presents a wonderful opportunity to collectively celebrate the impressive achievements of the last two and half decades. It’s also an opportunity for us to lay out a blueprint for accelerating progress over the next 25 years.
Over the next two years (the time it took to complete the Tour), we’ll be staging a variety of events and activities that will give Canadians a chance to revisit the optimism and excitement of the Tour and, at the same time, remind them that there is still work to be done before Rick’s dream of fully accessible and inclusive communities and a cure for spinal cord injury is realized.
Since the Tour, Canada has emerged as a world leader in research, treatment and quality of life initiatives. The pace of advances here proves that when knowledge and resources are shared across professional and geographic boundaries, we achieve together what none of us could achieve alone. This powerful idea has helped carry Canada to the halfway mark on the journey Rick began 25 years ago. But there’s still a long way to go before we can say that every person can walk away from a spinal cord injury, or that all barriers that prevent the full participation and contribution of people with disabilities have been removed.
Even after 25 years of progress, Rick Hansen’s dream is still urgent and relevant.
The 25th Anniversary is the half-way mark on a remarkable global journey. It presents a wonderful opportunity to collectively celebrate the impressive achievements of the last two and half decades. It’s also an opportunity for us to lay out a blueprint for accelerating progress over the next 25 years.
Over the next two years (the time it took to complete the Tour), we’ll be staging a variety of events and activities that will give Canadians a chance to revisit the optimism and excitement of the Tour and, at the same time, remind them that there is still work to be done before Rick’s dream of fully accessible and inclusive communities and a cure for spinal cord injury is realized.
