Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, August 19 2021 – This evening, at dusk, Palazzo Marino will be lit up in purple, the international color of disability, to celebrate the launch of #WeThe15, the campaign promoted by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) to draw attention to the rights of people with disabilities , approximately 1,2 billion citizens, equal to 15% of the world population.

At the same time, the other institutional headquarters of the territories that will be protagonists of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be lit up in purple (Palazzo Lombardia, Palazzo Pirelli, Torre Allianz in Milan and the Palazzo del Municipio in Cortina d'Ampezzo), as well as 115 among the most iconic sites in the world including the Sky tree and the Rainbow bridge in Tokyo, Geneva's jet d'eau, the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, the London eye in London and the Niagara Falls between Canada and the United States.

The #WeThe15 initiative, launched five days before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, aims to end discrimination against people with disabilities and act as a global movement promoting inclusion and breaking down barriers physical and cultural. It brings together the largest coalition ever seen of international organizations from the world of sport, human rights, institutions, economy, arts and entertainment: UN Human rights, UNESCO, UN SDG Action campaign, European Commission, The valuable 500, Global citizen, Global disability innovation hub, UN Alliance of civilizations (UNAOC), International disability and development consortium, C-Talent, ATscale – the Global partnership for assistive technology, Zero project, and the Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations (GAATO).

The International Paralympic Committee, Special Olympics, Invictus Games Foundation and International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (Deaflympics) have also joined forces for the first time, harnessing sport's ability to engage large audiences and spark positive change. in history. The four organizations will use their international sporting events and athlete communities to further raise awareness and understanding of the issues facing people with disabilities around the world.