Purple Light Up 2021

Various buildings in Vienna illuminated in purple as part of PurpleLightUp.

December 3rd, 2021, International Day of People with Disabilities, was purple again that year! Together we strongly conveyed our commitment to the economic empowerment of people with disabilities with the #PurpleLightUp campaign. More than 140 companies, organizations and political institutions, as well as people with and without disabilities, took part in the campaign in Austria and Germany.

 

Shining light on inclusion and self-determination

Despite the fact that more than 15 million people with disabilities live in German-speaking countries, they are mostly invisible. Part of the reason for this is that only about 20 percent of disabilities are visible. "Many people believe that disabilities must always be recognized or seen immediately. And that's where the problem begins. Our society still encourages looking the other way. That's why it's so important to make this topic visible in its entirety", explains Julia Moser, PurpleLightUp ambassador for German-speaking countries and head of inclusion at myAbility.

With #PurpleLightUp 2021, we once again drew attention to the concerns and rights of people with disabilities, celebrated their economic contribution and pointed the way to their economic empowerment. This means that companies are committed to removing the many existing barriers that make autonomous participation in the workplace and in the economy difficult.

Furthermore, people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by the ongoing crisis. "It is all the more important that PurpleLightUp is growing so rapidly in German-speaking countries and that more and more companies make their commitment to an inclusive labour market visible and work towards breaking down barriers in the economy", emphasizes Julia Moser.

Interview with Julia Moser about PurpleLightUp

The campaign grew significantly that year. We were happy to have 140 official registrations! At this point we would like to say a big thank you to the Diversity Charta Association(Charta der Vielfalt). Thanks to their support, the number of German participants rose significantly that year.

 

Campaign activities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

The economic contribution of people with disabilities was celebrated and made visible under the hashtag #PurpleLightUp with purple-lit buildings, events, information campaigns, employees dressed in purple, purple-coloured websites and posts on social media. We would like to thank all participating companies, associations, political institutions and individuals for their contributions and campaign activities, with which they set an example of dealing with disabilities and chronic diseases in a natural and modern way. These contributions attracted more public attention to this topic. Find below some examples of participants from last year’s campaign.

In Austria

Main train station Vienna (ÖBB), UNIQA Tower (video), VERBUND power plants in Vienna and its headquarters in the first district of Vienna (press release), Raiffeisen Centrobank AG, Erste Bank Campus, Sparkasse Oberösterreich (credit union), Markas office in Vienna, myAbility (press release), Central Bank Austria, Economic Chamber Vienna, AMS regional office in Vienna (department of unemployment assistance), Bundespräsidentschaftskanzlei (office of the Federal President, das Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery) and the temporary offices of the Austrian Parliament at Josefsplatz (press release), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, district administration Mariahilf, Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences of Vienna.

In Germany

Google Munich, Allianz Arena in cooperation with FC Bayern Munich, ERGO Group AG in Düsseldorf, Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, the Porsche Tower in Bietigheim and the "Diamant" (office tower) of Porsche Leipzig, BayArena, Jobcenter Worms , Verti Music Hall at Mercedes Platz, City Hall Tower in Gelsenkirchen, Hanover region, enercity thermal power station, German Post Office DHL post tower, Frankfurt Airport (Fraport), Employment Agency Mainz, IFW Dresden, Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, SOKA-Bau , Catherine Tower in Magdeburg.

6 buildings are lit purple in the evening

More purple campaign activities and postings

Websites and various social media channels were also shining in purple on December 3rd. From coloured logos and banners to many different purple team photos, collages and graphics, as well as statements and videos. Some companies and organizations also used the day for workshops and internal communication activities on the subject of inclusion and disabilities. We would like to present examples of some of the campaign activities on various social media channels in the following photo collages. You can also find more posts on our Twitter page.

A big thank you to all participants! We are already looking forward to December 3rd, 2022!

Participating organizations and companies

 

Austria

Accenture Austria, AMS Vienna (department of unemployment assistance), UniCredit Bank Austria, BBRZ Reha GmbH, district administration Mariahilf, Bipa, brutkasten, Federal Computing Center GmbH Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, Equalizent, Erste Bank, Essl Foundation, EY Austria, IKEA Austria GmbH, Jugend am Werk, Lebenshilfe Judenburg (counselling), Lebenshilfe Wien (counselling), Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck, Lime Soda, MALTESER Kinderhilfe GmbH, Markas GmbH, medianet group, META pilot project LAUT c/o Access – Inklusion im Arbeitsleben gemeinnützige GmbH, MVG, myAbility, ÖBB, Central Bank Austria, Austrian Post Office AG, Austrian Disability Council, Austrian Parliament, PremiQaMed, Raiffeisen Bank International, Raiffeisen Centrobank AG, Schultz Group, Ministry of Social Affairs, Takeda, UNIQA Insurance Group AG, UN-Women, Verbund, Ohrenschmaus Association, WAG Assistenzgenossenschaft, WeDress Collective GmbH, WeltWegWeiser, Vienna Economic Chamber, Zurich Insurance Group AG.

Germany

Accenture, Age of Artists gGmbH, Alliance Automotive Group Germany, Allianz SE, Anschutz Entertainment Group, ANTHOJO Group, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Autak e.V., Axel Springer SE, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, BearingPoint GmbH, Berliner Stadtreinigung (city cleaning) , Besondere Orte Umweltforum Berlin GmbH, BKK Pfalz, Brakula e.V., BTC AG, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Campus Mensch, Charta der Vielfalt, CSD Magdeburg e.V., CSL Behring, Cynteract GmbH, DEMIRTAG Consulting GmbH, Dentsu Germany GmbH, German Post Office DHL Group, German Research Center for Geosciences Potsdam, Die Schule für Gesundheits- und Krankenpflege Hamburg gGmbH (School for Health and Nursing Hamburg gGmbH), Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Dreamwaves, Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach, EAF Berlin, enercity AG, ERGO Group AG, Kiel University of Applied Sciences, fm Büromöbel GmbH, Forschungsinstitut Betriebliche Bildung (f-bb) gGmbH (Research Institute), Forschungsstelle Leichte Sprache (University of Hildesheim) (Research Center for Easy Language), Fraport AG, GFN GmbH, GLS Bank, Google Germany, Governikus KG, GRG. Die Gebäudereiniger, GxP-CC GmbH, HAKRO GmbH, Handwerkskammer zu Leipzig (Chamber of Crafts), HAYS AG, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University, Kaiserslautern University, Konstanz University of Technology, Economics and Design; Hotel Baseler Hof, IBsolution GmbH, Innight Express Germany GmbH, ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE, Jobcenter Dortmund, Jobcenter Köln, Jobcenter Worms, Karlsruher SC, KEILIR management consultancy, kompetenzwerkstatt.de, KUBI gGmbH, Landesverein für Innere Mission in Schleswig-Holstein, Lebenshilfe Gifhorn gemeinnützige GmbH (counselling), Lebenshilfe Hildesheim e.V. (counselling), Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development , Merziger Bäder GmbH, pilot project LAUT c/o Access– Inklusion im Arbeitsleben gemeinnützige GmbH, momox GmbH, Munich Re, Otto GmbH & Co KG, PageGroup, PFLEGE IM QUADRAT GMBH, Porsche, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Premier Inn Hamburg City Millerntor, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, Radio Hanau, Reed Smith Llp, Region Hanover, Renatec GmbH/Fairhaus, Sankt Katharinen Hospital GmbH, SD Worx, Selbstbestimmt Autistisch 2019 e.V., SHG Kliniken Sonnenberg, Sigmund Freud Private University SFU Berlin, SOKA-BAU, Sonnenscheinzeit GbR, Sozialstiftung Köpenick (social welfare foundation), SPD Berlin, city of Gelsenkirchen, TEAMWILLE GmbH, Techem, Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences (state-recognised university of the DMT Society for Teaching and Education), The Entrepreneurial University of Munich, TÜV NORD GROUP, University of Hildesheim, University of Konstanz, University of Stuttgart, Volkshochschule im Zweckverband Kommunale Bildung (adult education center), Volkshochschule Rupertiwinkel (adult education center), Wunderman Thompson, Ziegler Film GmbH & Co. KG.

Switzerland

Meta, Google

About #PurpleLightUp

PurpleLightUp is the largest global movement that celebrates the economic contributions of employees with disabilities. Launched in 2017 by PurpleSpace founder Kate Nash, the global campaign conveys a visible statement across the world on December 3rd, International Day of People with Disabilities. The colour purple is used symbolically in different campaign activities. #PurpleLightUp draws attention to the economic empowerment, economic participation and contributions of people with disabilities.

About myAbility

myAbility is a social management consulting firm that helps companies to identify the potential of clients or employees with disabilities. The firm was founded in 2014. Together with companies, they develop inclusion strategies - from DisAbility Management, process and organizational consulting to training and usAability tests. Furthermore, myAbility manages the inclusive job board myAbility.jobs and the myAbility Talent® Program in Vienna, Berlin/Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Rhine/Ruhr, Stuttgart and Zurich and the growing B2B network. In 2021, myAbility received the "Austria's Leading Companies" Award Austria for economic inclusion. The company now employs more than 30 people.