Centre Stage – International Day of People with Disability

Wayne is an international speaker, author and comedian, as well as an experienced not-for-profit board director. Wayne is Director of Progress and Property at LEAD Disability Services, Vice President of Meridian, board member of Sharing Places Inc. and a member of the NDS ACT committee. Wayne previously served as Deputy Chair of the ACT Government LGBTIQ+ Advisory Council and as a member of the ACT Disability Reference Group.

A highly values-driven, ambitious and outspoken advocate for people with disability and people in the LGBTIQA+ community, Wayne was a nominee for the 2018 ACT Australian of the Year for services to the disability and LGBTIQA+ communities.

Kimberley is 33 and has Down syndrome. She says, ‘I will not allow my disability to limit me! I prefer to be known by my ability, not my disability’. Kimberley is the Down Syndrome Australia Health Ambassador for the ACT Region, and advises health care professionals about how they can better communicate with people with an intellectual disability.

When she was younger, Kimberley competed in swimming and tenpin bowling in the Special Olympics and won many trophies, and gold, silver and bronze medals. Her favourite activity is acting. She has been studying stagecraft since 2015 and completed a Certificate 4 in Stagecraft in Queensland in 2017. After returning to Canberra in 2018 she appeared in a public stage performance produced by Rebus Theatre. Kimberley also performs with the dance group Happy Beats at clubs in Canberra and in the Sydney Salsa and Mambo Convention each year.

Kimberley has been a member of the Bus Stop Films Inclusive Film Making Program for the past two years and was selected for a speaking role in the short film Dungeons, Goblins and Broccoli. She also recently completed a short advertising video with Screencraft Australia to promote some of the resources available to people with disabilities.

Genevieve is a globally innovate and inclusive filmmaker, inclusion and diversity advocate and social entrepreneur. Her portfolio career spans the film industry, not-for-profit sector and advertising. In 2009 Genevieve pioneered the inclusive filmmaking movement in Australia.

As the former CEO of Bus Stop Films, she built the organisation into a social enterprise which continues to provide education, filmmaking and employment opportunities for people with intellectual disability. She recently helped to establish the Inclusive Filmmaking Toolkit, a free online resource for the film industry on how to be inclusive of people with disability in filmmaking.

As a director and script writer, Genevieve has directed segments for Sesame Street and is the Series Writer and Director of a new ABC television show, Cool Stuff with Fizzy and Suds, which will premiere on ABC Kids in 2024.

Dan is an award-winning Canberra film producer. He was the Production and Logistics Coordinator and EPK Producer for the 2022 AACTA nominated Best Film Sissy. He is late-life diagnosed with ADHD and high functioning Autism. He is an advocate for inclusive and accessible filmmaking, and for 3 years was the filmmaking tutor in the Accessible Film Studies program run by Bus Stop Films in Canberra.

In 2022, Dan was a finalist for Achievement in Inclusion at the ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards. Dan has produced 4 feature length films, 3 web series and numerous short films. These include the award-winning drama web series, Fragments (2022), nominated best web series, At The Phoenix (2021) and Aussie zombie comedy feature, Me and My Mates vs The Zombie Apocalypse (2015).

Dan works as a Producer and as Film and Virtual Production teacher and Content Developer at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment film school in Canberra.