21 May 2026 | State House.
This week I met Jason Parker Winslow, a young man bound to a wheelchair whose spirit, I can attest, is bound to nothing. What moved me most was learning that Jason had come to witness my inauguration, but returned home without seeing a single moment of the ceremony, because there was no accessible ramp. That image has not left me. And it is where this message begins, because it is precisely that gap, between the Seychelles we celebrate and the Seychelles every citizen deserves, that Global Accessibility Awareness Day calls us to close.
The true measure of a nation is not found in its tallest buildings or its broadest roads, but in the spaces it makes for every one of its people. As Seychelles marks fifty years of independence, I am profoundly proud to say that ours is a nation that thinks inclusively.
Fifty years is a remarkable journey, and in those decades, much has been accomplished. From the earliest foundations of our social services to the accessibility infrastructure being constructed across our islands today, Seychelles has steadily and purposefully moved towards a more inclusive future. I wish to acknowledge with deep gratitude the individuals, community groups, non-governmental organisations, and government agencies who have invested their time, their expertise, their resources, and their compassion in programmes and projects that ensure no Seychellois is left on the outside looking in. Your work changes lives. It changes our nation. And it is seen.
As we observe this day, let us each commit to carrying that inspiration forward, to building the legislative frameworks, the infrastructure, and above all, the culture of inclusion that every Seychellois deserves. Accessibility is not a privilege. It is a right. And so long as there is one person in our beautiful islands who cannot access a building, a beach, a classroom, or a moment of national celebration, our work is not done.
