Each time a new species becomes endangered, alarm bells are raised by conservationists and scientists who immediately take action to secure protection and resources that will ensure … read moretheir survival. But what happens when an at-risk population is a group of humans with particular characteristics, such as people with Down syndrome? In some countries like the U.S., there have been 30% fewer people born with Down syndrome than projected, and in a few countries, that number is approaching zero. Because of this, the Down syndrome community has less of a voice in the world today, resulting in a lack of housing, education and funding for a community that desperately needs support. The Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS) is applying to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the organization that manages the Red List of Threatened Species, to have people with Down syndrome become the first humans to ever be included, in an effort to advocate for similar kinds of funding, protections, government intervention and public awareness that species on the Endangered List receive.
Agency: FCB, Canada
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