This was our first time joining in with York Disability Week, and we’re so happy we did! There were lots of fantastic events available throughout the week, giving everyone in York the chance to come together to learn about and celebrate disability.
Here’s a roundup of some of our highlights from this year’s events. You can also find all the details of the events that took place on the York Disability Week website.
“Access for Whom” by Dr Ossie Stuart
Dr Stuart spoke passionately in this fascinating talk about the benefits of Universal Design thinking and the benefits that it can have for a wide range of people with different access needs.
View the recording of “Access for Whom” by Dr Ossie Stuart. (Captioned)
Talk by Ellen Clifford, author of ‘The War on Disabled People’
Ellen talked about her book ‘The War on Disabled People‘ with Helen (as known as ‘Our Helen’) who gave a powerful reading about how many of the themes and ideas relate to the current pandemic situation. Read Helen’s recent blog post where she summarises what she said when she met Ellen on Zoom.
The Unlikely History of Disability Arts with Explore York
Through this event we learned about the role that disability has had in the arts throughout history. We also found out about Disability Arts Online, the work of ‘Crippen’ and other prominent artists and groups in the disability arts world. We also got to hear the incredible poem “God Help the Normal” by York artist Imogen Kate, who also produced the artwork for this year’s disability week. Well worth a watch!
The full recording of The Unlikely History of Disability Arts is available to view on YouTube. (Captioned)
An open session with York Disability Rights Forum – ‘What do disabled people want in York and how can we go about getting it’?
We may be a little biased but this was our favourite event! It was our very first open meeting and we got to hold it on United Nations International Day of People with Disabilities. It was a fantastic meeting that brought together lots of different people to share thoughts and ideas. We’re really looking forward to the year ahead and all the positive action that has come out of the meeting. If you want to get involved in future public meetings then please join the Forum.
View the full recording of ‘An open session with York Disability Rights Forum’. (Captioned and BSL Interpretation)
“The Tactile Universe: Accessible astrophysics with the vision impaired community” with Dr Nic Bonne
A wonderful and thought-provoking talk about how Dr. Bonne, a blind observational astronomer, and his team are encouraging more people with visual impairment to get into astrophysics. How do you study galaxies when you can’t see them?
View “The Tactile Universe: Accessible astrophysics with the vision impaired community” on YouTube.
There are some fantastic resources and lesson plans on the Tactile Universe website as well as instructions for printing some of the tactile galaxy models.
And there’s more…
This was just a snapshot of the fantastic events that took place. There are plenty more to catch up on:
- Pippa Stacey talks about finding employment as a disabled or chronically ill young adult
- Visually impaired marathon runner Charlotte Ellis talks about her remarkable sporting journey with Elly Fiorentini of BBC Radio York
- The Eleanor Worthington Prize on Art and Disability Prize giving event took place
- Watch the short film ‘Remembering Lynn Jeffries – Disability Rights Campaigner (1956-2014)’ made as part of York Disability Pride 2017