It is important to recognise that disabled people have multiple
identities, are sometimes members of other groups subjected to discriminatory practice, and that
disability is diverse in nature in terms of the range and types of impairment that affect people
e.g. Neuro-diverse, mental health issues, learning difficulty, physical, invisible and sensory
impairments.
What are the aims of Disability History Month?
During Disability History Month, we aim
to...
- Celebrate the experiences and achievements of
disabled people.
- Create greater understanding of the barriers
in society that disabled people face.
- Look at the history of how such barriers are
fuelled by negative attitudes and customs, whilst reflecting on how far we have to
go.
- Develop and campaign on what needs to be changed for disabled
people to achieve full equality in all areas of life.
- Make equality a daily reality.
Holly and Nathan's DHM challenge
As part of our Disability History Month 2023 celebrations, two of your officers took on a very unique - and very enlightening - challenge!
Nathan Wyatt, your Welfare, Community and Diversity officer joined Holly Summers, your Students with Disabilities Officer, to experience the UEA campus from a whole new perspective - that of a wheelchair user. While we cannot make any comment on Nathan's navigational skills (he certainly improved as the experience went on!), we CAN say that Nathan and Holly opened our eyes to just how difficult it is to get around campus in a wheelchair.
It's our hope that by taking an honest look at accessibility on campus, we can both celebrate how far UEA has come but acknowledge just how far it has to go before becoming truly accessible. It is only through accepting our shortcomings that we might begin to plan and improve our campus for all it's members; we look forward to seeing what changes this insight might create!
You can find out how Nathan got on as we release these videos throughout DHM 2023, or you can watch them back below!
A Day On Campus - Reflection Podcast
After a long day on campus, Nathan and Holly returned victorious (and tired!) to the office to reflect on their experience. Here's what they had to say...