UK Disability History Month
18 Nov 2024
Reflecting on Disability Livelihood and Employment
This November and December, we celebrate Disability History Month at the University.
Colleagues and students will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of online and in person events over the coming weeks.
Jackie Carter, Academic Lead for Disability at the University said: ‘As we reflect on two hundred years of history we are reminded of the rich diverse community that has made The University of Manchester one of the world’s leading institutions. This November and December, I invite you to join in with our exciting programme of events designed to deepen our understanding, celebrate our achievements, and create more inclusion for people with disabilities within our Manchester community and beyond.’
Events
All events are open to staff and students
Thursday, 28 November
Social Model of Disability Training (Online Training)
9:30 to 12:30
Breakthrough UK has been providing bespoke training on the Social Model of Disability for organisations for several years.
The training provides an introduction to the disabled community, an overview of the Social Model of Disability, an understanding of how to apply it within the workplace, a review of the Equality Act, an introduction to Foundations for Change Framework for Disabled Inclusion in the Workplace and having conversations with disabled staff one on one.
Tuesday, 3 December
Living Experience of Disability Panel and Social Event (In-person event)
13.00 – 15.00
University Place Room 2.220, Manchester, M13 9PL
Hosted by Professor Jackie Carter (2023 Shaw Trust Power 100), Rachel Heyes, Laura Howard and Kathy Bradley (all shortlisted for the 2024 Shaw Trust Power 100 ) will talk about their living experience of disability and how it impacts on their day to day lives and their work at The University of Manchester.
Let’s Talk Disability with Professor Duncan Ivison and Professor Jackie Carter.
Hosted by Dr Hamied Haroon. Published Tuesday, 3 December to coincide with International Day for People with Disabilities.
Wednesday, 4 December
Disability Data Lunch and Learn with Sami Karamalla-Gaiballa and Sylvia Masters from the EDI Directorate.
Thursday, 5 December
Unseen Aware Webinar hosted by the Disabled Staff Network (Online)
12:00 to 1pm
We are excited to partner with Simon Haughton for a lunch-and-learn session on ‘Unseen Aware,’ a movement helping organizations and staff better understand unseen disabilities like deafness, ADHD, autism, and epilepsy. Unseen Aware goes beyond training, fostering long-term behavior change.
Simon, born with severe hearing loss, faced challenges during the pandemic when masks hindered his lipreading. Negative experiences with essential services inspired him to help organizations improve communication with the deaf and hard of hearing.
Since April 2021, his training has reached over 410,000 employees across FTSE100 companies, NHS, charities, emergency services, and more. Unseen Aware empowers staff to confidently engage with individuals with hidden disabilities like autism, ADHD, fibromyalgia, and MS.
In this talk, Simon will explore “masking,” how we can help, and ways to become Unseen Disability Allies.
Monday, 16 December
A webinar with Grace Harvey (Paralympic Gold Medallist Paris 2024).
13.00 – 14.20, Online
Grace will talk about her studies at The University of Manchester and her experiences of being an elite athlete as a disabled woman.
About UK Disability History Month
UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) is an annual event focused on the history of disabled people’s fight for equality and human rights.
UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) 2024 runs from Thursday, 14 November to Friday, 20 December.
This year the theme is Disability Livelihood and Employment.
Disability Staff Network Co-Chairs, Rachel Heyes, Steven Pierce and Laura Howard said: ‘Please join us to learn, connect, and share your experiences at the event’s for this year’s celebration of UK Disability History Month. This year’s theme, Disability, Livelihood, and Employment, provides us with the perfect opportunity to promote inclusion, accessibility, and equity for employees with disabilities at the University of Manchester.’
Further information
- Disabled Staff Network
- DSN Teams Space
- @uomDSN
- @uomeandd
If you are hosting an event open to all University staff for Disability History Month that you would like us to add to this list please email uninews@manchester.ac.uk