Bringing disabled women together, mobilising
and sharing through lived experiences

Project

The project will give participants opportunities to:

• develop facilitation, presentation and research skills
• gain and share knowledge in an area of interest
• put this knowledge into practice
• meet and work with new people

The project will be split into two parts. The first part will consist of three sessions aimed at building facilitation skills and confidence for the participants. We will then go on to design a number of further sessions tailored specifically to the needs of individuals within the group. Each will have a mentor who will support in gaining skills in the area of work interested. This could include building campaigns, arts and self-expression, challenging interpersonal violence – the possibilities are endless!

Facilitators

The facilitators for these sessions are:

Lani Parker has worked on disability issues in various capacities including taking part in many campaigns, facilitating training, and working within disabled people’s organisations in the areas of advice, information and advocacy. She has a particular passion for doing the work of connecting social justice issues.
Lani is involved in a number of disabled people’s groups and has taken part in many actions. She was co-facilitator for the Sisters of Frida’s Disability Sexuality workshop last year.

Nim Ralph has over 10 years’ experience as a trainer and facilitator, with specialisms in equalities and diversity work/anti-oppression and campaigning. They are Lead Trainer at Campaign Bootcamp and have facilitated for a wide range of groups and organisations ranging from the Girl Guides to Transgender Europe. Nim worked for Drake Music for the last 3 years, which focuses on Disability, music and technology.

Michelle Daley started working for a grassroots organisation called Action and Rights of Disabled People in London Borough of Newham as a Disability Rights Advocate. She progressed onto developing and coordinating local independent living services. While working for this organisation, she learned about the disabled people’s movement as well as the political aspects. This experience provided her with the springboard to further my career. She was offered positions with some of the most prominent organisations within the disability movement which allowed her to be part of influencing policy at a national level. Michelle is an experienced trainer and facilitator.

Participants

Eleanor Lisney (mentor Stacy Smith) is looking to improve knowledge on domestic violence and (disabled) women. She is grateful that Stacy Smith from the Her Centre, Greenwich, has agreed to mentor her.

Some of the activities from the Her Centre can be seen from the Director Stacy’s and Voluntary Worker Claire Platt ‘s interview by Greenwich Television where they discussed about Her Centre’s services.

Eleanor also went to the Huggett Centre at Barking and Dagenham to discuss the possibility of setting up a network of disabled women working against domestic abuse and services for them.

You can read more about Eleanor on her page.

Michelle Baharier (mentor Rachel Ara) is Alumni/Fellow of the Slade School of Fine Art and winner of the Julian Sullivan award, graduate of the School of Social Entrepreneurs and the University of the Arts.

She is a practicing visual/ performance Artist working with communities to make collective art works, exhibitions, public pieces and performance.

Michelle has a Youtube video about their involvement in the project.

Nancy Mukoro (mentor Zita Holbourne) is interested in disability rights in the work place. She is also interested in campaigning and the role of trade unions.

Photo Esther Leighton

Sorena Francis (mentors Amanda Stuart-Fisher and Dr Michelle Yaa Asantewa ) is interested in the processes involved when disabled artists create performance art with disabled and non-disabled performers, for disabled and non-disabled audiences. As her disability is acquired, this project also intends to engender confidence and insight into the work of being a disabled artist practitioner. Sorena wishes to also explore the ways in which performance art can be used as an agent for change and desires to create work that interrogate themes such as disability, dis/ableism, identity and protest.

You can find out more about Sorenia from Sorena’s page or Sorenia’s Youtube video.

Tope Onanuga (mentor Holly Powell- Jones)

Tope’s Youtube video

Sarifa Patel (mentor Svetlana Kotova)

Sarifa’s Youtube video

Magda Szarota (mentor Jess Hurd)

A collection of photos from the facilitators session in September 2017:

Album of Photos from the last facilitation session around conflict lead by Michelle Daley and Lani Parker.

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