Hello and Welcome!

 

Photo Alt Text: Black and white background with word “welcome” written in bright Orange

Hello everyone, 

Thank you for checking out ‘Life Through the Lens of Disability’. This blog is authored by two disabled activists - Jordon and Ciara. Both are from Scotland. You can find out more about their stories and why awareness is so important to them below: 

Ciara’s Story


Photo Alt Text: Ciara sitting in her wheelchair at the bottom of the steps leading to the Scottish Parliament Debating Chamber

Ciara is 18 years old, from Glasgow and is a strong disabled activist. During her time at school, she set up a group called The Inclusivists - a group aimed at educating pupils about disability. The group was set up due to the bullying that Ciara and other disabled pupils experienced. Ciara made a variety of PowerPoint Presentations in relation to disability, which were accessible to all teachers and pupils across Scotland. She also has a platform on both Twitter and TikTok. Through the Inclusivists, Ciara and others in the group raised lots of money for Children in Need and various other charities which support disabled people. Although Ciara is now no longer a school pupil, she hopes her legacy will live on for years to come. Looking to the present, Ciara is an IWill Ambassador and Change Maker for the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS). In her work with NDCS, she was able to present at the latest SNP conference, and you can read about her experience of this here. 

Jordon’s Story


Photo Alt Text: Jordon looking at camera holding a “21” balloon


Jordon is 22 and from Aberdeen. Jordon studied at North East Scotland college since leaving school in 2016. Through this, he took part in lots of events. In his final year at NESCOL, he volunteered with the Students Association where he was Equality & Diversity Officer. The biggest piece of work in his role was probably the student survey on Equality and Diversity, where he provided a list of improvement recommendations to the colleges Equalities Committee on how the college can be more equal, diverse and inclusive. Other work involved working with Computing Lecturer Kathy Horne and her students on accessibility issues. He presented a disability awareness session to Kathy’s computing classes which was well recieved. He has presented various disability awareness sessions, including one to the Youth Work Team of his local authority and another to the creative learning team. Jordon is a fundraiser for Guide Dogs, a member of a working group within his local authority which amplified the voice of disabled people. He has also done work for other disabled people organisations. 

Finally…

We would like to say thank you to all our readers. We hope you find the content of this blog exciting, informative and touching. Disability activism is so important to us both and we hope to change the way disability is viewed. If you have any topics at all that you would like us to write about, please do let us know! 

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