Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020
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Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020: 50 Years of Disabled People's Rights
We're from the Disabled Staff Network (DSN) at The University of Manchester. We've joined forces with Manchester Histories to host Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020: 50 Years of Disabled People's Rights.
2020 is a year that none of us will forget. As well as being the year of a global pandemic, it is also the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Chronically Sick and Disabled Person's Act (CSDPA), the first ever move in the civil rights of disabled people.
The initial event was scheduled for June 2020 with a wide variety of inclusive events, exhibitions, debates, performances and much more to be held across Manchester and beyond.
Then COVID-19 hit. The horrific pandemic disproportionately affects the lives of disabled people in so many ways.
As the need for this initiative is more important than ever, we are now hosting the first ever Manchester Histories DigiFest: 50 Years of Disabled People's Rights. Due to the ongoing public health crisis and rules on social distancing, the event will be an online-hosted digital broadcast. It is happening on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th September 2020.
Hosted by Manchester Histories, the DigiFest is a collaborative programme between The University of Manchester and its Disabled Staff Network, the family of the late Lord Morris of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Manchester’s Students’ Union, TUC (Manchester), Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.
Yet due to COVID-19 we have also lost vital funding. Therefore it will be fantastic if you can donate to our Crowdfunding bid. For the highest donations we can offer you a gift as thank you.
These are as follows:
Michala Hulme is an award-winning historian and professional genealogist at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has featured on BBC’s Heir Hunters, Who Do You Think You Are?, Channel 4’s Genealogy Roadshow and more. Michala is offering you a remote (e.g. Zoom) session to help you get started on your family tree, or she can help you try to unravel a specific line of enquiry if you have hit a bit of a brick wall.
Bestselling novel The Miseducation of Evie Epworth has recently has been selected as a Radio 2 Book Club pick (on Jo Whiley's show). This is the brilliant, funny debut novel from Matson Taylor who is currently writing the sequel and has offered a character auction to a high bidder. Do you want a character to be named after you in a bestselling novel?
Oliver Harris (author of bestselling crime noir novels including Deep Shelter and The Hollow Man) is offering to auction a character in one of his forthcoming books. Would you like a character named after you in a crime thriller?
And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is the bestselling Young Adult (YA) novel from Manchester author Danielle Jawando. It has been listed as one of the best YA books of 2020 from media around the world including The Guardian, the Evening Standard and the Irish Times. It's also recently made it into curriculum in the US. You may receive a copy of this fantastic novel with a personalised message in return for a financial donation.
Aims and background of the Festival
At the heart of the Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020 is the celebration and recognition of Lord Alf Morris, specifically the 50th anniversary of disabled people's rights. 'Alf's Act' ultimately led the way for the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the 2010 Equality Act.
But where is disabled people's rights today? The DigiFest will explore this through three main themes: Celebrate, Challenge, Learn. COVID-19 and Black Lives Matters will also be interwoven throughout. These topics have come from disabled people on the steering group involved in shaping the DigiFest.
In line with Manchester Histories’ mission to deliver initiatives with communities that reveal, share and celebrate Greater Manchester’s diverse histories and heritage, the aims of the DigiFest are:
• To raise awareness of disabled people's rights and the significance of this ground-breaking legislation, known as 'Alf's Act'.
• To provide a historical and future orientated perspective on disabled people’s lives in the UK including the positive developments that have taken place, current uncertainties and future directions.
• To provide a platform for disabled people to express their voices through performance, music and co-designed creative activity.
• To celebrate the life and achievements of Alf Morris and those with whom he worked.
• To spotlight, amongst the vast diversity of disabled people, everyday role models who are neither heroes nor victims but whose positive, ordinary and occasionally spectacularly talented lives make our whole society richer.
• To encourage a present-time, open and critical debate about the promotion of equality for disabled people to the benefit of all in society.
• For disabled people, on their own terms, to author the past, current and potential futures of their citizenship, contribution and participation in the UK. This is a position of empowerment and possibility that would not have been possible without that initial piece of legislation which we honour in these events.
We have already secured the involvement from well known figures including actors Liz Carr and Matt Fraser, academic and broadcaster Tom Shakespeare, Paralympian and Crossbench Peer, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Throughout there will be performances, art, music, debate and so much more.
Costs and where will the money go?
To successfully host the DigiFest, we need to secure funding to ensure the event is fully inclusive and accessible to all with no one excluded. This includes having BSL interpreters, speech to text media, fully accessible venues and accessible programmes (that are available in alternative formats including Braille).
We are happy to give updates on on progress of the organisation of the Festival right up until we host it. We will also fully evaluate the event, which we will happily share.
Help us succeed!
Can you help us promote Manchester Histories Festival? Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog.
In fact, share it with everyone you know as we think it's a great idea, and the more people who know about it, the more likely we are to make this work out brilliantly.
Please also sponsor us and help make this happen!
We're from the Disabled Staff Network (DSN) at The University of Manchester. We've joined forces with Manchester Histories to host Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020: 50 Years of Disabled People's Rights.
2020 is a year that none of us will forget. As well as being the year of a global pandemic, it is also the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Chronically Sick and Disabled Person's Act (CSDPA), the first ever move in the civil rights of disabled people.
The initial event was scheduled for June 2020 with a wide variety of inclusive events, exhibitions, debates, performances and much more to be held across Manchester and beyond.
Then COVID-19 hit. The horrific pandemic disproportionately affects the lives of disabled people in so many ways.
As the need for this initiative is more important than ever, we are now hosting the first ever Manchester Histories DigiFest: 50 Years of Disabled People's Rights. Due to the ongoing public health crisis and rules on social distancing, the event will be an online-hosted digital broadcast. It is happening on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th September 2020.
Hosted by Manchester Histories, the DigiFest is a collaborative programme between The University of Manchester and its Disabled Staff Network, the family of the late Lord Morris of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Manchester’s Students’ Union, TUC (Manchester), Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.
Yet due to COVID-19 we have also lost vital funding. Therefore it will be fantastic if you can donate to our Crowdfunding bid. For the highest donations we can offer you a gift as thank you.
These are as follows:
Michala Hulme is an award-winning historian and professional genealogist at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has featured on BBC’s Heir Hunters, Who Do You Think You Are?, Channel 4’s Genealogy Roadshow and more. Michala is offering you a remote (e.g. Zoom) session to help you get started on your family tree, or she can help you try to unravel a specific line of enquiry if you have hit a bit of a brick wall.
Bestselling novel The Miseducation of Evie Epworth has recently has been selected as a Radio 2 Book Club pick (on Jo Whiley's show). This is the brilliant, funny debut novel from Matson Taylor who is currently writing the sequel and has offered a character auction to a high bidder. Do you want a character to be named after you in a bestselling novel?
Oliver Harris (author of bestselling crime noir novels including Deep Shelter and The Hollow Man) is offering to auction a character in one of his forthcoming books. Would you like a character named after you in a crime thriller?
And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is the bestselling Young Adult (YA) novel from Manchester author Danielle Jawando. It has been listed as one of the best YA books of 2020 from media around the world including The Guardian, the Evening Standard and the Irish Times. It's also recently made it into curriculum in the US. You may receive a copy of this fantastic novel with a personalised message in return for a financial donation.
Aims and background of the Festival
At the heart of the Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020 is the celebration and recognition of Lord Alf Morris, specifically the 50th anniversary of disabled people's rights. 'Alf's Act' ultimately led the way for the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the 2010 Equality Act.
But where is disabled people's rights today? The DigiFest will explore this through three main themes: Celebrate, Challenge, Learn. COVID-19 and Black Lives Matters will also be interwoven throughout. These topics have come from disabled people on the steering group involved in shaping the DigiFest.
In line with Manchester Histories’ mission to deliver initiatives with communities that reveal, share and celebrate Greater Manchester’s diverse histories and heritage, the aims of the DigiFest are:
• To raise awareness of disabled people's rights and the significance of this ground-breaking legislation, known as 'Alf's Act'.
• To provide a historical and future orientated perspective on disabled people’s lives in the UK including the positive developments that have taken place, current uncertainties and future directions.
• To provide a platform for disabled people to express their voices through performance, music and co-designed creative activity.
• To celebrate the life and achievements of Alf Morris and those with whom he worked.
• To spotlight, amongst the vast diversity of disabled people, everyday role models who are neither heroes nor victims but whose positive, ordinary and occasionally spectacularly talented lives make our whole society richer.
• To encourage a present-time, open and critical debate about the promotion of equality for disabled people to the benefit of all in society.
• For disabled people, on their own terms, to author the past, current and potential futures of their citizenship, contribution and participation in the UK. This is a position of empowerment and possibility that would not have been possible without that initial piece of legislation which we honour in these events.
We have already secured the involvement from well known figures including actors Liz Carr and Matt Fraser, academic and broadcaster Tom Shakespeare, Paralympian and Crossbench Peer, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Throughout there will be performances, art, music, debate and so much more.
Costs and where will the money go?
To successfully host the DigiFest, we need to secure funding to ensure the event is fully inclusive and accessible to all with no one excluded. This includes having BSL interpreters, speech to text media, fully accessible venues and accessible programmes (that are available in alternative formats including Braille).
We are happy to give updates on on progress of the organisation of the Festival right up until we host it. We will also fully evaluate the event, which we will happily share.
Help us succeed!
Can you help us promote Manchester Histories Festival? Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog.
In fact, share it with everyone you know as we think it's a great idea, and the more people who know about it, the more likely we are to make this work out brilliantly.
Please also sponsor us and help make this happen!
Fundraising team: Disabled Staff Network, University of Manchester (5)
Kirsty Hutchison
Organizer
Raised £385 from 23 donations
England
MANCHESTER HISTORIES
Registered nonprofit
Donations eligible for Gift Aid.
Hamied Haroon
Team member
Raised £85 from 4 donations
Jessica Boland
Team member
Karen Shannon
Team member
Kate Holmes
Team member
