Young Disabled activists: let's connect & support each other

Image description: The event title and time in purple and pink text over a white background with light blue blobs and outline drawing of wattle. Four people are pictured at the bottom. A pink person wearing a green shirt and purple headscarf is signing, a pink person with short hair, a collared shirt and limb loss is smiling. A brown person with long hair, visual impairment is smiling in a yellow turtleneck t-shirt. A pink person with glasses is holding their hand up to their ear, they have white hair and a beard, and is wearing a blue jumper over a white shirt.

The event aims to connect young disabled change makers with peers so you can support each other, and work together to create social change.

We will begin by situating ourselves on and acknowledging our relationship to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Country.

5.30pm Panel discussion: What are ways that we as disabled activists can build and draw on support within and beyond our communities?

We might talk about:

• building trust and reciprocity in working relationships with individuals, collectives and organisations
• creative ways of supporting and sustaining our work like asking for help from family and allies, reaching out to community groups and mutual aid

6.25pm 5 minute break + Question and answer

6.45pm Relationship building
We discuss and continue the conversation from the panel in smaller groups. We might brainstorm ways we can get and give support, or share our experiences and tips.

7.15pm 10 minute break

7.30pm Offers and Needs marketplace
We practise freely making offers and expressing needs in a way that feels comfortable to you in the group. We may use a Google Sheet to facilitate this. 

I hope that you feel included in the event space and leave more motivated or supported to make change. Even better if you meet a new friend you want to stay in touch with!

If you have any feedback or suggestions or want to get in touch, please email me at holly.hy.zhang@gmail.com or you can also contact CYDA.

Speakers

Renay Barker-Mulholland is a writer, artist and a proud Biripi Daingatti woman. She has written about her passion for accessible fashion for the ABC and her journey of leadership for Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA)’s blog. She has been living with disability and chronic pain for many years but a wheelchair only for a few. You can follow her on Instagram @firstnations_feminist and the Disability Justice Network on Twitter and Instagram @disabilityjn.

Ono Chowdhury (They/Them)
Inspired by Black and Asian-led queer spaces in London and teachings from the 'Erotic as Power' by Audre Lorde, Ono envisioned a space for community and liberation for Queer, Transgender, Intersex Bla(c)k and People of Colour here in so-called Australia. Thus, began their journey of bringing together DEiFY.  As a community organiser, and person of Bangladeshi heritage and trans experience, Ono is continuously learning to dream and manifest anti-racist and queer futures.

About DEiFY: Residing on the stolen lands of Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Ngambri Country (Canberra), DEiFY celebrates and centres the resilience, rapture and rage of Queer, Transgender and Intersex Bla(c)k, Indigenous and People of Colour. You can follow DEiFY on Facebook and Instagram @deifycbr.

Julia Rose Bak is a queer, Maori-Polish writer, survivor, abolitionist and organiser based in Narrm. Their writing centres on their experiences growing up with chronic illness, as well as wider themes of care, collective access, collective liberation, sustainable organising and movement-building, and abolitionism.

This is a Cre8 Space Grant event sponsored and supported by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA). 

While this event has been guided and supported by CYDA it is not an official CYDA event. Cre8 Space sponsored events are planned, organised, and run by their specific organisers independently. CYDA cannot guarantee the accessibility or other details and all questions should be directed to the event organisers.