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York Disability Rights Forum

Contact Email: hello@ydrf.org.uk

Project Website: https://ydrf.org.uk

Making a difference as disabled people in York

At the request of York Independent Living Network, (a charity that has since closed) we supported the development of a disabled person-led forum here in York that is activist, accessible and inclusive.  York Disability Rights Forum is now up and running and York Human Rights City Network is proud to continue to support them in whatever ways we can. 

The Forum is open to anyone living and/or working in the city who identifies as disabled or as having a disability or as an ally and is keen to include people with a range of experiences.

York Disability Rights Forum is:

  • Underpinned by the social model and human rights model of disability
  • Provides a space for disabled people and their allies to come together, both face-to-face and through other routes
  • Decides what issues are a priority locally and what actions can be taken collectively

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Communication / Outreach

Human rights can feel technical and abstract, and as such be difficult for both policy makers and the wider public to engage with. The YHRCN has used a variety of strategies to engage with new audiences. Three such strategies are discussed below: the PANEL principles; a collaboration with an advertising agency; and cultural events.

Community Voices

Running between 2018-2021, the aim of Community Voices was two-fold. First, to reach communities in the city not reached through conventional consultation processes; and, second, to support such groups to bring their priorities and agendas for change to the Council and other stakeholders in the city, on their own terms. 

Working with Young People

The YHRCN has supported work with young people in a variety of ways. These include Opinionate workshops with secondary school pupils; working with the the City of York Children’s Safeguarding Partnership (CYSCP) to develop a Realising Children’s Rights Participation Toolkit; and arts-based projects on the right to protest.