Disability Wales’ annual general meeting was be chaired by Mik Scarlet – broadcaster, journalist, actor and musician, as well as an expert in the field of access and inclusion for Disabled people. The association took the opportunity of their conference to reflect on what has been accomplished to progress disability rights and equality in Wales. As well as offer inspiration for future achievement. In particular, they celebrated the vital contribution of disability rights campaigners over the decades. They provided a platform for emerging activists who will lead our movement into the future.
Disability Wales welcomed Wales’ First Minister, Mark Drakeford MS who delivered a closing address.
He said: “I want to reaffirm today the commitment of the Welsh government… to the social model of disability and to the ongoing efforts that have to be made… to spreading an understanding of what we mean by the social model and not just an understanding of it but that we make that additional effort to ensure that from understanding comes real action that makes a difference.”
Disabled campaigner Andrea Gordon told the conference: “Where we are now is both exciting and has the potential for huge change, but we need to keep our foot firmly on the pedal.”
She said the Welsh government’s social model commitment and its new Disability Rights Taskforce, were “fantastic and exciting” but “won’t mean anything unless it changes the lives of disabled people”.
She said: “It won’t mean anything at all unless we can see it delivering change in everyday life and everyday policy and practice and actually what happens to us as disabled people when we go out and about.”
You can learn more about Disability Wales’ AGM, and the speeches made at it, on the Disability News Service website.
