Disability Debrief (Page 1)

Pressing pause

The Debrief takes a week off

16 Apr 2025

An abstract watercolour illustration of two small figures outlined in a space of light blue brush strokes, framed by strokes in darker greens, purples and blues.

A good friend of mine

Falling in love with assistive technology in Indonesia

09 Apr 2025

A digital illustration imitating a video game interface: a short-statured woman selects a pink wheelchair from a menu of assistive technology, against a background of mountains and a sunset.

Recovering our dreams

A dispatch from the Global Disability Summit

02 Apr 2025

A digital illustration of a treasure chest at the bottom of a sea. It contains golden coins, paper with justice symbols and braille.

The choices are not equal

Raúl Krauthausen challenges segregation of disabled people in Germany

26 Mar 2025

A digitally illustrated portrait of Raúl, a white man with a brown hair, beard, glasses and trademark flat cap, with a divided red and yellow background.

A familiar place

Five years of Covid, forced back to work, and curated news from 39 countries

19 Mar 2025

Photograph of a young Philippine girl using a braille slate and stylus to write on paper. She looks down, concentrated, her face covered by long dark hair.

Hands once joined

Impacts of aid freeze, education insights, and more from the mailbag

12 Mar 2025

This is war

Fighting back against the violence faced by people with albinism

05 Mar 2025

Illustration of a girl with albinism in a car as children and adults outside point and laugh.

We have a right to be angry

Protests in France, seismic shifts in the US and curated news from 45+ countries

26 Feb 2025

A photograph of two protestors, a man in a wheelchair and a woman standing, holding signs in French.

Good trouble for a good cause

ADD International support to Disability Debrief

24 Feb 2025

Forgotten

Finding my own worth in a frightening shadow world

19 Feb 2025

A watercolor illustration of a glass jar holding sticks, a red flower, and leaves. By its side, candles and paper cranes.

A one-sided deal

When inclusive education means getting rid of our differences

12 Feb 2025

Illustration of a window onto a classroom with children rigidly studying, and kids on the outside noisy and restless.

Stop work

The US aid freeze's devastating impact on disabled people

05 Feb 2025

An illustration showing objects and people being sucked up off the planet by a giant vacuum cleaner with Trump-like hair.

Struck out

Physical education's lessons of exclusion and ableism

29 Jan 2025

Digital illustration close-up of a nervous face with a scene of baseball played out in the eyes.

A thrilling new era

America ablaze, harmful charities and curated news from 64 countries

22 Jan 2025

Magic corners

Supporting creators making disability media

15 Jan 2025

A long breakup

Mobility, AI, and adapting: disabled reflections on 2024

11 Dec 2024

A digital illustration of showing Peter, in an electric wheelchair, going through chaotic scenes of 2024.

Help me open the door

Making media for a more open disability movement

04 Dec 2024

Photo of Peter, a white man nearly 40, sitting in wheelchair working on a laptop. He's wearing a festive hoody.

Delusions and draft-dodging

Conflicts, corruption and curated news from 46 countries

27 Nov 2024

Their mission? To mould us.

The persistence of segregation and a love-hate relationship with education

20 Nov 2024

A digital illustration of a classroom. Students line up and at the front a teacher cuts the hair of a boy with long hair.

Finding my fairy-tale

Tales of travel with a wheelchair and a green passport

13 Nov 2024

Digital illustration of Tanzila on her powerchair, riding a magic carpet and framed by film negatives.

Unequal partnership

Funders should support the disability movement more directly

06 Nov 2024

An illustration of 3 levels of land, at the top an artificial lake and the bottom dry earth. A river dries as it goes down.

Protection against the sun

Climate change, backsliding democracy and news from 55+ countries

30 Oct 2024

Discuss, curse and flirt

Fluidity in signing, better disability advocacy and the right not to explain

23 Oct 2024

What type of country we become

Disabled people between Georgia’s Soviet legacy and European future

16 Oct 2024

A digital illustration of tug-of-war with the Georgian flag, with Soviet-style flats in the background.

Maintain grassroots authenticity

Challenges of leadership renewal and other insights from the mailbag

09 Oct 2024

Working to work

Disabled people fighting for accessible livelihoods in India

02 Oct 2024

Illustration of two people in front of a broken rollercoaster titled the Road to Work.

Why sport must be reimagined

The Paralympics 2024 and disability news from 55+ countries

25 Sep 2024

We need new leadership

The international disability movement needs transparency and accountability

18 Sep 2024

Illustration of of disabled people in the back of a pick-up truck with "nothing about, us without us" on its side.

What went wrong?

Uncovering the crisis at the International Disability Alliance

11 Sep 2024

Illustration of people surrounding a broken down car, with a wheelchair haphazardly strapped on top of it.

Paralympic Paradoxes

The tensions between Para sport and disability advocacy

04 Sep 2024

Digital illustration of a Para swimmer diving out of a wave, over a woman sitting at an office desk, papers in commotion.

Gold medal in discrimination

The Olympics and recent disability news from 47 countries

31 Jul 2024

Fall with me

My childhood, told through its falls

24 Jul 2024

No way to run a country

Ageism and ableism are playing a central role in the US election

17 Jul 2024

The other side of a glass wall

The loneliness of life in the community

10 Jul 2024

A thousand welcomes

Protests from Kenya, accessing God, and much more from the mailbag

03 Jul 2024

What kind of world do we live in

Guide to recent disability news from 50 countries

26 Jun 2024

What silence says

Insights from recent academic and policy research

19 Jun 2024

Disability over-confident

Commitments to inclusion not being put into practice

12 Jun 2024

Illustration of a window with framed certificates and awards celebrating inclusion. A background of other office buildings.

Testimonies from the past

How disabled people’s life stories challenge official histories

05 Jun 2024

Digital illustration of paperwork. A tear in it shows an office with a man shouting at a woman in a manual wheelchair.

A duty to shed light

Guide to recent disability news from 50 countries

22 May 2024

Bigger than the machine

Ida Putri's journey into activism and creating opportunities for others

15 May 2024

Digital illustration of large brown hands holding a sewing machine. The hands are scratched and surrounded by thorny roots.

No ifs, no buts, no maybes

Remembering Sir Robert Martin, the language of disability, and more

08 May 2024

A new wave of disability media

Navigating tensions between art, activism and access

01 May 2024

Illustration of Celestine, a white woman wind-swept hair, riding her three-wheeled mobility scooter through an ocean wave.

Challenge and conformity

K-pop, carnival, therapy, and critiques of inclusion

24 Apr 2024

Getting to know each other

A reader survey and updates from behind-the-scenes

17 Apr 2024

Watercolour illustration of a turquoise-topped cake with an @ sign and a large red 100 placed on top like a candle.

Assume that I can hit harder

Guide to recent disability news from 50+ countries

10 Apr 2024

Schisms in the Church

The disconnect faced by deaf worshippers in Nigeria

03 Apr 2024

Line outline drawing of a large church building with an imposing facade. Signed Tan Kuan Aw 2024.

Illness moved in waves

Exploring chronic illness, deafness and facial difference

27 Mar 2024

Finding our future

The crisis at IDA, hierarchies, poetry, and more

20 Mar 2024

Don’t shut the door behind you

Gatekeeping undermines the disability movement

13 Mar 2024

Watercolour illustration of a wooden gate, closed. The gate doors have the shape of an x on them, and green grass in front.

I really wanted to further my education

Guide to recent disability news from nearly 50 countries

06 Mar 2024

What I've learned in conversation

Weaving together disability and climate justice

28 Feb 2024

Abstract illustration of colourful blooming flowers. Their stems are wiggly, almost like dancing figures.

We need to talk

Does the disability movement need a strategic reset?

21 Feb 2024

Here be dragons

Will AI helped disabled people into work, or should we stop working?

14 Feb 2024

A line illustration of a dragon lying calmly with a smiling monk sipping tea from a tea-pot. Signed Tan Kuan Aw, 7 Jan 2024.

I'd fight like hell for you

Julia Watts Belser on not giving up on each other in the climate crisis

07 Feb 2024

A watercolour portrait of Julia, a white woman with black hair, glasses, and a broad smile that reaches her eyes.

Castles in the air

Guide to recent disability news from 60+ countries

31 Jan 2024

Successes and Setbacks

Life stories of women with disabilities in Yemen

24 Jan 2024

Watercolour silhouette of Sana'a, with domes flanked by minarets and buildings, coloured in earthy yellow-brown.

A disabled farewell to 2023

Reflections on my year and how Judy's passing changes our movement

13 Dec 2023

A simple watercolour illustration of Santa on wheels, and carrying a big bag of gifts.

Stories you won't read elsewhere

Making media for the disability movement in 2023

06 Dec 2023

Picture of Peter at his desk, smiling with a Santa hat and Judy Heumann hoodie.

How can I allow you to go to church?

Shackling in Ghana, Israel-Palestine, and much more

29 Nov 2023

Lifeboat in the ocean

Australian disability benefits, US Civil war, and a shift on mental health

22 Nov 2023

Taking the side of humanity

Reactions to Israel-Gaza coverage, disability advocacy and more

15 Nov 2023

A song for freedom

An activist reveals the situation of disabled people in Myanmar's civil war

08 Nov 2023

Illustration of a crutch-user's silhouette in Myanmar's landscape. A yellow ray of musical notes comes over splashes of red.

Wary of being too dependent

Latest disability news: care, sunscreen, smuggling and much more.

01 Nov 2023

A disability lens on conflict

Israel-Gaza war and news from 50+ countries

25 Oct 2023

Stories move the world

Disability Rights Fund support Disability Debrief

23 Oct 2023

The weight of the issue

Showing up disabled in the climate movement

18 Oct 2023

Watercolour of stick figures of different colours, each interlinked with its neighbours.

Call me in the morning

Disability culture highlights: Judy Heumann, Protactile and more

11 Oct 2023

Sketch outlining a figure lying down under a tree, a teapot on a fire at their feet. Signed Tan Kuan Aw, 4th October 2023.

Turning the tide

Fighting for equality when rights are eroded

04 Oct 2023

Photograph of waves crashing on the shore. The sea is dark grey blue and the waves froth white.

Heroes and victims

Mailbag edition on changing culture, belonging, love and much more

27 Sep 2023

Bullfighting, Barbie and Borges

Latest international disability news from nearly 60 countries

20 Sep 2023

The fastest-growing library of disability resources

Disability news from 145+ countries and resource guide on climate change

13 Sep 2023

Photograph of vertical piles of used books of different shapes, sizes, and colours.

It's a cultural fight

Christian Tasso on challenging perceptions of difference

06 Sep 2023

Black and white photo of a young girl wide-mouthed in laughter and joy, hands to her face, wearing a dress.

Sailing away

Global mental health, mad justice, and disability culture

26 Jul 2023

Watercolour of a small motorboat moored in a bay, pointed toward a bright horizon.

Considered a backup

The overlooked power of disabled care

19 Jul 2023

Painting of amorphous purple bodies intertwined, holding each other. Background of urban buildings, dark green.

How many disabled people are there?

Why the complexity of disability can't be reduced to one number

12 Jul 2023

A grid of squares, grouped into different colours. A figure stands in front of them, arms on waist, as if making a decision.

Benefits are broken

Latest disability news from nearly 60 countries

05 Jul 2023

“Can't work without it”

Ford Foundation support Disability Debrief

03 Jul 2023

Protesting the protestors

Segregation in France, Paralympic Games and the sickness in our work

28 Jun 2023

My prayer to failure

Reflections 10 years after the Rana Plaza building collapse

21 Jun 2023

A monochrome grey illustration of Rana Plaza ruins: building rubble against a background of buildings.

Bad people took pity on us

Stories from wartime Ukraine, migration across Mexico, and higher education in Brazil

14 Jun 2023

Disability news from 50+ countries, June 2023

From the top of Everest to protests in Paris and Seoul

07 Jun 2023

A just transition for disabled people

A disability lens on greening economies and society

31 May 2023

Do we practice what we preach?

The discrimination we face while advocating on disability

24 May 2023

An illustration of a ramp that becomes a series of steps. Surrounded by pleasant greenery. Signed Tan Kuan Aw 2023.

A small group of people

Movement building, assistive technology and acquiring disability

17 May 2023

Taming the tiger

Updates from Sudan, the future of care and ableism in the Paralympics

10 May 2023

An illustration of a tiger in front of a monk. The tiger looms larger but the seated monk calmly holds a hand up.

لسنا وحدنا : الأشخاص ذوو الإعاقة في نزاع السودان

التنقل في الأزمات وأشياء تجمعها أنظمة الحب

05 May 2023

“We are not alone”: Disabled people in Sudan's conflict

Mobility in crisis, and the systems of love that hold things together

03 May 2023

An illustration of city buildings with smoke towering above. In the foreground a small bus heads into the desert.

Benefits for Bond Villains

Disabled villains, humanitarian crises, and how Judy changed the world

26 Apr 2023

How do we look after each other?

Rethinking care systems with policy and personal experience

18 Apr 2023

If I had a magic wand

Disability community and where the Debrief is going

11 Apr 2023

Where disability and climate meet

Disabled wisdom and an invitation to community

04 Apr 2023

Illustration of an apocalyptic scene. A man with a ventilation tube sits in front of a factory, chimneys spewing pollution.

Not willing to be neutral

Disability leaders, dismantling objectivity, and a broader view of health

28 Mar 2023

An illustration of a man in a wheelchair alongside a dog. The man is broad shouldered and wears glasses. Both look gentle.

Disabled People in Peru's Political Protests

Breaking stereotypes about protest and taking an active role during a crisis

21 Mar 2023

Illustration of a woman in front of a line of riot police. She gestures with one arm and and the other holds a blank sign.

More like persecution than support

Protests in Poland, ways to cheat inclusion, and news from over 50 countries.

14 Mar 2023

Our movement is in mourning

Remembering Judy Heumann, and how she changed us.

06 Mar 2023

A line drawing portrait of Judy's face in outline. Short, full hair, glasses, dark eyes holding us, and a peaceful smile.

A disability lens on world news

A vision that grounds the news in our lived experiences.

21 Feb 2023

Painting of blurred colours, from dark blue down into green, yellow, orange and green again. Overlaid with outlines of petals

Don't you have mercy on yourself?

How we turn our isolation into connection

07 Feb 2023

Black and white painting of a downcast face, hands on head. Flanked by 2 figures, one an outline, the other sitting, crying.

Healthcare has to be healed

The impacts of health inequities and how we take revenge.

31 Jan 2023

An illustration of two figures contorting under a large red heart. A jagged line cuts across it and the background is blue.

The progress we made is at risk

Economic recession, ancient history and new books

24 Jan 2023

Dark lines illustrate the outline of a rabbit and a tree growing on its back. The rabbit's eye and tree blossoms pink-red.

“You follow policy, but I want equality”

Curated disability news and highlights from over 75 countries.

17 Jan 2023

How we're making disability media, and how you can help

Its role in a stronger disability movement, and why we need your support

13 Dec 2022

Illustration of Santa, sitting in a wheelchair, holding a sack marked "Disability Debrief", full of emails to deliver.

Escaping institutions, and their shadows

Escaping segregation and my hopes for Tutankhamun

06 Dec 2022

Watercolour illustration of a dark building with columns and outline of birds flying away from it, upwards into a blue sky.

Wheelbarrow or throne, revolutionary or royal

Highlights and curated news from 60+ countries

28 Nov 2022

Advocacy in turbulent times

Jose Viera on how the disability movement can navigate uncertainty.

21 Nov 2022

Picture of a man with a joyful smile. Jose is blind, has light brown skin, an elegant blue suit, short dark hair and goatee.

Can COP27 contribute to disability-inclusive climate justice?

Facing barriers at every turn, disabled people are fighting for their leadership to be recognised.

07 Nov 2022

Illustration of desert, with a thin river leading to a narrow horizon of dark sea and above that foreboding dark red clouds.

Revolution and strategies to win

Updates from the Iran protests and around the world

24 Oct 2022

Shallow, siloed and tokenistic: critiques of inclusion

Plus: assisted suicide, access to the air, and the bodies we dream of.

11 Oct 2022

Illustration of a stick figure inside a maze. A dotted line traces the path from the figure to the outside, where a bus waits

Fractured, fighting, fixed: adventures in hospital

Why medical systems struggle with inclusion

27 Sep 2022

X-ray image: a ball in the pelvis, a socket around it, a screw pointing upwards, and an extension downwards into the femur.

A new resource on disability rights

A fast-growing library, and the web accessibility challenges in making it.

22 Aug 2022

Old leather books framed by a wooden shelf. The books have brown spines, with titles worn away.

Feeling pride, feeling poorly, feeling the prices

Plus: punk, stamp collecting, and much more

02 Aug 2022

Disability in the Heat

Why authorities need to prioritise people at highest risk as temperatures rise

25 Jul 2022

A disability-rights view on community and mental health

Bhargavi Davar on Buddhism, connection, colonialism and earthworms

20 Jun 2022

Assistive technology: needed by one in three, and me

Plus: wheelchair cameos, children left behind in Ukraine, and curated news

07 Jun 2022

Reader Rebrief: classifying disability, Russia, and digital media

Plus: new support to the Debrief, and memories of Marcia Rioux

30 May 2022

"I'm not rebellious": Abner Manlapaz, lifelong rebel

Finding disability rights and fighting for them, plus the Philippines elections

10 May 2022

"We can turn this around": Bristol's plan for a Green and Accessible Future

Plus: Floods in South Africa and systemic roots of climate breakdown

03 May 2022

New Frontiers for Activism in AI and Tech

Plus where we are with covid, key pieces on Ukraine, remembering Marcia Rioux, and much more

19 Apr 2022

Responses to climate change leaving disabled people behind

Plus: what I missed on Ukraine, and more from readers.

04 Apr 2022

A watercolour image of a flood scene: on land, a house with steps, the woman in the water holding a wheelchair.

On the War in Ukraine

Comprehensive news update with the art and poetry we need to understand it

21 Mar 2022

From awareness to action, with Yazmine Laroche

Lessons-learned from working for an inclusive Canadian public service

09 Mar 2022

Love, War and Talkshops

All-you-can-eat guide to international disability news, February 2022

28 Feb 2022

Left for dead, going to school, teen drama and much more

All-you-can-eat guide to international news, January 2022

27 Jan 2022

Guide to international news, December 2021

Disability day, new research, great dance moves: now with reader support

15 Dec 2021

The story of a changing world and how to keep telling it

What the newsletter covered in 2021 and why I need your help

08 Dec 2021

What does 15% mean? with Jennifer Madans

Going deep on disability data, how we gather it, and how we use it to make change

23 Nov 2021

Guide to international news, November 2021

Climate, Covid, culture and more in a curated guide

09 Nov 2021

Catching up with International News, September 2021

Global collection of research, articles, news and views

30 Sep 2021

Disability Debrief in Rehab

My summer break

14 Sep 2021

“Girls and women with disabilities are leaders now,” with Misti Ashrafun Nahar

Conversation on inclusion in Bangladesh and the relationship between disabled people's organizations and international development partners

22 Jun 2021

Guide to International News, May 2021

More virus news, aid cuts, big business on board, all the reports and more

18 May 2021

“To make change happen, you cannot be defined by one thing” with Caroline Casey

Conversation on experience, expectations, and how disability is infused in business

19 Apr 2021

Guide to International News, April 2021

Hey Debriefers, Welcome to the April round-up of disability news from around the world. This edition picks up where the March edition left off. You can also catch-up on the

08 Apr 2021

"Education should be more than sitting and learning," with Bernice Oyeleke

Her Abilities Award winner on education, identity and how she's making change.

30 Mar 2021

"We don't want to go back to an inaccessible health system" with Antony Duttine

Understanding disability-inclusion in health systems and the shocks of COVID-19

18 Mar 2021

Guide to international news, March 2021

Remembering friends, catching-up with COVID-19, Criplentines Day and much more

04 Mar 2021

“We need to pay more attention to people”, interview with Stefan Tromel

February 2021, Part 2

16 Feb 2021

"We are not the Disability Police" Interview with Stefan Tromel

February 2021, Part 1

09 Feb 2021

New year New Links

February 2021

01 Feb 2021

Resources from our International Day and more

We all want a holiday, so here's a handy reference of what just happened

17 Dec 2020

A global overview of disability news, November 2020 edition

November 2020

30 Nov 2020

Interview with Catalina Devandas