Organisational inclusion /

“My aim is to make the world a better place for disabled people”

One of Sightsavers’ partners, Peter Fremlin, curator of the Disability Debrief, recently delivered a thought-provoking talk during our lunchtime speaker series.

The Disability Debrief is an engaging, specialist guide to disability news from around the world. Peter describes himself as a disabled person who freelances for “international organisations including the United Nations agencies, to try to make the world a better place for disabled people”.

Recent editions of the debrief have covered topics ranging from disability-inclusive climate justice to the political protests taking place by disabled people in Peru.

Following the lunchtime talk, I interviewed Peter to learn more about his life and work on the Debrief. During our chat, I asked him about the future topics he’d like to cover and how we can all work together to help reduce the stigma around disability.

You can watch my interview with Peter below.

It was fascinating to hear Peter’s views on how using inclusive language doesn’t always translate into putting inclusion into practice. He also expressed the importance of giving society a chance to see disabled people in a different light – and how to have the different conversations that are needed both within the disabled community and with external audiences.

We also discussed the models of disability in relation to the February edition Peter wrote called A disability lens on world news. It was a really interesting and varied discussion.

I now rely on the Disability Debrief to keep me up to date on news through a disability lens. You can sign up for the newsletter and view issues of the Disability Debrief at www.disabilitydebrief.org.

Author

Kate Bennell is the technical adviser for disability inclusion and accessibility at Sightsavers UK. Severely sight impaired herself, she coordinates the Disability Inclusion Working Group and champions accessibility. LinkedIn

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