In my last post I talked you through how important rest and reflection had been for me during the festive season. I definitely feel stronger for having switched off for a couple of weeks. Despite the broken wheelchair, the faulty car, the defective laptop, the change in Personal Assistants, and a lingering cold; my work thoughts have been invigorated. This post will talk you through exactly what my vision is and the plans I have to deliver it. You cool peeps had better pay attention too as you all need to play your own part in changing the world for disabled people (whether you are disabled or not).

Webinars

You may remember my tweeting about webinars last year? Since leaving my day job at Scope I ran 15 webinars for 3 separate audiences:

• My blog/social media followers (sponsored by the great creative agency Flourish and fundraising agency Future Fundraising)
• Scope’s Information, Advice and Support networks
• The London Borough of Hackney Council’s Adult Social Care Team.

They were very successful! Over 100 people attended altogether, their feedback was positive and therefore I am planning to continue running these sessions. Some of the difficulties I had included reaching enough people, explaining how simple the technology is (the word ‘webinar’ seemed to turn some people off) and knowing exactly what information was needed.

Thanks to you guys, my understanding of using webinars to disseminate information and create discussions has been improved. Therefore, in 2012 I am going to run 1 FREE session per month. Each session (covering topics such as volunteering, relationships, travel, social care, housing, employment, etc) will give you:

• useful information;
• the chance to challenge your own perceptions;
• and a platform to share your experiences.

You will hear from experts and disabled people. They know about the barriers in the way and have worked hard to overcome them. Now they are able to honestly say “disability does not mean no ability”.

To read more about the monthly webinars, click here, and to register for the next webinar on volunteering, click here.

Spaces are limited so get involved now 🙂

Disability Horizons

I am sure you have already seen www.disabilityhorizons.com, but if you haven’t then where have you been? My good friend Srin Madipalli and I felt so compelled to show the world what can be done with the right mindset and information, we started an online magazine!

Inspired by our world travel and love of adventure, we set-off to find other like-minded people who were keen to write about their amazing adventures too. Since April 2011, with minimal budget, we have:

• had a website redesign from the awesome guys at Misfit-Inc
• worked with over 50 writers and organisations
• been read in over 60 countries
• grown our readership by 40% each month
• ran meetups in New York and London
• shown the world that disabled people can, and do, kick-ass!

Please continue to support the magazine by either reading our articles, writing for us if you feel inspired and sharing the articles with your networks. Also make sure you push your limits in 2012!

Working with external organisations

Beyond working with Scope and Hackney council, I have enjoyed partnering up with many charities, councils, Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s), social organisations, media outlets and companies.

My priority is delivering great webinars, magazine and social media content to you. However, I am also looking forward to delivering new:

• Interesting talks at key events
• Training workshops
• Material for TV, radio, newspaper and other publications
• Projects on using social media, new media, marketing and disability awareness

If this is something that may help you and your organisation, please contact me here

The big one

I am about to launch the largest project of my life. It will give the most inspirational, comprehensive and fundamental information to you. Be sure to read my blog for the launch of this over the next couple of weeks.