Giving young people the opportunity to play a key role in Parliament for a day and presenting them with awards for their activity delivery was one of the highlights of this year’s Disability History Month in Haringey.
UK Disability History Month, which runs from 16 November to 16 December, is an annual event that highlights the history of the struggle for equal rights and equality for disabled people, and creates a platform to look forward to the future.
The theme for Disability History Month 2023 was “Disability, Children and Young People”, so it was fitting that highlights of the month in Haringey included the borough’s first-ever Takeover Day on November 23rd, when young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) took over the council’s political and business leadership roles for the day.
The day saw young people take on the roles of Council Leader, Chief Executive, Mayor, Director of Children’s Services and Head of SEND. In addition, young people also had the special opportunity to contribute to the Spring issue of Haringey People magazine.
The borough also made history when the council’s Active Communities team won an award for their work on Get Out Get Active, a programme which supports disabled and able-bodied people to be active together.
The Embedding Inclusion Award, presented by the Activity Alliance, a national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity, recognises the council’s work working with local providers to improve access to active recreation opportunities for disabled and able-bodied young people in Haringey.
In further awards news, Hornsey resident Megan Allen received a prestigious award for her work supporting disabled people in Haringey.
Megan volunteers with We Swim, an organisation that does important work supporting people with disabilities to enjoy swimming. Having received the BBC Unsung Hero Award for the London region, Megan is currently one of 15 nominees for the Sports Personality of the Year award.
As the year comes to a close, we look back on 2023, packed with milestone events for disabled people in Haringey, and look forward to making even more history in 2024 for disability representation and inclusion.