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(Dis?)Ability

(Dis?)Ability: An Online Course Fostering Accessibility in Youth Grassroots Groups

Introduction

What?

(Dis?)Ability is an online course that explores ways to increase accessibility in activism and event organising. The course is divided in 5 lessons that tackle topics such as accessibility, inclusivity, disability justice, privilege and oppression in youth activist movements. It also aims to create a space to reflect about self-organized events and spaces in terms of access and inclusivity. These lessons will provide tools to challenge existing barriers in these spaces and to incentivise a move towards dismantling them.

For whom?

The content of the course was created for and by youths in grassroots groups, along with people experiencing limited access to activist spaces, due, for example, to disability or illness. It is thought for people that are actively involved in activism and event organising, and that wish to make this practice more accessible and inclusive.

How?

The course consists of 5 video lessons that are accessible through our website without the need of previous registration. ehere will also be no tests or grading of any kind. Each video lesson will have subtitles in different languages (English, german, polish and spanish). We invite you to explore, individually or collectively, the questions and topics to discuss provided with each video – in your own time, pace and language. In you want to learn more, and please do, use our further reading recommendations. All the lesson are also available directly from EYFA vimeo channel here.

Additionally we offer you a brochure, also in 4 language versions, to download and/or print – A guide for Designing Online Accessible Tools.

The course ends up with the evaluation form – do not hesitate to give us your feedback anytime. You can also write to eyfa[at]eyfa.org or contact our experts directly, the info is provided in the credits.

The course is a copy-left product, you are very welcome to use it as you wish – as the whole tool, as the particular video or lesson content. Sign up to our newsletter or/and mailing list to stay up to date – eyfa[at]eyfa.org

The project is supported by European Youth Foundation.

Council of Europe logo

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‘Autonomous Passage’ release party!

‘Accessibility is a must’ – a preview of the very new brochure of EYFA “Autonomous Passage”!

Party? In the pandemic? Only online! ESC volunteers are honored to present the digital version of the new EYFA publication. They will share with you some behind the curtain details about the process of collecting the contribution, selection and the final outcome. They will read the fragments and show the amazing collages.

Bring your own favorite drink, save 90 minutes, connect with us the way you like it – no pressure for the cameras on or forced questions. All participants are beautiful! Write to eyfa[at]eyfa to get the link to jitsi.

November the 18th, at 6 pm.

Illustration by: Ciel Incarnadine alchemicum.com

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Autonomous Passage: intentional access for / by mindful movements

Dear friends,
we are happy to announce that our publication is ready!
You can download your online version HERE

Cover by Ciel Incarnadine
Design by Cila Yakecã

We’re tremendously excited to address and share the process of ongoing (and frankly, long overdue) conversations that have been transforming the ways in which we conceive our roles and mindsets as community organizers and individuals. In this brochure, we have collected some impressions, personal experiences, tips and data concerning accessibility in a very basic way. We find it important to note the many different layers and intersections of accessibility on physical, mental, financial & bureaucratic levels, paying close attention to how these factors impact individuals and communities in different depths.

As an international network of grassroots groups, we have been working on a year-long project visibilizing the structural and societal challenges that young and /
or marginalized people with disabilities face within and outside of movements. We hope to encourage activists to question their understanding of accessibility and inclusion with the aim of building and strengthening solidarity practices and allyship. We engaged with various disability justice groups and individuals with invisible and visible disabilities to gather various perspectives that are compiled in this guide. Our previous work in social and climate justice contexts has shown us how much we have to learn about contributing to empowering and accessible spaces, particularly in the context of gatherings, training, parties, concerts, and other events that invite collaboration.

As part of our collective learning journey, and as a group composed of people with and without (in-)visible disabilities, neurodiversities and chronic illnesses ourselves, we are sharing here interviews, articles, comics, tools, and online resources that all have something to say about disability justice. We hope this guide offers insights on how we can better organize ourselves /
events / networks and daily life in a way that is more inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of ability, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or class.

Additionally check out the Caring Movements zine, by Radical Resilience
& the Primer on working with disabled group members, by Romily Alice Walden

Enjoy reading!
Love and Solidarity,
EYFA

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More Resources

Here you can find some of the people that have been teaching us a lot about accessibility & solidarity, as well as actions that are so important to learn and unlearn in this on-going journey of becoming aware. We aim to constantly update that list, so please send us your recommendations!

INFO MATERIAL / COLLECTIVES/GUIDES:
BUFU: By Us For Us
Carolyn Lazard´s Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice
Cripple Media
Disability Visibility Project
Feministische Recherche Gruppe
Healing Justice
Mad Pride Berlin
No shade collective
Pieces to Pathways
PoC Online Classroom
Project LETS
Radical Resilience
Resources Libraries
Romily Alice Walden
Sick Affinity Group (SAG)
Sick Time Press (STP)
Sins Ivalid
speakabled.
The Autisticats
The Triple Cripples
Winvisible


Online communication and web-accessibility tools:
Adding A Dyslexia-Friendly Mode To A Website
Aktion Mensch – Barrierefreiheit
Contrast Checker
Free Digital Tools
Leichte Sprache prüfen
OpenDyslexic: A typeface for Dyslexia
Ramp Up – Communication in events
WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
W3C – Accessible web design


PODCASTS:
Digi – Digitale Barrierefreiheit ganz einfach
Rose Parker’s Psychosis Positivity Podcast

ARTICLES:
6 Part blog series on how we understand disability
7 Ways to make your Social Justice space accessible to disable people
10 Answers to Common Questions People Ask When Being Called Out for Using Ableist Language


CONSULTATION:
BarrierefreiPosten
Dis check
Johannes Mairhofer
Sozial Helden

YOUTUBE CHANNELS
Being Hermon Heroda
Longmore Institute

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS:
auf deutsch:
Aktion Mensch
Barrierefrei Posten
Criptonite
Ed Greve
Leeroy Matata
Rampe?Reicht!

en espanõl:
Disabled Latinx Movement

em português brasileiro:
Kollinn
Leo Castilho
Lorena Eltz
Lorrane Silva
Rita D’ Libra
Travesty Tupi
Victor di Marco

in english:
AJ – sensory human
Alice Wong
Alyssa Mackenzie
Autie Self-care
Autism Sketches
Autism Speaking
Autoimmune Tales
Black Disabled Creatives
Black fly zine
Boaz Murinzi, Murema
Bodies in Translation
BPD awareness
Candice Alaska
Crip Camp Film
Cripple Queers
Disability Connect
Disability Reframed
Esme “Pixie“ Jay
Mel Mallory
Misery Party
Mx Neurodivergent
Rose Parker
Sef Scatterbrain
Sins Invalid
The Autisticats
The Depression Chronicles
Triple Cripples
What is Mental Illness
Yellow Jackets Collective

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‘How to be an ally?’

European Solidarity Corps volunteers are back!

Come to our workshop ‘How to be an ally?’ This is the 2nd part for people who participated in the previous one. If you have not though please contact us. Registration – eyfa[at]eyfa.org.

When? September the 9th. How long? 2 hours. Please get familiar with the current Covid-19 regulation in New Yorck.

Ella Baker School in conversation with Alicia Garza, Co founder of Black Lives Matter
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Ella Baker School in conversation with Alicia Garza, Co founder of Black Lives Matter

We are delighted to announce that the Ella Baker School will be joined by Alicia Garza, co- founder of Black Lives Matter on September 9th 2021, 7pm BST over Zoom.

Alicia’s book titled The Purpose of Power will be published in paperback in the UK and the Ella Baker School will be in conversation with her discussing key themes in the book. Following on with Q&A.

Sign up and please do share details of this event.
Registration link:
https://actionnetwork.org/events/ella-baker-school-in-conversation-with-alicia-garza-co-founder-of-black-lives-matter?nowrapper=true

Start: Thursday, September 09, 2021 • 7:00 PM • British Summer Time (GMT+01:00)

End: Thursday, September 09, 2021 • 9:00 PM • British Summer Time (GMT+01:00)

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Accessible and Inclusive Event Organizing: collaborative tools and tactics in practice

EN / PT / ES / DE /

Date: 27 September – 03 Oktober
Place: Quecke – antidiscriminatory & selforganized seminarhouse, queerfeminist landproject in northeastern brandenburg, Germany.

We would like to invite you to be a part of this international gathering, which will bring
together young activists to share ideas, experiences and practical tools to challenge the ways
we organize events, making them more accessible to all. Join us for a week of horizontal
learning processes with workshops, discussion spaces for sharing experiences & collective
self-care tools, strengthening our networks of support and solidarity.

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Moving towards an accessible future –

ESC project presents a series of events run by EYFA volunteers

Any types of barriers – to start from the stairs, through the language and way of communicating/participating to end up with technical obstacles. And the structural ones! Economical, cultural, legal. Is the activism place for white, cis and abled bodies only?

Let’s proof together it is not. Let’s talk, learn and investigate how to increase the accessibility in our movements. Let’s hang out to build the connections, we are stronger together.

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