York Disability Week is back for 2022!
Supported by York Human Rights City Network, every year a group of volunteers from across the city come together to organise York Disability Week.
The week-long event celebrates United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 Dec) here in York. It aims to ‘promote the human rights and well-being of people who identify as disabled or as having an impairment in all spheres of society’ as well as increasing awareness ‘of their situation in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life’.
York Disability Week takes place from Saturday 26 November to Saturday 3 December.
We’ve put together a guide to six highlights in the week-long annual event. This year, the programme includes exhibitions, wellbeing walks, sensory storytelling — and much more.
To see the full programme events and to find out more, visit the York Disability Week website here.
York Disability Week Highlights
Eleanor Worthington Prize 2021 Exhibition ‘Disability and Technological Innovation’
A selection of artwork from the Eleanor Worthington Prize 2021 on the theme of ‘Disability and Technological Innovation’. The posters represent a selection of the work submitted for the 2021 Eleanor Worthington Prize, open to students of Art Schools at tertiary level in Italy, UK and Ireland. The Prize aims at raising awareness of disabilities and promotes reflection on social inclusion, using the language of the visual arts.
- York Explore Library and Archive, Library Square, Museum Street, York YO1 7DS
- Sat 26 Nov – Thurs 16 Feb
- Free entry
- Ramped/sloped access, limited free disabled parking, ambulant toilet, accessible toilet, changing place
- More info
Sensory Storytelling Event for children and young people
The MySight York sensory storytelling session is specially planned for children and young people with a visual impairment and their siblings. Suitable for 0-10 year olds but may also be suitable for some older children.
- MySight York, 14 Merchants Place, Merchantgate, York, YO1 9TU
- Sat 26 Nov
- 1:30-2:30pm
- Free but advance booking required by phoning 01904 636269 or emailing [email protected]
- Wheelchair accessible, step free access, accessible toilets, blue badge parking in multi-storey Coppergate Centre carpark opposite
- More info
Life Unseen: Why the History of Blindness Matters
Imagine a world without sight. Is it dark and gloomy? Is it terrifying and isolating? Or is it simply a state of not seeing, which we, the sighted world, have demonised and sentimentalised over the centuries? Showing us why it matters, broadcaster and author Selina Mills takes us on a journey through the history of blindness in Western Culture to demonstrate that the state of not seeing is not so dark after all, and still influences us today.
- Online
- Mon 28 Nov
- 6:30-7:30pm
- Free but advance booking required
- Online generated captions
- Book here
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City Centre Wellbeing Walk
Our group walks are aimed towards people who prefer not to walk very far or fast. They are for anyone who would like to get some fresh air, get moving and all with some good, friendly company. The walk will be approximately one mile and at a very gentle pace, with plenty of opportunity to sit and chat along the way. This walk is flat and all tarmac, with no uneven surfaces to negotiate.
- Museum Garden Gates, Museum St, York YO1 7FR
- Tue 29 Nov
- 1-2pm
- Free but advance booking required
- Accessible for those with mobility aids and wheelchairs
- Book here
Sign Supported Communication: Learn the Basics
Sign supported communication is an important communication tool, especially for those with learning difficulties. Signing in this context is used alongside speech and all other means of communication. We will learn the best practices in signing, some basic vocabulary and we may even learn a signed song. The workshop is suitable for anyone working with adults with learning difficulties, their family and friends or for an adult with learning difficulties themselves.
- Bramley Room, New Earswick Folk Hall, Hawthorn Terrace, York YO32 4AQ
- Fri 2 Dec
- 1-3pm
- Free, with the suggestion of a donation of £10. Please book via email [email protected] or phone 01904 626965
- Large free car park with disabled car parking spaces, step free entrance, upstairs room with access from a lift, accessible toilet upstairs and down, changing places downstairs, hearing loop upon request
- More info
Can-do-Disco
Disability friendly disco – open to all! Dance in your chair/with support/with your friends! This is a FUN raiser, not a fundraiser! The best music, coloured lights, tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks on sale.
- Heworth Without Community Centre, 38 Applecroft Road, Heworth, YO31 0HQ
- Fri 2 Dec
- 7-9:30pm
- £3, carers go free. Order tickets via [email protected] or phone 0780 303 7440
- The lights in our disco will be bright, but will not be flashing. Bus stops outside the centre, disabled and general parking outside. Ramped access into the building, accessible W/C, induction hearing loop in main hall
- More info