The 2026 iHuman Critical Disability Studies Anita Ghai Lecture given by Dr Miro Griffiths, Centre for Disability Studies, University of Leeds
Lecture given on 2nd September 2026
Resistance Practices and Inclusive Imaginations: Young Disabled People's Participation in Disability Activism and their Ideas for Accessible and Inclusive Societies Across Europe
Speaker
Dr Miro Griffiths is a British and Slovene scholar, policy adviser, and disability liberation advocate who is an associate professor in Social Policy and Disability Studies based at the University of Leeds, in the School of Sociology and Social Policy. He is also Director of the Centre for Disability Studies, an interdisciplinary research centre exploring disabled people's oppression, marginalisation, and liberation. Alongside academia, Miro is a disability policy adviser to the UK Government Department for Transport and Equality and Human Rights Commission. Miro brings a unique perspective to disability studies research; blending activism with research; scholarship with policy and critique with humour. He is also known for being one of the best dressed people in disability studies.
Abstract
This session will present findings from a monograph soon to be published on young disabled people’s participation in disability activism across Europe. The session will highlight key areas of consideration across the following five themes: importance of participating in disability activism; restrictions to participation; improvements to participation; activities and types of participation; and future imaginings for accessible and inclusive societies.
The aim of the session is to capture insights into how young disabled people experience participation in social change approaches, and what young disabled people’s imaginings reveal about challenging injustice, resisting discrimination, and articulating avenues for realising a better world.
References
Griffiths M (2025) ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’: Community-Based Inclusive Development and Disability Studies. In: Weber J; Grech S eds Community-Based Inclusive Development, Palgrave Studies in Disability and International Development, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 101-122.
Miro Griffiths. Declare Independence. International Journal of Disability and Social Justice. 2023. Vol. 3(1):24-41. DOI: 10.13169/intljofdissocjus.3.1.0024
iHuman
How we understand being ‘human’ differs between disciplines and has changed radically over time. We are living in an age marked by rapid growth in knowledge about the human body and brain, and new technologies with the potential to change them.