While lockdown has kept people apart, being able to talk online has, paradoxically, brought many people and places nearer – and those with learning disabilities have been early adopters of the software, says Simon Duffy
These Covid times have been full of sadness and constraint; however, there have also been unexpected revelations and opportunities.
One of the things I have really enjoyed is seeing so many people with learning difficulties get to grips with Zoom and appear in webinars and online meetings. It seems to me that they are often the first people to understand how to use these platforms, bringing extra joy, laughter and challenge, and quickly understanding we need to share the space to give everyone attention.
One of the best of these events has been Action Mondays, a one-hour meeting at 5pm every Monday hosted by No Labels No Walls (https://nolabelsnowalls.net). At these meetings, contributors from across the world talk about everything from art and music to universal basic income and ecological sustainability. The audience is incredibly diverse and people with learning difficulties are not merely welcome – they often act as hosts. We also recently launched Citizen Network TV as a platform for people who want to create their own video content or live broadcasts. This project emerged out of the successful CitizenFest movement, which is creating a global network of festivals to celebrate diversity and equality.
Last year’s festival was totally digital and included many contributions by people with learning difficulties. We learned that not only could people produce engaging content but also, if we worked together, we could expand our audience by sharing our connections. One of the first Citizen Network TV broadcasts was by Stay Up Late Scotland, which hosts a live one-hour alternative music session every month. This includes amazing music and videos by people with learning difficulties. It is hosted by Keith Etherington from In Control Scotland and Michael McEwan, an independent journalist and broadcaster with learning difficulties from Glasgow.
So far becomes so near
Online meetings have been liberating for my own work in a number of other ways. Work that would have involved long journeys and many meetings has now been converted into online webinars and events that many more people can participate in and enjoy.
Through Citizen Network, we’ve shared learning from Greece, Lithuania, Italy and Finland with people from many other countries. Although we are under lockdown, we can still be connected with many different people and there is a power and joy in this. We are not alone and we have so much in common with others. I have also benefited from being able to do things I would not have otherwise been able to do. Often, I am invited to London to attend meetings with powerful people and organisations based there but I can rarely afford the time or money to travel from Sheffield.
But now a meeting in London is not a meeting in London – it’s online instead. Suddenly, I can meet people I know by name or reputation but who I would never normally get a chance to talk with. Not only have I been able to meet new people but also we have also been able to work together rapidly and efficiently. For instance, we have just launched the Movement for Neighbourhood Democracy, a network working to organise power in communities. All the meetings to set this network up were held online. Had we not been working digitally, I’m sure the whole process would have taken much longer.
In future, it will be much harder to justify inaccessible meetings, long journeys and everything having to be in London.
A long time coming
For my friends in the chronic illness community, the rise of online activity has been a bittersweet boon. They also wonder why something that has been possible for years is only now being used regularly.
As a post on Disability Wales says:
“Suddenly the world has woken up to the fact that studying, working and socialising from home via the internet is possible. “The technologies for remote access and participation are being harnessed in a wave of innovation and energy. Yet, pre Covid 19, when we asked for these things, they were too difficult; or we were being awkward.”
This reminds us that inclusion depends on a willingness to include. You still need to be invited to attend. Events still need to be open – neither private nor too costly. I am sure things will evolve. I am sure some people who invited me never expected me to turn up, and will now carefully avoid inviting me. (I am told I’m like Marmite, not to everyone’s taste.) And I’m sure some people will manage to engineer things so that people with learning difficulties or other disabilities cannot attend their future meetings.
I miss the hugs, the shared coffee or pint and opportunities to travel to interesting places. I am also sure we will want a lot more real-world contact.
