“Nothing about us without us” is one of the foundational principles of the disability rights movement. It asserts, simply and powerfully, that decisions affecting people with disabilities should not be made without the meaningful involvement of people with disabilities. It sounds obvious when stated clearly. It is, in practice, frequently ignored.
Inclusion programmes are designed by people without disabilities to benefit people with disabilities. Research on the needs of young people with disabilities is conducted by researchers who do not share those experiences. Resources for youth workers on how to include youngsters with disabilities are written by experts who may have significant professional knowledge but limited personal understanding of what it actually feels like to navigate a world built for someone else.
CB4leisureYwD takes the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’ seriously – not as a slogan but as a practical commitment that shapes how the project works.
Young people with disabilities are involved as active participants in the project’s training activities, not as passive recipients. They contribute to the development of project content, including the identification of topics and approaches for the online courses. They appear in and co-create the TikTok videos produced as part of the project – videos designed to shift public perceptions of disability, made by and featuring people with and without disabilities together.
And at the heart of one of the project’s core outputs – the curriculum for managing inclusive sport facilities – is the goal of building the capacity of young people with disabilities to take on leadership and coordination roles. Not just to attend inclusive activities, but to run them.
This is what distinguishes an approach grounded in empowerment from one grounded in accommodation. Accommodation asks: how do we make space for this person? Empowerment asks: how do we ensure this person has the opportunity to lead? CB4leisureYwD is committed to the second question – and to the belief that the answers will be richer, more relevant and more lasting for having been developed with young people with disabilities, not just for them.
