ALISS Disability History Month showcase 2026
November 19th 1.45- 4.15 (approx.) (via MS Teams)
Every year since 2010 the UK has commemorated Disability History Month in November. ALISS wishes to support this by showcasing important research and projects. This free event will highlight several initiatives which show case archives covering disability history and projects/ service support inclusivity in library, archives and museum collections and workplaces.
ALISS (Association of Librarians and Information Professionals in the Social Sciences) is a not-for- profit unincorporated professional society. It is an independent group which was formed in April 2005 by the former committee of ASSIGN (Aslib Social Science Information Group and Network) https://alissnet.com/disability/
Access to the event is free and open to all. Just email Heather Dawson
h.dawson@lse.ac.uk
Confirmed speakers
The National Autistic Society’s In Our Words heritage archive
Leo Capella
https://www.autism.org.uk/in-our-words
The National Autistic Society’s In Our Words heritage archive spans the charity’s history since its inception in 1962. It captures how the charity has developed and evolved alongside our growing understanding of autism, bringing together more than 90 oral history interviews and 1,500 individual archive assets from across the past 60 years.
Leo Capella will provide an overview of the archive, its development and its importance in preserving this history. Leo was Co-Chair of the original project steering group and continues to support this work as the National Autistic Society’s Heritage Officer
Poetry – Disability and Reviving Energy”
Raisa Hassan, Poet and Safeguarding Expert at Active Inclusion
will provide information and example activities of how she organised and ran a collaborative poetry activity Our #WaysOfWorking.
The activity was designed to explore person-centred approaches to employment equity, resulting in two co-produced poems created by anonymous participation of 50 people at What’s a ‘Happy’ Workplace Unconference. A Disabled Work Life – What’s a ‘Happy’ Workplace?
Active inclusion is a team creating a learning and employment peer-supporting community for people with lived experience of barriers to employment. Its methods can be applied to a variety of workplace settings to seek to create inclusive environments
