Join Us for Disability History Month 2025
Events, Learning and Action in the North East. November 15th to December 20th 2025
This Disability History Month 2025 marks 30 years since the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), a moment that changed the landscape of rights and recognition for disabled people in the UK. It was the result of decades of activism, protest, and persistence by disabled people fighting for equality.
But thirty years on, many of the same barriers remain, in housing, employment, transport, and attitudes. So this Disability History Month, we’re not just looking back. We’re celebrating how far we’ve come, reflecting on what’s still to be done, and honouring the creativity and resilience of disabled people in the North East and beyond.
When is Disability History Month 2025?
From November 15th to December 20th, Difference North East will be sharing, creating, and learning together, through theatre, art, discussion and action.
What Disability History Month Means to You
Disability History Month is a chance to celebrate disabled people’s lives, culture, and history — not as a separate story, but as a central part of our shared history.
This year, our programme explores how disabled people have shaped the world we live in, often against the odds. We’ll revisit key moments like the Poor Laws, the rise of institutions such as Bedlam, the Milan Conference that excluded Deaf teachers, and the passing of the DDA in 1995.
Follow us throughout the month as we connect these moments to today’s ongoing struggle for access, inclusion and equality.
Creative Events Across the North East
🎭 Theatre Residency at Alphabetti Theatre
Our creative residency will work with disabled artists and community members to explore stories of disability and identity on stage. Expect bold, personal, and thought-provoking performances that look at what’s changed, and what hasn’t, since 1995.
📸 Photography Exhibition
Through powerful visual storytelling, disabled photographers from the region will reflect on what disability means today. This exhibition offers a space for pride, resistance and beauty, showing that disability culture is vibrant and ever-evolving.
🖋️ Zine-Making and Creative Workshops
In hands-on sessions led by disabled creatives, participants will co-create zines and artworks that capture stories from our community. It’s a space to express, reflect, and imagine new futures together.
💬 Lunch & Learn Sessions for Workplaces
For allies and organisations who want to deepen understanding and take real action, our accessible and engaging Lunch & Learn sessions are a perfect way to start. These short online workshops explore the history of disability rights, challenge assumptions, and show how small changes can make big differences.
Learn, Reflect, & Take Action
Throughout the month we’ll share stories and resources tracing key moments in disability history — from exclusion and resistance to creativity and celebration.
Disability History Month is a reminder that history isn’t finished. It’s being made by us, every day, through creativity, community and resistance.
Join Us
You can be part of it.
👉 Join Difference North East 📅 Book Your Place 💼 Book a Lunch & LearnTogether with you, we can make disability history — and shape the future.