20 November - 20 December is UK Disability History Month. Find out more about events around UCL, book recommendations, and how we’re working to develop inclusive and inspiring spaces at UCL.
On this page
UK Disability History Month runs every year from late November to late December, a set of dates deliberately chosen to coincide with other awareness days such as HIV/AIDS Day (1 December), International Day of People with Disabilities (3 December) and International Human Rights Day (8 December). This year’s theme, Disability, Life and Death, examines attitudes towards disabled people and the sadly all too common perception that disabled people are second class citizens, or that their lives are worth less than those of non-disabled people.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and the 15th anniversary of the Equality Act 2010.
Developing inclusive and inspiring spaces
Pip Jackson, UCL’s Director of Inclusive Environments, reflects on Disability History Month and UCL’s ongoing Inclusive Environments work:
With discussions rife in the press on changes to access to work, now more than at any other point in my life feels like a very difficult time for disabled people like myself. It places even more importance on the work of the Inclusive Environments Action Plan. I am really pleased with how inclusive design is baked into Estates decisions. There are a lot of challenging buildings to tackle but we are not shying away from that and change is happening, as is evident in work such as the Estates Vison & Strategy and the Infrastructure Masterplan. "
Over the last year, work on UCL’s Inclusive Environments Action Plan has been gaining pace, with highlights including:
Earlier this year, our expanded Inclusive Environments team won a prestigious Silver Award at the AUDE (Association of University Directors of Estates) Awards, in recognition of their work to build a campus and culture that is inclusive, welcoming and accessible to everyone.
Alison Koslowski, Pro-Provost (Equity and Inclusion) adds:
" In the past year, we have radically changed our approach to maintaining and fixing the many (over 250!) lifts across the UCL campus. There are new systems in place for reporting problems, which also take into account repeated failures. There have been changes made to our contracts with the lift engineers we depend on to service our lifts which should lead to lifts being fixed more quickly when they do breakdown, but also to few breakdowns occurring in the first place. Most importantly, we have fully grasped the scale of the challenge of lift maintenance - and now have a strategic approach to ensuring step free mobility across our estate, complete with substantial dedicated resource. The Campus Infrastructure team and the Inclusive Environments team have been outstanding in setting new processes in place to ensure that everybody at UCL will be able to move around as they need to.
Visit and follow the Inclusive Environments SharePoint site to keep up to date with the progress of the Inclusive Environments Action Plan.
Books and book recommendations
UCL Library Services are compiling a list of book recommendations from across the UCL community to mark UK DHM 2025. We’re looking for any books that explore the rich legacy and contributions of people with disabilities.
Recommend your book here!
You can find out how UCL Libraries are making their services accessible for everyone here.
Our Director of Inclusive Environments, Pip Jackson, has compiled a comprehensive list of recommended inclusive reading (and listening!) for adults, teens and kids , covering disability as well as other subjects like race and sexuality, on the Inclusive Environments SharePoint.
Supporting students and staff with reasonable adjustments
You can also read more about our ’Beyond the SoRA’ programme , commissioned to assess and re-develop the Reasonable Adjustments system for students here at UCL.
Events
All month: Disability History Month at Students’ Union UCL
A comprehensive round-up of events, news, community and support from Students’ Union UCL for Disability History Month 2025.
20 November 2025-25 February 2026: Words Matter exhibition and programme of events at UCL East
This new exhibition confronts the legacy of eugenics at UCL, with a focus on power, harm and healing. It showcases the works of twelve artists form diverse backgrounds, each with a practice in spoken word, performance or writing. Find out more about Words Matter (including a schedule of events) here , and find out more about the artists featured here.
Supporting staff with reasonable adjustments: Training for line managers
Dates are available for this training for 2025/26 : Find out more.
24 November, 1-2pm: Students’ Union UCL Disability History Month lunch and launch
Celebrate the start of UCL Students’ Union’s Disability History Month with an online launch event on 24 November , with a panel discussion on the question "What would radical accessibility look like at UCL?"
1 December, 12-1pm: Staff Panel Event for the International Day of Disabled People: Amplifying, Advocating and Advancing!
All UCL staff are warmly invited to join this hybrid event featuring a diverse panel , who represent a range of lived experiences and roles at UCL.
4 December, 2-4:15pm: Online event to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities
UCL staff and students are invited to join this free online event, hosted by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services and UCL Student Success. An exciting line-up of speakers with a variety of expertise and experience will talk on ’ Moving Towards Inclusive Futures: With and For Our Students ’.
9 December, 10am-2pm: Making space - a neurodivergent coffee morning
Drop in for a neurodivergent centred coffee morning at UCL East , joined by artist Ray Young, as part of the Words Matter exhibition and programme of events.
Support and networks for students
Supporting Disabled and Neurodivergent staff at UCL: guidance for staff and their line managers
UCL supports the Sunflower Lanyard invisible disability scheme - see our dedicated webpage for more information and FAQs
Image by Justin Katigbak, courtesy of the Disabled and Here collection, a site providing free and inclusive stock images of disabled people.
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