Disability Advocate Spotlight Series

The People Helping Create a More Accessible World

Too often, disabled people are encouraged to focus on changing themselves while the barriers around them remain unchallenged.

The reality is that much of the distress disabled people experience comes not only from a diagnosis or health condition, but from navigating systems, environments, and attitudes that were never designed with them in mind.

And if you're disabled, you've probably learned that advocating for yourself is often part of daily life.

Advocating for accommodations. Advocating for access. Advocating to be believed. Advocating to be included.

Some days, that can feel exhausting.

It can feel unfair that on top of managing your health, your energy, and everything else life demands, you're also expected to educate, explain, and push for change.

But you're not alone.

Across Canada and around the world, disabled advocates are transforming their lived experiences into opportunities for change. They're challenging assumptions, improving accessibility, influencing policy, and helping create a world where future generations of disabled people encounter fewer barriers.

And every act of advocacy, whether large or small, helps move us closer to that goal.Featured Advocates

🟣 Maayan Ziv

Founder of AccessNow and creator of AccessFest.

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🟣 Judy Heumann

Often called the "Mother of the Disability Rights Movement."

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🟣 Rick Hansen

Changing how Canada thinks about accessibility.

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