Disability History Month 2025
UK Disability History Month is taking place this year from 20th November to the 20th December 2025. The purpose of the annual event is to raise awareness about disabled people’s fight for equality and human rights. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the progress made for disability rights and to look at what we can do to support disability equality in the present day.
If you are looking for a speaker to mark this month these are a few of the speakers we work with.
Anne Wafula Strike, MBE PLY, is an inspirational and motivational speaker on overcoming adversity, diversity, inclusion and disability awareness. Born in Mihu, Kenya, to Nekesa Ruth and Athumani Wafula, Anne was a fit and healthy child before polio struck when she was two years old. After completing A-levels and graduating from Moi University with a Bachelor of Education degree, Anne taught at Machakos Technical College in Kenya before meeting the man she would marry – which lead her to Britain, motherhood, wheelchair racing, disability advocacy and charity work.
Charity work is something she does tirelessly, and as well as giving her time to a wide variety of charitable organisations she set up the charity, The Olympia–Wafula Foundation, whose main aim is to empower the differently-abled (disabled) people in the developing world.
Dr Amit Patel is an author, disability rights campaigner, motivational speaker and independent accessibility consultant. He is registered severely sight impaired (blind) having lost his sight to keratoconus in 2013.
Amit studied medicine Cambridge and qualified as a doctor, specialising in emergency medicine and major incidents. During medical school, Amit was diagnosed with keratoconus, a condition which changes the shape of your corneas, but which is usually easily treated with a corneal transplant.
However, Amit was one of the rare individuals for whom the transplants rejected and despite travelling to the US for ground-breaking surgery, Amit lost his sight completely just one year after getting married.
Dr Amit Patel believes that education is central to improving awareness and understanding of disability and the challenges that disabled people face daily. Amit can provide bespoke diversity, equity and inclusion training for businesses and brands, advise on accessibility or work with you to address specific challenges within your business.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is one of the UK’s most successful and celebrated Paralympians and an inspirational and motivational speaker.
Her Paralympic Career began in Seoul in 1988 where she won a bronze medal but improved on this by winning four gold medals in Barcelona in 1992 when she won the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800 metres and also got a silver in the 4x100m relay.
She won another gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, four golds at Sydney 2000 Games and her final golds in Athens in 2004 taking her total to 11 gold, four silvers and one bronze (plus five gold, four silver and three bronze medals at World Championships)
In 2010 Tanni became an Independent Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, taking the title Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe in the County of Durham. Tanni has spoken on a range of issues including Disability Rights, and Welfare reform during her time in the Lords.
Winston Ben Clements is an Inclusion Speaker & Advocate with expertise in the areas of disability awareness, anti-racism and resilience. He was predicted to live a life of isolation and pain due to a rare bone disorder known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). This condition caused his bones to be extremely fragile, suffering over 200 fractures in his lifetime.
Winston is a two-time TED Speaker, Entrepreneur and YouTuber. His specialist topics are disability awareness, anti-racism and resilience. Winston has partnered with global brands including Google and Disney. His ultimate mission is to inspire 1 BILLION people to unleash their full human potential.
Michael McGrath is an inspirational speaker on resilience, leadership, disability awareness and diversity and inclusion
At just 18yrs, Michael was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy (MD), a degenerative muscle wasting disease. Nineteen years later, Michael made history by becoming the first disabled person to lead expeditions to both the North (April 2002) and the South Poles (Jan 2004).
Michael’s adopted life credo ‘Quant Je Puis’, meaning ‘As Much As I Can’, provides the fuel for a rare speaker who takes enormous pride in listening and interpreting client requirements, enabling bespoke presentations to be carefully crafted. Often as a keynote speaker, Michael’s story is laced with powerful learning’s and anecdotes drawn through the lens of his life, a journey of discovery and acceptance in not only facing his own adversities but also sharing compelling lessons and insights from his polar achievements.
If you have an enquiry for any of these speakers please do contact us on enquiries@scampspeakers.co.uk