Help me open the door

Dear Debriefers,

I make Disability Debrief to share news on disability from around the world, to shine a light on work done in our name, and to give a platform for stories of disabled people, told in their own words.

The weekly newsletter is a resource trusted by activists, academics and policy makers. It's a unique reference in both its breadth, now covering news from over 160 countries, and in depth, reporting stories you won't hear elsewhere.

Its impact led me to being recognised in the hundred most influential disabled people in the United Kingdom. In this edition I share what the Debrief did in 2024 and I ask for your help to continue work next year.

Fundraising for 2025

The biggest challenges a project like this faces are financing and visibility.

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Open up information

I started the Debrief nearly five years ago. International efforts on disability rights were moving very quickly. I was doing projects in the United Nations system and could see a flood of research and new initiatives. Imagining only colleagues would be interested, I put together a monthly newsletter to keep up.

But I soon learned it wasn't just specialists interested in these breakthroughs. General interest readers were finding my work and wanted to know more about how the world was changing for disabled people. They showed me the importance of sense-making and sharing insights too often limited to those dedicated to disability full-time.

Gathering news also showed me the voices that weren't getting airtime. As well as learning reporting skills myself, I leant into my networks to find disabled people who could tell stories in their own words.

Opening the door to others

Giving a platform to the work of others has been one of the important ways the Debrief grew this year. In addition to my own, I published twelve different writers, coming from eleven different countries. It's an increase from 2023 when I published the work of three other writers.

Guest essays are among the most popular writing on the Debrief. One reader favourite was Alberto Vásquez Encalada's “Don't shut the door behind you”, on gatekeeping in the disability movement. (And it inspired the title of this edition.)

Other contributions have spanned many countries and topics, including:

• Lea Labaki told us about the loneliness of life in community in Brussels, Belgium.
• Ida Putri wrote about her journey into grassroots activism in Boyolali, Indonesia.
• John Loeppky wrote from Canada about the tense relationship between the Paralympics and disability advocacy.
• Alexander Ogheneruemu shared the disconnect felt by deaf worshippers in churches in Nigeria.
• Tanzila Khan wrote from Pakistan – and her worldwide wheelchair travels – about finding her own fairy-tale.

These writers range from those writing like this for the first time to experienced journalists. I'm learning how to edit, encourage and sometimes mentor folk with very different backgrounds.

An independent view

That's how I came into the start of this year, busily commissioning work. But I soon found that being the only media outlet covering the international disability movement needed me to up my game.

Under the surface, problems had been brewing at the heart of international efforts on disability rights. There was a crisis in management and financial affairs at the International Disability Alliance (IDA) – the organisation that represents people with disabilities to governments and the United Nations.

Rumours were flying, but there wasn't publicly available information. Those close to events either weren't able to speak to it or didn't want to. The issues were sensitive and many were worried it would have negative repercussions on the disability movement more widely.

I was able to take an independent view. I broke the news of the investigation that had forced a leadership change. And when IDA wasn't sharing what had happened, I did in-depth reporting on the original investigation as well as getting exclusive comment from those involved.

Those pieces turned out to be the most-read work I've done. The disability community needs journalism done with integrity, and the Debrief contributes where there has been an almost-complete absence of coverage.

These were scary pieces to report on, let alone publish. I could only do them because of the way the Debrief is funded and the autonomy that gives.

Pay what you can

The Debrief's funding model is simple. Everything is given away for free. If you would like to, and it's financially comfortable to do so, you contribute.

I don't hide any content behind a paywall. There isn't a separate newsletter serving corporate interests. There aren't annoying pop-ups.

It's a model that works thanks to the dedication of readers. Through the project, over 200 readers have supported financially. This year seven new organisations made subscriptions, taking the total to nineteen. Those supporting the work include private foundations, government agencies, mainstream non-profits, disability organisations and a UN agency.

This funding model allows me to put my time into the project, pay writers and illustrators, and to take an independent view. It means I don't have to look over my shoulder to see where I get my next consultancy assignment from. And I don't have to give in to those who want stories told to support their interests.

Since the start of the Debrief's financial year in April, it has fundraised £58,000, and I've already invested £6,500 in commissioning work. In last year's total, fundraising reached £70,000. Reaching, and hopefully getting past that figure this year will allow me to increase commissions and extend what the Debrief can do.

“A wonderful resource”

Thanks to support from readers, the Debrief has been able to grow the audience of those who follow international disability news.

Many readers rely on it as a a resource that guides their own work. The Debrief library now curates over 5,500 links from over 160 countries. And over the past twelve months, there has been:

• A 42% increase in email subscribers, to over 3,400.
• A 17% increase in unique web visitors, to 27,000.

As I shared last week, this growth of the Debrief's impact led to me being recognised as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the United Kingdom.

But, as ever, it's the words of readers that show what it means to people. My heart was sent aflutter when superstar disability advocate Haben Girma reached out to say the Debrief is “a wonderful resource”. Also out of the blue I got an email from Apolline Moulaire at Robert Bosch Foundation:

“Your newsletter in our inboxes is like an honest letter, easy to understand, with important details and information, and true stories to illustrate the realities of persons from the disability community and the challenges.”

In the words of lifelong disability advocate Rosangela Berman Bieler, the Debrief “empowers leaders across the world and brings the community together.”

A need for community in 2025

Next year is definitely looking like a year in which we'll definitely need to be in community together. International cooperation has been stretched to the limit and Trump's reelection promises yet more chaos in world affairs.

Global work on disability rights is under threat of losing funding as nationalist turns and austerity policies lead to governments slashing funding. Indeed, the impact on budgets for disability work already means that one of the organisations supporting the Debrief has cut back on funding for next year.

But this context just gives urgency to the Debrief's tasks of keeping people informed, hearing directly from people in the margins, and finding new narratives around disability.

In 2025, I want to work with more brilliant writers from around the world, innovate in the way we tell stories about disability, and continue to bring transparency and accountability to initiatives done in our name.

I hope you'll help me open the door wider,

Peter

Rolling on

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Marley for the photograph, and to AdaptiveTribute for the festive hoody.

I'm deeply grateful to all those that have made this project possible this year, whether funding, sharing information, commenting, encouraging, or just reading it and following along this journey through disability rights. Thank you.

In particular my thanks go to my direct collaborators who worked with me. I'm proud to have published so many brilliant writers. And three illustrators have made the Debrief beautiful and brought a visual dimension to this work this year: Tan Kuan Aw, Kinanty Andini and Sonaksha.

Áine Kelly-Costello has been a constant sounding board (including on this edition). I've counted on coaching from Celestine Fraser and from Eddie Bearnot. Among many others, Alberto Vásquez Encalada and Susan Scott Parker have been invaluable advisors.