On 11 October 2026, our Programmes Lead Srinidhi Raghavan joined an online interaction with 17 Fellows of the The Artivist Fellowship 2026 – a 6-week leadership and advocacy programme by Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC). The Fellowship brings together young people aged 13 – 18 to explore how creative expression can be used as a tool for social change. Rising Flame will be working with the fellows under the thematic area of ‘disability justice’.
The session introduced the fellows to the disability inclusion ecosystem and Rising Flame’s work at the intersection of disability justice, gender and representation. Srinidhi shared some of the approaches that inform our work, along with examples of how personal narratives, creative expression and advocacy can challenge the dominant ideas of disability and create space for more nuanced representations of the lives of disabled people.
The interaction also explored 3 themes that the fellows will be working on through their campaigns: “Disability and Media: Who Gets to Tell the Story?”; “Disability and Gender: Autonomy, Safety and Inclusion”; and “Disability and Technology: Access, Independence and the Digital World.” Discussions explored who gets to tell stories about disability, how gender and disability shape experiences of autonomy, safety and inclusion, and the ways technology can either enable independence or create new barriers. The Fellows were encouraged to look beyond stereotypes, engage with lived experiences and identify opportunities for creative interventions that could contribute to ongoing conversations around disability justice.
