Celebrating Alf’s Act 50 Years of Disabled People’s Rights Celebrate – Learn – Challenge Due to Covid-19 Manchester Histories Festival will be presenting its first ever DigiFest, taking place on Friday 4 & Saturday 5th September 2020. DigiFest 2020 will create a collective on-line space for disabled and non- disabled people to present their stories, ideas and content through our very own pop-up TV Studio, broadcasting live across the globe from Manchester. To enable us to make this an inspiring experience, Manchester Histories is calling out for ideas and digital content based around the themes of the festival which are Celebrate – Learn – Challenge. There are three ways you can get involved: 1.) Send us your ideas of what you would like to see happen as part of the live broadcast, these can be based around a discussion, debate, on-line panel, campaign, or an on-line competition or poll to find out people’s responses to 50 years of disabled people’s rights. Please complete the form below, sections 1 2 and 3. 1 2.) Send or link us to any pre-recorded digital content, such as videos, film, music, documentary, performance, or work that profiles or promotes your organisation/group that fit with the themes of the festival. Please complete form below, sections 1 2 and 4. 3.) Manchester Histories and partners are interested in getting responses from disabled people on Covid-19. It's important that we document these times in our history. Some of the responses will help shape and contribute to the live debate we are hosting on Saturday 5th September 2020, and some contributions may be used in the short films we are making about Alf Morris. We are asking people to send us a short response via your mobile phone, no longer than 3 minutes please, this could be a short video or audio recording. Just answering one question. What impact has Covid-19 had on you and the lives of disabled people? Send your file via WeTransfer https://wetransfer.com/ to [email protected] Subject: Mobile Content, with your name, contact phone number and title of submission in the body of the email. Thank you. Contributions are open to all – individuals, organisations, health professional, researchers, historians, campaigners, academics, artists, musicians - anyone with a connection or interest in disabled people’s rights. The deadline for application is Monday 6th July 2020. Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020 will mark the 50-year anniversary of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act (CSDPA) 1970. This landmark legislation was pioneered by the late Lord Alf Morris, who subsequently became Britain’s first minister for disabled people. Often described as the Magna Carta for 2 disabled people, this was the first disability rights legislation anywhere in the world and laid the foundations for the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Equality Act 2010. Alf Morris was born and bred in Manchester and served as an MP for Wythenshawe. Throughout his lifetime, he campaigned tirelessly for the rights of disabled people. Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020 is a collaborative programme between The University of Manchester, the family of the late Lord Morris of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Manchester’s Students’ Union, the TUC (Manchester), Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People. In 2021 People’s History Museum will be exploring the theme of disabled people’s rights and activism through a year of events, exhibitions and learning sessions. Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020 will mark the start of this inspiring programme of activity. Aims of Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020: In line with Manchester Histories’ mission to deliver projects, events and activities with people and communities that reveal, share and celebrate Greater Manchester’s diverse histories and heritage, the aims of this festival are: • To raise awareness in the general population of the significance of this ground-breaking legislation and those other legal instruments for which it paved the way (including the DDA 1995 and The Equality Act 2010). • To provide an historical and future orientated perspective on disabled people’s* lives in the UK including the positive developments that have taken place, current uncertainties and future directions. • To provide a platform for disabled people to express their voices through performance, music and co- designed creative activity. • To celebrate the life and achievements of Alf Morris (late Lord Morris of Manchester) and those with whom he worked. 3 • To spotlight, amongst the vast diversity of disabled people, everyday role models who are neither heroes nor victims but whose positive, ordinary and occasionally spectacularly talented lives make our whole society richer. • To encourage a present-time, open and critical debate about the promotion of equality for disabled people to the benefit of all in society. • For disabled people, on their own terms, to author the past, current and potential futures of their citizenship, contribution and participation in the UK. This is a position of empowerment and possibility that would not have been possible without that initial piece of legislation which we honour in these events. • *By ‘disabled people’ we mean any person who identifies as being disabled, neurodiverse and/or have a long-term health problem or chronic illness. Support in Completing the Form If you need this form in a different format, please let us know; you can submit your expression of interest as a film, reading, or any other format to get your ideas across. Please contact [email protected] , call 0161 306 1982 or text 07890 863176. We also welcome submissions in BSL. To submit a large file, please send via WeTransfer https://wetransfer.com/ to [email protected], Subject: Digital Content, with your name and contact phone number and title of submission in the body of email. Thank you. Contribution Process Your contribution will be considered by the steering group to decide on how best we can include your contribution; we will contact you by mid- August 2020 to confirm or discuss your involvement further. The programme team will try to accommodate all contributions, but we cannot guarantee that we can support all submissions. 4 Manchester Histories is a small charity we have limited resources and cannot provide any funding to support the making of any digital content, however we can provide support in marketing, a slot in our on-line brochure, social media, and audio/ visual support, access support, and moral support. Deadline for contribution is Monday 6th July 2020. We look forward to receiving your completed form. Section 1: Contact details Please tell us about the organisation or group you are applying on behalf of: Organisation or group name: Location and Postcode: Please provide your details as the applicant representing you or your organisation: Name: Job/role in group: Address: Postcode: Email: Phone number: Website: Twitter handle: Facebook page: Instagram handle: Any age restrictions: Please provide a summary of the work which your group, organisation or charity does if applying as group or organisation: (maximum 50 words). 5 Section 2: The themes for Manchester Histories DigiFest 2020 Our three festival themes are Celebrate – Learn – Challenge. Which theme best describes your submission? Please place a tick in one or more of the boxes that describes your idea or digital content. E.g. Celebrate + Youth may describe a video by a group of young disabled people; or Challenge + Historic may describe an on- line debate about the past and future of disabled people’s rights. Historical Rights and law Current and Arts and Youth Other political performance CELEBRATE CHALLENGE LEARN 6 Section 3: Idea overview Idea title: Please describe your idea (maximum 200words). This will be used in our on-line brochure. What kind of on-line activity is it? E.g. is it a debate? A performance? A talk? Who is your event aimed at? Who would be involved? 7 Any access requirements? Is there any other information that you would like to give to Manchester Histories? Section 4: Digital Content contribution Title: URL link: Password if required: Have you sent your content via We-Transfer? Yes or No Exact Running Time: We will only accept films/soundtracks/content under 8 30 mins length – If content is longer we may be able to use excerpts as required Ratio: 4:3/16:9 Other Format: Does the film have captions/subtitles? Production Year: For Information Only Makers/Director/s: Certificate: i.e. U/PG/Over 12 Short Synopsis/Description: Up to 500 words 9 Are there any access requirements you need or can suggest to make your work as accessible as possible? E.g. Adding subtitles to content. Practical aspects to remember: • You need to have cleared copyright of all external material you have used in your film (soundtrack, including credit music, video extracts etc.). We cannot broadcast content which have unauthorised use of material. • The web link or content we require from you will be what we use for the live stream. Make sure the version you send us is of high enough quality: preferably HD, 1080p (1920 x 1080) or 720p (1280 x 720); but SD 576i (720 x 576) will do if you are happy with that. • Please make sure audio is authored to -3db, no higher • If your work is selected for broadcast, we will contact you to request files as required to be able to upload your submission into our on- line studio package. Please email an image to By submitting your film, video, digital content you confirm that you have represent your on-line submission. the rights, licence and permission to allow Manchester Histories to Images should be in JPEG format reproduce. show the image in print, web, moving image on digital channels, including the live stream.