Dr Miro Griffiths MBE

HE/HIM
Scholar

An established and influential scholar in Disability Studies, Miro’s pioneering research explores young disabled people’s participation in campaigning, advocacy, and disability politics across Europe. This led Miro to outline innovative theoretical insights into disabled people’s experiences of power, resistance, and the pursuit for liberation. His work is widely published across journals, books, and reports.

A disability campaigner from 14, Miro was Chair of the Whizz Kidz Youth Board at 17. He won a UK Millennium Award and worked with Sony PlayStation Europe to develop a computer game promoting disability equality.

Subsequently, he moved into policy and research, becoming one of the youngest UK Government policy advisers, aged 17. Miro was part of the UK delegation at the Signing Ceremony for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007.

Miro is based at the University of Leeds. He is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Disability Studies, an internationally renowned research centre dedicated to understanding how political, economic, social, and cultural contexts affect disabled people’s life chances.

He is an executive and managing editor of two international journals in Disability Studies, a mentor at the Council for At-Risk Academics, and a project adviser on programmes about archives and history, welfare and social security, counterterrorism, and disability advocacy.

Miro’s academic profile has led to policy positions across Europe. He is an adviser to the Liverpool City Region on fairness and social justice, UK Government on personalisation of health and social care agendas, European Commission on disability hate crime and self-directed support provision, and British Council on inclusivity approaches.

He is a former Disability Advisory Committee member at the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission, and a founding member of the European Network on Independent Living Youth Network.

His pioneering work has been recognised in the Birthday Honours (MBE, 2014), by the Royal Society of Arts (Invited Fellow, 2017), and the International Sociological Association (Sociologist of the Month, September 2022).

I am surprised at my inclusion in the Disability Power 2023, given the dedication and extensive contributions of disabled people – across the UK – who work endlessly to promote accessibility, inclusivity, and social justice. Awards, such as the Disability Power 2023, are an opportunity to recognise disabled people’s pursuit for accessible and inclusive societies. It captures the ideas, imaginings, and activities necessary to progress disabled people’s liberation and bring into focus a world that must acknowledge, and accommodate, the diverse needs of all communities. Irrespective of when we appear on this List, or if we decline to be named, it is our voice – as disabled people – that matters.

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Children and young people, Community, Education, Equality, Gaming, Politics, Television, radio, podcast, Transport, travel

Disability Power 100 profile information is self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.