VICTA Changemakers connect with disability advocates at our social media workshop

The Changemaker group gather for a group photo with speakers Seren & Toby. A guide dog also joins the photo.

The Changemakers sit around a table in discussion with Seren and Toby

victastudents.org.uk/changemakers

The VICTA Changemakers, a group of young adults with a passion for advocating for blind and vision impaired people, are taking over Blindness Awareness Month at VICTA!

This year we welcome Robin, Lydia, Millie-Jayne, Jerri, Alex, James, Amy, Tilly, Johnathan, Adam, Ravi, Evelyne, Ruqayyah, Ellie and Zehra to the group. They have already been sharing their stories and video reels to help spread awareness and tell their stories. Make sure you keep following them on the VICTA Student Portal victastudents.org.uk/changemakers and on social media @VICTAUK.

To help us understand how to best use social media to make a difference and reach the right audience, we hosted a social media workshop in Birmingham on Saturday 11 October. We were excited to welcome our workshop hosts, Seren and Toby, who are both super successful online disability advocates, you may know them better as @otters.have.pockets and @BlindTobes!

It was an amazing opportunity to hear how they have built up supportive online communities, get tips on growing reach on social media posts, and some of the practicalities of filming, editing and posting when you are blind or partially sighted. There was also a conversation about the importance of staying safe and protecting your own wellbeing when you are sharing online.

After lots of discussion and knowledge building, the Changemakers had a go at testing out their new skills, with Seren and Toby on hand to offer advice and support.

A huge thank you to our hosts, and to the Changemakers for your amazing contributions to the workshop, it’s going to be an exciting year ahead!