In February and March 2026, the ENGAGE Project hosted two events to share knowledge and spark dialogue around disability, gender, leadership, and activism. These events were anchored by an exhibition, Re-imagining from the South: Girls and Women with Disabilities Advocating for Change, featuring artwork, photovoice, cellphilms, and manifestos created by 54 young women and girls with disabilities from Vietnam, India, and South Africa.

On February 26, the first event foregrounded the voices of the ENGAGE Youth Leadership Circle (YLC) directly. Six youth leaders from South Africa, India, and Vietnam, Andiswa from South Africa, Sweety and Aphuja from India, and Em and Panh from Vietnam, joined the online session to speak about their artworks, their journeys, and their visions for the future. They described forming disability-led clubs, demanding respect in the workplace and community, and using art to make others feel what they feel inside.

Coordinated by Linh Thuy Dang with support from local research assistants, the Youth Leadership Circle spent four months, from November 2025 through February 2026, preparing together across three countries. Youth leaders from Vietnam, India, and South Africa worked collectively to establish objectives, identify their audience, surface key themes from their lived experiences and messages, and carefully choose which artworks would represent their communities. This collaborative process was an act of relational agency, one in which young women and girls with disabilities shaped the terms of their own representation and claimed space as knowledge producers within their communities and across borders.

Andiswa, a youth leader from South Africa highlights:

The second event was hosted as a hybrid gathering at the Participatory Cultures Lab (PCL), McGill University. The panel discussion with the participation of Dr. Xuan Thuy Nguyen (ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University), Dr. Claudia Mitchell (McGill University), and Linh Thuy Dang (MA Brock University). Panelists emphasized the importance of centering the voices of girls and young women with disabilities as knowledge producers and leaders in their communities. The discussion also explored how transnational collaboration can support decolonial learning networks and strengthen collective action for social change.

Here are two recordings of the Knowledge Mobilization event series:

Knowledge Mobilization event on February 26, 2026

Knowledge Mobilization event on March 11, 2026

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Re-imagining from the South: Girls and Women with Disabilities Advocating for Change

Date: February 26, 2026

Time: 8:00-10:00AM  EST/ 6:30-8:30PM IST/ 8:00-10:00PM ICT/ 3:00-5:00PM SAST

Register on Eventbrite:

Organiser: Decolonial Disability Studies Collective (ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University) and Brock University

Speakers:

• ENGAGE Youth Leadership Circle Leaders
• Dr. Chelsea Jones, Brock University
• Dr. Xuan Thuy Nguyen, ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University

Event description:

ENGAGE brings together youth, artists, researchers, and community members from post-colonial contexts in India, South Africa, and Vietnam to share creative knowledge about disability, girlhood, and justice across transnational spaces.

This event highlights a digital exhibition of the leadership journey of young women and girls with disabilities from the Global South, and a coversation with youth leaders and research team. It creates decolonial spaces for cross-community learning that foster leadership and activism with women and girls with disabilities across the Global South.

More information about the ENGAGE project: /ddsc/engage/

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ENGAGE-India_Leadership Workshop: Key Learnings and Reflections

A residential workshop was conducted during 30th June and 1st July 2025 as part of Project ENGAGE, in Seva Kendra Calcutta. There were in total 13 participants and 1 parent. 3 members of the research team were present. The main objective of this workshop was to revise both, the various concepts of rights, leadership, etc. that participants had been exposed to as well as the activities that they had been a part of over the years. Through the two-day workshop we also revisited some questions of their identity as disabled women and girls, their views on leadership and concepts around knowledge/praxis.

A group photo of women and girls with disabilities in July 2025

The participants were enthusiastic and active in the sessions. They were keen to learn things they did not know, for instance, the steps to organizing an awareness programme or workshop in their community. At the same time they were articulate about sharing their own experiences. Overall the workshop ended on positive notes, with a whatsapp group having been created (with most of the girls and women becoming a part of it) and plans for a programme organized by them in the autumn of this year.

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On May 28, 2025, the Engaging Girls and Young Women with Disabilities Across Southern Spaces (ENGAGE) project held the final meeting of its Youth Leadership Circle (YLC). This gathering brought together young leaders from India, Vietnam, and South Africa to share artistic representations of women and girls with disabilities in their communities.

In their drawings, each leader wore traditional attire, symbolizing the rich cultural diversity of the Global South. Their artwork emphasized not only the uniqueness of each individual’s experience with disability but also the unity of women and girls with disabilities in shaping their futures.

A youth leader from India reflected,“There are different kinds of disabilities, and everybody can become a leader. There is potential for leadership in everyone. As leaders from different groups, communities, and states, we can come together. While we are different, we are also united.”

The Vietnam team illustrated their leadership journey – from experiences of exclusion to forming their own club, actively participating in their communities, and becoming powerful advocates for change.

In South Africa, the artwork demonstrated a strong message:”Do not discriminate against us because we are all the same.”
Their presentation addressed the challenges faced by people with disabilities and the need for greater understanding and inclusion. One participant shared,”We have a plan to make people understand us, and to help them learn to love and accept us more.”

This final YLC meeting was a meaningful conclusion to the ENGAGE project and an exciting step forward. We are thrilled to announce the continuation of this youth leadership work through a new research project: GlobalSouthConnect.

The energy, commitment, and creativity of these young leaders show that this is just the beginning of our leadership journey. We are so excited to see what comes next. We will continue!

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Youth Leadership Circle Zoom Meeting in May 2024

Today, on May 16, 2024, representatives of girls and young women with disabilities in India, Vietnam, and South Africa came together on Zoom for our annual meeting called the Youth Leadership Circle.

As disability leaders, they talked about their experiences in advocacy work in their community. Also, they discussed the challenges they face and shared ideas on how to make things better. They showed that when they come together, they can do amazing things!

Let’s cheer for these awesome leaders and keep rooting for them as they make a difference!

The image above displays a Zoom screenshot featuring the participation of the India team, Linh Dang, Nhi Truong, Dr. Thuy Nguyen, the Vietnam team, Dana Corfield, Dr. Claudia Mitchell, and the South Africa team.

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To learn more about how ENGAGE’s Youth Leadership Circle builds knowledge and activism for young women and girls with disabilities, please click on the link below.

Learning With and From the Global South – Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (carleton.ca)

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Activities:

1. Leadership Roadmap for the Future:

  We invited the participants to think about their leadership development plans delivered on their beliefs and values as leaders.

Viet Nam team showed their solidarity after sharing about their leadership journey for the future

2. Disabled girls’ manifesto workshop:

 Drawing on various activities such as art-making and presentations from disability activists about leadership and activism on the first two days, the participants reflected on the artwork collectively to create a bigger message for the group. It is called a manifesto – a declaration created by young women and girls with disabilities at the YLC2023. They created their manifestos in the form of a short video, or a written statement.

India team shared about their manifesto with the messages to advocate for the rights to education of the girls and women with disabilities.

 3. Exhibit of Engagement with the local community:

On Day 3 of the YLC2023, we opened a learning space for policy stakeholders, representatives of different local/international non-government organizations, and disabled people’s organizations to engage and learn from the girls and young women in South Africa, India, and Viet Nam.

The guests experienced the gallery tour in the Exhibit of Engagement with
the Local Community

India team introduced about their cultural works and the Zine products

 4. Reflection and Setting for Future Agenda:

This section facilitated by Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen Anh from UNICEF Vietnam. Reflecting on the past three days, the participants shared their thoughts and insights gained from the event. Participants engaged in discussions to define their collective aspirations and set goals for the future in the next two years. Some participants emphasized the importance of building networks of the girls and women with disabilities in their local communities as well as in the Global South in general. Others highlighted the need for a stronger emphasis on social protection and transformation, aiming to create positive change within their organizations and communities.

A girl from South Africa reflected on the 3-day Learning and
Engagement

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Activities:

Zine production: Creative Zine Productions: Bringing about Change.

The four groups of young women and girls with disabilities from Vietnam, India and South Africa created their zines – self-published booklets. Through zine-making, they talk about the problems, how they dealt with them, and their advocacy strategies.

As part of a group discussion, a group of girls and women from India shared their plans for writing booklets.

This zine was presented by a group of girls and women from A Luoi, Hue.

Introduced the Action to the Community Development Institute (ACDC) and Programs to Support Women with Disabilities. Ms. Tran Thi Lam Ngoc – a project coordinator in Hue- shared with the participants about their work and support for the initiatives of women with disabilities.

   Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy and Ms. Tran Thi Lam Ngoc exchanged warm embraces.

Discussion Topic 2: How to Build Networks of Young Women and Girls with Disabilities in Your Local Contexts? The girls and women with disabilities shared their ideas about strategies to make their community more accessible for themselves and their disability.

During the discussion, a woman from South Africa shared her perspective on how they establish networks.

Music Performance & Stories: In the evening, the participants from each country showed their unique culture through different performances such as music, pantomime, and dance. Also, a group of Hue University of Sciences students joined and delivered songs about Vietnam.

The attendees joined in a dance to the upbeat tune of “Waka Waka”, one of the official songs of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

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