The Our Voices podcast, created by Dr. Alfiya Battalova, a member of the MAP team with a PhD in Disability Studies and experience working with several disability and health non-profit organizations, and Anu Pala, an accessibility consultant, professional speaker, and podcast producer who lives with complete sight loss, explores the experiences of people with disabilities serving on municipal accessibility advisory committees. These committees are meant to support local governments in making their communities more accessible, but unfortunately, real action is lacking. Advisory committee members often feel like their involvement is more about checking a box than making real change.
The podcast shares the findings of the Accessibility Advisory Committee’s research project focused on the role of accessibility advisory committees in supporting the civic participation of people with disabilities. The project explores how these committees influence city policies and services for individuals with disabilities and where they fall short. Guests on the show include city planners, council members, and community advocates who’ve worked closely with these committees. The podcast highlights the real-life impact of policies, attitudes, and barriers that often go unseen. It also shows what work is needed to move beyond token inclusion and toward real change.
Podcasting, an effective and inclusive method for learning!
Listening to the podcast, we hear directly from individuals with lived experience about what’s working, what needs improvement, and what meaningful inclusion really looks like. By sharing the results in a podcast format, the project reaches a broader audience and encourages a deeper conversation on the topic. Alfiya and Anu discuss the process and benefits of this mode of knowledge translation in the recent Webinar for the Center on Knowledge Translation for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (KTDRR), titled “Translating Knowledge through Sound: A Case Study of Our Voices“.