2012 paralympic games

We closed the Independent Living Fund, made devastating changes to the access to work programme and the basic things that we all needed to make that night happen have been decimated. We have been on panels; we have fought in committee meetings all our lives. For that unique moment during the London Paralympic Opening Ceremony everyone was smiling at each other. We immersed ourselves in a beautiful world where everyone was happy and we could celebrate.

Disability art was seen for the quality that it can really, really be. And I want that back. But what does the future hold? We need to sort out the result already, so that the new Cabinet is formed out of artists, disabled people, people who are discriminated against and people who are oppressed and the power shift changes the next morning… the things that we created four years ago are all real, the skills and talents you saw, the joy you felt was real.

It could be like that if we had a Cabinet and the power shift changed, so that maybe for just a while, those that were oppressed had some of the power to make the changes that were needed, so that values like equality, values like human rights, values like inclusion, actually did start to become a reality. And that is it. The legacy of may have been tainted by what has followed, both politically and socially, but in terms of the arts there is at least some hope with initiatives like the Creative Case and disabled leaders like Graeae.

Let us hope that in we can look back on positive change, but that can only happen with a concerted effort at all levels of society. I am a multi-disciplinary artist and in I made work that celebrated the London Olympics and the Paralympics but also Charles Dickens' bi-centenary, depicting Miss Havisham's Wedding Dress.

It's now being brought out of storage for a new show, Impatient! Stories of service user advocacy at Bethlem Museum of the Mind.

Why Mr Dickens? In the wake of highly inspirational Olympics and Paralympics in Rio, an ordinary human caught up with a superhuman: What is the most superhuman thing about you? Please pick only one superhuman quality Oh God, there are so many. If I had to go with just one, I guess raising my eyebrows is probably the most superhuman Front Line Facilitators 30 Jan London. Subscribe to our mailing list. Search the DAO website. Just a year later, six teams competed at Stoke Mandeville -- with wheelchair netball, a forerunner of wheelchair basketball, being introduced -- as sport became a central part of a rehabilitation process that had been revolutionized by Guttmann.

In , a "statement of intent" was unveiled for the Games, which were by this time international, according to to the Mandeville Legacy website run by the local authority.

Photos: Paralympics The best photos. Paralympics The best photos — Athletes compete in the men's T54 marathon near Westminster and the Houses of Parliament on Sunday. Paralympics The best photos — Spain's Alberto Suarez Laso reacts after finishing in first place in the men's marathon T12 in central London on Sunday. Paralympics The best photos — The lead group of runners races to the finish in the men's T12 marathon Sunday. Paralympics The best photos — Canadian teammates celebrate after defeating Australia to win the gold medal wheelchair basketball competition Sunday.

Paralympics The best photos — Gold medalist Oscar Pistorius of South Africa throws a bouquet of flowers on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men's meter T44 final Saturday, September 8, at the Paralympic Games. Paralympics The best photos — Aniek Van Koot, left, and Jiske Griffioen of the Netherlands in action against Marjolein Buis and Esther Vergeer, also of the of Netherlands, in the women's doubles gold medal match. Paralympics The best photos — South Africa's Oscar Pistorius, also known as the "Blade Runner," crosses the line to win gold in the men's meter T44 final.

Pistorius also competed in the London Olympics. Paralympics The best photos — No. Paralympics The best photos — Thailand's Pattaya Tadtong, right, celebrates beating Britain's David Smith, left, in the final of the boccia individual BC1 competition on Saturday.

Paralympics The best photos — The sun sets as Shingo Kunieda of Japan, front left, plays against Stephane Houdet of France in the men's wheelchair tennis gold medal match on Saturday. Paralympics The best photos — Ivano and Lucca Pizzi of Italy celebrate winning the men's individual B cycling road race on Saturday. Paralympics The best photos — Jack Bridge of Great Britain celebrates after his men's meter breaststroke on Saturday. Paralympics The best photos — A volunteer holds a ball during the soccer match between Great Britain and Turkey on Saturday.

Paralympics The best photos — Abdellatif Baka of Algeria reacts after winning the gold during the men's meter T13 final on Saturday. Paralympics The best photos — Audrey Le Morvan of France prepares to serve against Poland in the women's team table tennis bronze medal match on Saturday. Paralympics The best photos — Faridul Bin Masri of Malaysia competes in the men's javelin throw final on Saturday. Paralympics The best photos — Doniyor Saliev of Uzbekistan competes in the men's triple jump F12 final on Saturday.

Paralympics The best photos — A picture shows the shadow of competitors as they compete in the men's javelin throw F42 final on Friday, September 7. Paralympics The best photos — Netherlands' Esther Vergeer keeps a spare ball in the spokes of her wheelchair as she plays Netherlands' Aniek Van Koot in the women's singles wheelchair tennis final on Friday.

Paralympics The best photos — A detailed view of wheelchairs during the men's pool phase Group A rugby match between Great Britain and Japan on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — A shadow of Lucy Shuker serving with partner out of frame Jordanne Whiley of Great Britain to Sakhorn Khanthasit and Ratana Techamaneewat of Thailand in the women's doubles bronze medal match for wheelchair tennis on Friday.

Paralympics The best photos — Great Britain fans cheer on their athletes on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — Valerie Grand-Maison of Canada celebrates after winning gold in the women's m individual medley - SM13 final on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — Cristian Valenzuela of Chile and guide Cristopher Guajardo react as they win gold in the men's m T11 final on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — Sarah Rung, right, of Norway touches the wall ahead of Teresa Perales, left, of Spain to win gold in the women's 50m butterfly - S5 final on Friday.

Paralympics The best photos — Silver medallist Dmitrii Kokarev of Russia, gold medallist Yang Yang of China and bronze medallist Arisdteidis Makrodimitris of Greece pose on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men's 50m freestyle - S2 final on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — A medal bearer carries a medal and flowers on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — The team of Finland celebrates after winning their men's team goalball gold medal match against Brazil on Friday.

Paralympics The best photos — Poland's Sebastian Powrozniak competes in the men's team table tennis Class on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — Australia's Chris Bond reaches for the ball during the mixed wheelchair rugby open match against Belgium on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — Bronze medalist Farzad Sepahvand of Iran poses Friday during the medal ceremony for the men's discus throw F44 final.

Paralympics The best photos — Esther Vergeer of the Netherlands plays a forehand in the final of the women's singles match in wheelchair tennis Friday.

Paralympics The best photos — Britain's Kyron Duke asks for quiet before competing Friday in the men's javelin throw F40 final. Paralympics The best photos — A spectator from Thailand wears masks as he watches Thursday's action at Olympic Stadium.

Paralympics The best photos — Brazil's Yohansson Nascimento breaks down on the finish line after finishing last in the men's meter T46 final Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Wolfgang Sacher of Germany crosses the finish line in the men's individual C road race Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Tom Hall Butcher of Great Britain reacts during his men's individual sabre wheelchair fencing match Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Britain's Sarah Storey, left, bites her gold medal as her nephew Gethin Crayford holds it on the podium after she won the women's individual C road race cycling final on Thursday.

Paralympics The best photos — Michelle Alonso Morales of Spain celebrates after winning gold in the women's m breaststroke - SB14 final on Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Argentina's captain Silvio Velo runs past Brazilian players to shoot at goal during the men's 5-a-side football semi-final match between Argentina and Brazil on Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Brazil's Jeferson da Conceicao Goncalves is seen during the game against Argentina during the men's 5-a-side football semi-final match between Argentina and Brazil on Thursday.

Paralympics The best photos — Silver medallist Edenia Garcia of Brazil poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the women's 50m backstroke - S4 final on Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Amy Conroy of Great Britain takes a shot during the women's classification crossover wheelchair basketball match between Great Britain and China on Thursday.

Paralympics The best photos — Marieke Vervoort of Belgium reacts as she wins gold in the women's meter T52 final on Day 7 of the London Paralympics on Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — South Africa's Oscar Pistorius lunges toward the finish line ahead of Brazil's Alan Oliveira as he anchors his team to win the men's 4xmeter relay T final and set a new world record on Thursday.

Paralympics The best photos — Britain's Sam Ruddock reacts after his men's meter T35 round 1 athletics heat on Thursday. Paralympics The best photos — Czech Republic's Jiri Jezek reacts after winning the gold medal in the men's individual C4 time trial cycling final on Wednesday, September 5, at the London Paralympics in London.

Paralympics The best photos — Alessandro Zanardi of Italy celebrates winning the men's individual H4 time trial on Wednesday. Paralympics The best photos — Nicholas Taylor of the United States plays a forehand in the quad doubles wheelchair tennis final on Wednesday.

Paralympics The best photos — Britain's David Anthony, center, reacts to scoring a goal against the United States during a Pool A wheelchair rugby match on Wednesday. Paralympics The best photos — Kenny Allen of Great Britain reacts after losing the match against China in the semifinal of the men's team recurve on Wednesday.

Paralympics The best photos — Michael Teuber of Germany celebrates winning the men's individual C 1 time trial on Wednesday. Paralympics The best photos — Zahra Javanmard of Iran competes in the women's team recurve open qualifying round in archery on Wednesday. Paralympics The best photos — Marcel Hug of Switzerland competes in the men's meter T54 round 1 heat 2 cycling event on Wednesday. Paralympics The best photos — Chinese Daoliang Hu, left, on his way to winning gold against Ukrainian Anton Datsko on Tuesday during the men's final of wheelchair fencing.

Paralympics The best photos — Katharina Kruger of Germany plays a shot while competing with Sabine Ellerbrock against Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker of Great Britain during the women's doubles wheelchair tennis quarterfinal match on Tuesday. Paralympics The best photos — Brazil's Yohansson Nascimento celebrates finishing second in the men's meter T46 final on Tuesday. Paralympics The best photos — Venezuela's Williams Barreto competes in the men's long jump - F20 final on Tuesday.

Paralympics The best photos — Walid Ktila of Tunisia crosses the line to win gold on Tuesday in the men's meter - T34 final. Paralympics The best photos — Natalie Schneider of the United States reaches for the ball in the women's wheelchair basketball quarterfinals against Canada on Tuesday. Paralympics The best photos — Venezuela's Jesus Aguilar swerves off the track as he approaches the finish line in the men's meter T53 heats.

Paralympics The best photos — Turkey's Ramazan Kunduz uses the side wall for guidance during the men's team football 5-a-side B1 preliminary match Tuesday. Paralympics The best photos — Russia's Sergey Malyshev shoots during the mixed meter pistol final on Monday. Paralympics The best photos — Mickey Bushell of Great Britain crosses the line to win gold in the men's meter final. Paralympics The best photos — Matt Stutzman of the United States competes in men's individual compound archery.

Paralympics The best photos — Cuba's Omara Durand celebrates after taking the gold medal in the women's meter final. Paralympics The best photos — Qing Xu of China competes in the men's meter individual medley final.

Paralympics The best photos — Oliveira is congratulated by Pistorius at the end of the men's meter T44 race. Paralympics The best photos — Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, presents the gold medal to Aled Davies of Great Britain after he won the men's discus F42 athletics event. Paralympics The best photos — Laura Thompson, left, and Phillipa Gray of New Zealand celebrate winning a heat of the women's individual B pursuit track cycling event.

Paralympics The best photos — France's Marie-Amelie le Fur, center, lunges over the finish line to win the women's meter T44 final as April Holmes, left, of the United States finishes third. Paralympics The best photos — Jingling Ouyang of China competes in the women's long jump F46 final.

Ouyang won the bronze medal. Paralympics The best photos — Swimmers compete in the men's meter individual medley SM6 heat 2 at the Aquatics Center. Paralympics The best photos — Athletes compete in the women's meters T54 final. Paralympics The best photos — Daniel Fox, left, of Australia and Marc Evers of the Netherlands dive into the pool at the start of the men's meter freestyle - S14 heat 3.

Paralympics The best photos — Amber Thomas of Canada competes in the women's meter backstroke - S11 heat 1. The winner, Venezuela's Omar Monterola, lies on the floor after crossing the finish line. Paralympics The best photos — Bastien Grundeler of France serves during his men's singles Class 6 bronze medal table tennis match against Peter Rosenmeier of Denmark.

Paralympics The best photos — Mihovil Spanja of Croatia competes in the men's meter individual medley - SM7 heat 1. Paralympics The best photos — Gordon Reid of Great Britain prepares to serve during the men's singles wheelchair tennis round 64 match against Takuya Miki of Japan in London on Saturday, September 1.

Paralympics The best photos — Brazil's Terezinha Guilhermina, left, prepares with her coach at the start of the women's meter T11 race. Paralympics The best photos — Carol-Eduard Novak of Romania celebrates winning gold in the men's individual C4 pursuit final. Paralympics The best photos — Richard Whitehead of Great Britain celebrates winning gold in the men's meter T42 final.

Paralympics The best photos — Eleanor Simmonds of Great Britain dives in at the start of her women's meter freestyle S6 heat. Paralympics The best photos — U. Paralympics The best photos — Thailand's Choochat Sukjarern attempts a lift during the Men's kg powerlifting.

Paralympics The best photos — Chinese Zhoubin Wang, left, chases the ball during the men's team football five-a-side match against Turkey. Paralympics The best photos — Croatian Darko Kralj competes in the men's shotput final.

Paralympics The best photos — British gold medalist Hannah Cockroft poses on the podium during the victory ceremony in the Women's meter T34 wheelchair race. Paralympics The best photos — Competitors take part in the dressage equestrian event. Paralympics The best photos — Chinese Qi Feng is congratulated by his coach Weipo Li for his gold during the medal ceremony of the Men's kg powerlifting.

Paralympics The best photos — Lahouari Bahlaz of Algeria competes in the men's club throw on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — Sophie Pascoe of New Zealand in action during the women's meter freestyle. Paralympics The best photos — Julie Rogers, from left, Jessica Frezza, Martine Wright and Andrea Green of Great Britain react to a point during the opening game of the womens sitting volleyball tournament against Ukraine.

Paralympics The best photos — A spectator gets into the athletics action on Friday. Paralympics The best photos — A competitor walks across the athletics track. Paralympics The best photos — James Crisp of Great Britain swims in the men's meter backstroke. Paralympics The best photos — Mark Colbourne of Great Britain competes in the men's individual cycling event. Paralympics The best photos — Ukraine's Alla Lysenko second in row prepares to take part in the women single sculls heat on Friday.

Paralympics The best photos — Great Britain's Ade Oregbemi takes a tumble in the preliminary men's wheelchair basketball match, which Germany won , on Thursday, August Paralympics The best photos — The Great Britain team leaves the court losing to China during the women's goalball match between China and Great Britain.