Disability Power 100
News
BSU Research Fellow recognised as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK
Thursday, 21 November, 2024Dr Tanvir Bush, Research Fellow at Bath Spa University, has been listed in the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100, recognising her as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK. Winners are chosen for their significant impact, innovation and influence in changing the perceptions and stereotypes of disability.
Tanvir was selected as one of the Power 100 in the Grassroots Community Advocate category, recognising her work within and for her local community as a disabled activist and local co-opted town councillor.
Talking about her win, Tanvir said:
“It is amazing to have been nominated, let alone to have won! I am thrilled and really hope that I might do the award justice by continuing to advocate for the Deaf and disabled communities around me! It will also be invaluable in widening my networks and expanding my research and activism.”
Head of Disability Power 100, Alona De Havilland, said:
“The Disability Power 100 is all about creating change. It celebrates ambition and achievement and plays a role in challenging society’s perceptions of disability by recognising the strengths, contributions and successes of 100 disabled individuals each year.”
Tanvir is a Research Fellow on both Bath Spa University’s Wellcome Trust funded We Are The People project and the UKRI funded Sensing Climate Project. She is the co-chair of the Empathy and Writing research group, and was integral in setting up the BSU Disabled Staff Network, which she co-chairs. Tanvir also facilitated – along with BSU Reader in Disability Studies and Inclusion Research, Dr Stuart Read – Corsham's first Disability and Inclusion Festival in September 2023.
While Tanvir is certainly a force to be reckoned with, she also couldn’t have achieved all that she’s done without the help and support of her colleagues. She said:
“I would like to thank my colleague Debbie Barefoot who has also been a great support worker over the last few years and of course Sharon Thomas, the Community Engagement Manager for Corsham Council and all at the council for my nomination. I also couldn't have done without the wisdom and research skills of my lovely colleagues, Dr Stuart Read and Dr Sarah Bell.”
Tanvir doesn’t plan on resting on her laurels after her Disability Power 100 win. In addition to her work with We Are The People and Sensing Climate, she’s recently been awarded an Engage Fellowship with the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), where she’ll explore disabled led public engagement with the intention of inspiring transformational inclusion, concluding with a Transformation Inclusion Symposium in Corsham and Bath in September 2025. Tanvir is also working on a bid to bring disabled podcasters from Zambia and the UK together to discuss climate change, and if that weren’t enough, she is also a published novelist:
“There is also my next novel which has been bubbling away and needs to be written. I think it's going to be an exciting couple of years!”
The full list of 2024 finalists can be found on the Disability Power 100 website.