Miro Griffiths (born 29 May 1989) is a British disability advocate who is a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow based at the University of Leeds, in the School of Sociology and Social Policy. He is also deputy director of the Centre for Disability Studies, an interdisciplinary research centre exploring disabled people's oppression, marginalisation, and liberation.[1]
Early life and education
Born in the Wirral, Griffiths went to West Kirby Primary School. He wanted to go to Hilbre High School but was unable to do so because of its inaccessibility.[2] He instead went to Woodchurch High School and then Birkenhead Sixth Form.[3] His father, David, was an Aerospace Engineer and his mother, Helena, a Slovenian writer. He has one sibling, Jan Griffiths.[4]
At thirteen years old, he received a Millennium Award which led to the conceptualised development of a computer game promoting disability equality.[5]
Griffiths lives on the Wirral[10] with his partner, Emma Fairweather, who is a bioscientist.[11] He is a power wheelchair user, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (Type II)[12] and receives 24-hour personal healthcare assistance. Griffiths has spoken about the importance of self-directed support, the use of personal budgets to coordinate assistance, and the blending of human and technological support infrastructure.[13][14]
In interviews, Griffiths has highlighted political support for the Labour Party (UK)[15] and the Green Party (UK).[16] He often positions himself as a pragmatic socialist.[15][17][18] He has argued for a “politics of opportunity”, which is focused on supporting individuals and communities to be creative, imaginative, and experimental in building accessible and inclusive societies for all.[19][20]
Academic work
Griffiths began working as a Teaching Fellow in Disability Studies at the University of Leeds in 2018.[21] He was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship, at the University of Leeds, in 2020.[22] Since then, he has been the Principal Investigator on the Disability Activism in Europe project. This project explores young disabled people's experiences and views of disability activism across Europe.[23] His project has received media attention from the BBC (UK).[24] and US documentary filmmakers[25]
Griffiths is the deputy director of the Centre for Disability Studies[26] at the University of Leeds. Griffiths is an Executive Editor for the International Journal of Disability and Social Justice[27] and Managing Editor for the Journal of Disability Studies in Education.[28]
