This project (November 2016 – September 2018) is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS). It is a collaboration between scholars based at two UK universities and VisAbility, a non-profit organisation that aims to break with stigmatisation and empower disabled people.
The Team
Principal Investigator
Lars Waldorf (Dundee Law School, University of Dundee)
Co-Investigator
Hetty Blades (Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University)
Civil Society Partners
Dr. Darshan Ambalavanar (Church of American Ceylon Mission, Batticaloa)
Gerda König (VisAbility)
Helena-Ulrike Marambio (VisAbility)
Mahesh Umagiliya (VisAbility)
Academic Partners
Adam Benjamin (Independent Practitioner. Formerly, Theatre and Performance, Plymouth University)
Dr. Sivagnanam Jeyasankar (Director, Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Eastern University of Sri Lanka)
Mrs. Kanchana Nilmini Liyanapathiranage (Lecturer in Law, University of Peradeniya)
Advisory Group
Jo Baker (International Service)
Dr. Chandani Liyanage (Centre for Excellence in Disability Research, Education and Practice, University of Colombo)
Mrs. Kanchana Nilmini Liyanapathiranage (Department of Law, University of Peradeniya)
Dr. Robert B. Porter (University of Strathclyde)
Dr. Sivagnanam Jeyasankar (Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Eastern University of Sri Lanka)
Professor Sarah Whatley (Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University)
Other collaborating Institutions
During the project, two institutions provided invaluable support:
Nuffield School for the Deaf and Blind, Kaithady
Miani Technical Institute, Batticaloa
Performing/Informing Rights 