This year will see UpLift’s fourth annual WEEKENDER, which is returning to Liverpool for the second time. Every year we’re just as excited as the delegates to be going to the event, which brings together people with muscle-weakening conditions from all over the country. It seems to have been even more popular year-on-year, as this time all spaces were filled within 48 hours of the announcement!

As disabled people we know how crucial access is, and even being able to stay at a fully accessible hotel, such as the Novotel Paddington Village is a huge deal; shown by the fact we decided to return for another year at the venue. The itinerary for the weekend has a wide variety of activities, workshops, and opportunities for socialising.

DAY 1

Friday is a nice relaxed welcome to the WEEKENDER, with some ice-breakers and the UpLift team introducing ourselves and what we do, as well as outlining all the things we are excited for during the weekend. After the formalities, it’s time for dinner and some entertainment, and it’s always good getting to know each other on the first night of the event.

DAY 2

Saturday is getting kicked off with some LEGO team building. We’ll be flexing our creativity and problem solving skills, and having some fun. After a short break we are back with another INFORM session, this time it’s the Elevator of Confidence, a workshop designed to help people reach their full potential, working on themselves so that they are best equipped to advocate for their needs and those around them, speak up when and how they want to, and work towards short and long term goals.

After lunch we move onto our EMPOWER Q and A session with some older adults. It’s a great opportunity to hear from a diverse group of people with muscle-weakening conditions, learn about their life experiences, and ask questions you want answers to.

Then it’s an ACTION event; Making Change Workshop. In the last month, Pathfinders has launched its Hoists in Hotels campaign; an ambitious but realistic undertaking to make more hotels around the UK much more accessible for wheelchair users. We’ve gathered community feedback and research on hotel access, and put together a plan to tackle a huge access barrier. With this in mind, we’ll be pushing this campaign forward with the help of our community during the ACTION event, where delegates can choose from different activities in how they want to be involved in the campaign.

In the evening there’s time to relax and refresh, before a formal three course meal, followed by casino and games! The Saturday night of the WEEKENDER is always a blast, getting to know people further and enjoying some great food and games.

DAY 3

On Sunday, the last day of the event, we’ve chosen to broaden our horizons, use some of the confidence skills we’ve honed during the previous days, and set out on a challenge in the city of Liverpool.

After lunch we close the Weekender by coming together to talk a bit about what we enjoyed over the event, but also look to the future. We want everyone (ourselves included) to come up with actionable plans going forward, so that we can all live our life exactly how we want!