About Us
The Brighton and Hove Virtual Disabled People's Organisation is the first operational satellite of the national Virtual Disabled People's Movement. We are built from the ground up on genuine Disabled People's control.
There are many organisations in Brighton and Hove that say they support Disabled People. Far fewer are genuinely run by Disabled People. Over the last three decades, government funding mechanisms have rewarded organisations that adopted the language of the Disabled People's Movement without its politics. Large charities displaced genuinely user-led organisations. The result is a sector that speaks on Disabled People's behalf without being accountable to Disabled People.
The Brighton and Hove Virtual DPO exists because Disabled People in Brighton and Hove deserve an organisation that is genuinely theirs.
"We cannot rely on others, whoever they are and whatever their motives, for that is the route to the gas chamber, the residential home, the hospital and extermination before birth. Creating our own organisations is not something to take our minds off our 'tragedies' but a matter of life and death."
Mike Oliver (1996, 123)Ask any organisation these three questions. If they cannot answer yes to all three, they are not a genuine Disabled People's Organisation.
Disabled People must hold the majority on the governing board and genuinely control the organisation in practice, not just on paper.
The social model of disability must be the genuine foundation of the organisation's politics, not a slogan or a funding requirement.
Disabled members must be able to hold leadership to account through genuine democratic mechanisms. Consultation is not accountability.
The Brighton and Hove Virtual DPO uses blockchain governance to ensure every member's vote is permanent and unalterable. We use Criptos, our own digital currency, to reward participation and build financial independence from the state. And we are entirely virtual, removing the physical and financial barriers that have historically excluded many Disabled People from participating in their own organisations.
We hold regular social get-togethers, both online and in person in Brighton and Hove, because independent living is about community and interdependence, not just services and rights.
Brighton and Hove is the first pilot of the Virtual Disabled People's Movement, a national initiative to rebuild a genuinely user-led Disabled People's Movement in the UK. The VDPM uses blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and Criptos to create a movement that is democratic, financially independent, and free from the state funding that has historically silenced political resistance.
Everything we build in Brighton and Hove will inform how the movement grows across the country.
Visit ukvdpm.org.ukDr Harvey Cowe holds a PhD in Philosophy (Disability Studies) from the University of Sheffield. He has served as trustee of two Disabled People's Organisations in Brighton and Hove, and has published peer-reviewed research in Disability and Society, the leading journal in the field.
He has used a wheelchair for over 40 years following a spinal cord injury, and has spent decades working within the Disabled People's Movement. His published articles include "Disabled People's Organisation: A New Frontier for User-Led Advocacy" (2025) and "Lost in Translation: User-Led Organisations and the Dilution of Disability Politics."
Contact: info@bnvdpo.org.uk