We spoke to Ajay Choksi, member of the Rix team and peer support champion, about his work at The Rix Centre and his interest in research
Ajay, please tell us a bit about yourself
I have an intellectual disability and I’m passionate about digital inclusion, accessibility and design. I’m really interested in using different devices like my iPad, smartphone and laptop.
What do you use those devices for?
I make photo collages and do graphics work and video editing. I take photos and video on my iPad and use these to tell my story. I add them to my Wiki to inspire people.
What is a Wiki?
A Wiki is an easy-build website. You can add photos, video and sound to tell people about yourself, your hopes and dreams and anything else you want to share with others.
Who can see the Wiki?
You can invite people to view your Wiki by using the Invite button. I share my Wiki with other staff, social workers, service users and others by sending them an invite from the Wiki software. I also share my Wiki on screen during meetings and presentations and when I’m teaching other people how to build their own Wiki.
How does it feel to share your story with other people?
It’s important to share my Wiki, it makes me feel proud and confident because I am speaking up and working on my advocacy and leadership skills.
Why is that important?
So that other people can see how they can speak up for themselves with their stories. It’s an easier way for people with learning disabilities to be heard and to have a voice.
How many Wikis do you have?
I’ve built lots of Wikis.
Ajay Advice 3 is about me and has advice about being independent.
I use my Research Wiki to help me learn how to be a researcher – it has lots of information about the different Rix Research projects I’ve worked on.
I use my Advocacy and Leadership Wiki to keep a record of my learning and skills development in these areas.
We also have project Wikis like MYS (Me and Your Stories), Aspire (Zoom training) and purpleSTARS (Museum of London).
Where can we see examples of your Wiki work?
There’s a link to Ajay Advice 3 below and you can also check out the Me and Your Stories (MYS) Wiki. Me and Your Stories is a European partnership project all about storytelling and how we can use digital devices and special software in the classroom to capture and share our stories.