Mad Thinking is a new initiative, but it is born out of years of conversations between us. We met in early 2020. One of us (Akriti) was a researcher at the time, fairly new to the global disability movement, and one of us (Alberto) had been in the movement for more than a decade. Over the next five years, we met at events, collaborated on projects, and had several conversations about the trajectory of disability movements. Despite our different activist backgrounds and relationships to disability and other movements, we found ourselves consumed with similar concerns. 

In different ways, disability movements have given us, and many other disabled people, a tremendous gift—a purpose and a set of values, an appreciation for the lived realities of people across the world, and a drive to build on the work and victories of disabled activists who came before us. In equal measure, the current challenges activist and movement spaces face also raise questions, frustrations, and the desire to ensure that our movements survive and thrive. 

In the past five years–over many cups of coffee and some beers– we have discussed the siloed nature of contemporary disability movements, the lack of solidarity within our movements and other movements, the increasing institutionalisation of hierarchies in our organising. We have been inspired by many comrades and colleagues we have engaged with across the world who are working on diverse issues, creating new ideas about the future of disability activism, and innovating ways of organising. It is the combination of our frustrations and inspirations that gave birth to Mad Thinking. 

We can no longer remember when we came up with the name—Mad Thinking—but we remember why we chose it. We wanted to reflect our identities as Mad people and our belief that Mad people, or persons with psychosocial disabilities, have a lot to offer to disability organising. We also wanted to reflect our desire to think differently about what we are working towards, how we organise, and the need for spaces to reflect and strategize—within disability spaces and beyond. And finally, we wanted something that captures our dreams of a world rooted in justice, free from exploitation and violence. Such ambitious dreams are often dismissed as just ‘mad thinking’. 

We are here to reclaim this kind of ‘Mad Thinking’ and help build the world so many of us, across time and geography, have dreamed and worked towards. We cannot wait to do this with you. 

Alberto and Akriti