A new project run by Bournemouth University has helped to pilot a series of workshops where visually impaired participants build skills in social media creation to help them feel part of the digital world and improve their wellbeing.
The most recent workshop took place in Croydon on 28 April 2026, where digital trainers who help participants to use tools such as video editing software, sound recording equipment and social media apps.
Blind and visually impaired people are often excluded from full participation in society. They are twice as likely to be negatively affected by equal rights than sighted people, according to the RNIB. Everyday barriers that contribute to this exclusion have significant, negative impacts on their wellbeing.
The 18-month project is a collaboration between BU and local charities including Croydon Vision, who have been supporting people with sight loss in Croydon with advice and services.
Dr Catalin Brylla, Principal Academic in Film and Television at BU who led the project and organised the workshops said: “There are around five billion social media users worldwide. Our research showed that visually impaired people face greater challenges using apps and technology to create social media content. The project aims to find ways where they can create videos and content independently and feel part of society.”
Dr Brylla has been delivering the workshops alongside Professor Anica Zeyen of Royal Holloway University of London whose research centres around societal inclusion for people with disabilities.
One of the participants in the workshop held in Croydon, said: “Until I came to this workshop, I never knew about all this equipment for making videos.”
Another added, "the workshop was really enabling, revealing opportunities for work and employment."
A third participant said, "this inspired me to build up my website and future work."
Dr Brylla, who has run other workshops around the UK, including in Dorset with the Dorset Blind Association, added: “Our workshops are demonstrating that people with visual impairments can learn how to make their own social content with the right equipment and training. We can see the impact that this is already having on people’s lives. They are telling us that they feel more confident, more independent and it has opened up a whole new life to them, where they can speak to someone on the other side of the world about their interests. They are happier and their general wellbeing is improved.”
The aim of the project is to run the workshops in other areas of the UK and to roll out the training, so that other charities can help their local communities to access the same social media opportunities as sighted people.
The next session will be held in London on 22 May with Thomas Pocklington Trust, another charity aiming to improve the life chances of blind and partially sighted people.
