The mission of Imagine the World as One (IWO) Magazine seeks to elevate and spotlight the disability experience. We champion and showcase the disability lifestyle by allowing journalists with disabilities to share their extraordinary experiences.
It’s our 5th Anniversary!
As we come upon the 5th Anniversary, of Imagine the World as One: A Disability Lifestyle Magazine, we’re revamping our website, gathering new submissions, and celebrating all of the wonderful work that the writers who have contributed to the magazine have done over the last five years.
In honor of the anniversary, we wanted to repost the letter the editors wrote that opened the very first issue of Imagine the World as One! Every intention stated in this letter written in 2020 still holds true. We wrote at the end of the letter that we hope you enjoy the stories and experiences shared in our magazine, and we hope you’ll share more of your stories and experiences soon by submitting an article here.
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Imagine the World as One Magazine! We are so excited to have you joining us on our journey to elevate the disability experience. Imagine the World as One (IWO) Magazine was founded in 2020 as a means to ele-vate the disability experience and lifestyle. IWO wants to share this experience with the world through innovative stories, experiences, and interviews. IWO is one of the first lifestyle magazines written by and for those in the disability community. By sharing this experience with the world, we can all Imagine the World as One.
The disability experience isn’t new and as our reader, you understand that. From the protests in the 1980s to enable wheelchair users to be able to access public transportation in Denver to present-day efforts to depopulate congregate-care facilities during the current COVID-19 outbreak, people with disabilities have a long history of advocating for their rights and freedoms. We at IWO Magazine are work-ing alongside them by giving space to journalists with disabilities to share their stories and experiences. It is through our magazine that we can all become a little more connected as we share our lived experiences. We hope we can Imagine the World as One!
We hope you enjoy the stories and experiences shared in our magazine!
Thank You,
Evan Trad and Molly Wiesman
Editors
How to Submit
New and Notable
Rules for Interacting with People with Disabilities
Cam Wells
This piece outlines key lessons for understanding disability: value people for who they are, not as symbols; focus on ability and opportunity, not quotas; and recognize that advocacy and equality—not pity or misplaced inspiration—are what create real inclusion.
Disability Disclosure
Michelle Steiner
Michelle Steiner discusses the challenges of disclosing a hidden learning disability, and how sharing can bring support and accommodations but also stigma, disbelief, and unfair assumptions. Experiences at school, work, and in the community show that disclosure is situational and often misunderstood. Ultimately, the choice to disclose is personal and depends on context.
Robustness of the System for the Rights
of People with Disabilities
Nethra Silva
The text examines disability and human rights, noting the gap between legal protections and lived experiences. Using Sri Lanka as an example, it highlights ongoing issues of gender-based violence, discrimination, and barriers to inclusive education, stressing that real equality requires not just laws but consistent enforcement and accessible, inclusive practices.
Featured Articles
The Magazine
The DIsability Pride Flag, designed by Anne Magill, has been entered into public domain and is usable by everyone. Each of the colors of the flag are representative of a different kind of disability- red for physical disabilities, gold for neurodiversity, white for invisible disabilities and disabilities that haven’t yet been diagnosed, blue for emotional and psychiatric disabilities, including mental illness, anxiety, and depression, green for sensory disabilities, including deafness, blindness, lack of smell, lack of taste, audio processing disorder, and all other sensory disabilities At IWO, we aim to value and uplift the experiences of people of all races, ethnicities, and type of disabilities,
Imagine the World as One Magazine 