Disability rights campaigner to attend King’s Coronation

Disability rights campaigner and former National Star student Joshua Reeves will be part of history when he attends the Coronation at Westminster Abbey.

This is the second royal honour for Joshua. He was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2021 New Year’s Honours for service to people with disabilities.

It was while he was a residential student at National Star in 2015 that he launched his campaign Don’t Call Me Special.

When he received the invitation to the Coronation, he at first didn’t believe it. He is over the moon.

‘This is all thanks to my British Empire Medal received from Her Majesty the Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, last year in recognition of my challenging efforts to secure a better world for disabled people in the UK and Antigua,’ says Joshua.

‘I started my journey at National Star, so I thank them for that. I am thrilled and excited about the coronation, but I still have a long road ahead of me to continue my passion for helping disabled people. I will not stop until we all have equal opportunities in society, and that is what I plan to motivate the current and future generations of campaigners at National Star.

‘As a disability rights campaigner, I have learned to say what needs to be said, and I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences with the National Star students. Let us challenge society’s perspectives and make some positive change together!’

Last year Joshua was guest speaker at the Leavers’ Ceremony in National Star in Wales and is planning to mentor a couple of current National Star students who are beginning their campaigning journey.

Joshua was also one of the stars of the BBC3 documentary series, The Unbreakables: Life and Love on Disability Campus, in 2015.

Joshua also works part-time as a paid Campaign Support Officer for a national disability charity as well as developing his own campaign and working with other organisations.