What is HopePunk: HopePunk is a type of speculative fiction that stands in contrast to the imagined dystopias of tomorrow – and the real dystopian trends of today. HopePunk centers fighting for positive change, kindness as a radical act, and finding strength in the community to overcome challenges. The term was coined via a Tumblr post in 2017 by fantasy author Alexandra Rowland. It upends narratives of apathy, cynicism, and hopelessness by imagining worlds where collective rebellion and resistance lead to liberation. 

The present sucks and the future’s not going to fix itself. Pandemic, accelerating climate change, widespread economic uncertainty, supply disruptions, inflation, school and work moving back and forth between online and in-person, a land war in Europe. The last few years have been hard for everyone, but many of these problems have hit disabled people especially hard. We have to work to persevere, but we need to want more than to just persist. We need to figure out what we need, how to convey those needs, and how to achieve them in society, politics, education, employment, health care, and everywhere else. 

The theme for the 2023 Summit was a call for agitation: 

What can we do now so that the future is far better than the present for disabled people?