The Milton Keynes Umbrella Project features a stunning display of 400 umbrellas — the largest display in the UK to date — installed in Midsummer Place during 2025. This initiative stems from the pioneering work of the ADHD Foundation, which since 2019 has brought similar installations to Liverpool, Aberdeen, and Heathrow.
The umbrellas serve as a platform to spark conversations and enable cities like Milton Keynes to show that we champion difference and aspire to be more inclusive. The underlying principle is simple yet powerful: all people are valid and valuable, regardless of having different ways of engaging in the world.
The project is built around three core pillars that guide everything we do:
Educate — Providing knowledge, myth-busting, and sharing lived experiences to build understanding of neurodiversity across the community.
Advocate — Reframing perspective and shifting the narrative toward acceptance, support and inclusion for neurodivergent individuals.
Celebrate — Highlighting the strengths and positives of difference, recognising that neurodivergent minds bring unique and valuable contributions to society.
Neurodiversity combines neuro (brain) and diversity (range of differences) to describe all of the different and unique ways that we all act, think, respond and feel. It applies to everyone.
Neurodivergence describes individuals whose minds or cognitive functioning means they may think, learn or act differently. This includes Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourettes Syndrome, Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia, and Dyscalculia.
The Neurodiversity Movement, originating in the US during the late 1990s, seeks rights, equality and inclusion for neurodivergent people and an end to marginalisation.
As part of the project, a podcast series features speakers discussing their neurodiversity experiences and perspectives. Contributors include Jane Lambert (CEO, Makewell Clinic), Simon Martin (Midsummer Place General Manager), Cllr Maie Bradburn (Mayor of Milton Keynes), Chris Curtis (MP, Milton Keynes North), Dennis Murray (Assistant Chief Constable), and many more.
The podcasts are available to listen to via Horizon Radio and offer a powerful window into the lived experiences of neurodivergent individuals and their allies.
Our team is here to answer your questions and help you take the next step.
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