In a blog post, UBL Founder Emma Bennison reflected on why she refuses to speak from inaccessible stages, and reasons why you should do the same.
Read more: https://www.emmabennison.com/why-i-refuse-to-speak-from-inaccessible-stages-and-why-you-should-too
#BlindLeadership
#Disability #Leadership #Accessibility #A11Y #Inclusion
“This is our time. Let's claim our place at the table and step into
our power."
Emma Bennison & Graeme Innes,
Eleventh World Blindness
Summit 2025
Want to watch the whole presentation?
Visit https://youtu.be/y-AZGkzbUbA?feature=shared
Follow the presentation slides https://unitedblindleaders.org/wbu
Sign the pledge unitedblindleaders.org/pledge
Listen to our presentation at the WBU Summit and join us - will you take the pledge?
Show your support for blind leadership at every level. Challenge systems that exclude us.
Sign up. Share it. Grow the movement.
Sign at unitedblindleaders.org/pledge
United Blind Leaders is proud to share our presentation to the Eleventh World Blindness Summit, in São Paulo, Brazil.
Our presentation - Why Should Blind People Lead Their Organizations? - was delivered by Emma Bennison and Graeme Innes.
Watch here: https://unitedblindleaders.org/wbu
Transcript available soon.
#Disability #Blind #BlindLeadership #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
Emma Bennison and Graeme Innes take to the stage in a little under 3 hours to present at the World Blindness Summit (from 10pm AEST).
Stream it at https://www.youtube.com/live/32IYXSanUXw?feature=shared
We will post live updates on Facebook, X and Mastadon.
I often remind people that the progress we have made, be it rights we have won or technology that is accessible, has come about because brave advocacy pioneers knew that blind people are worthy, that we do not choose to be second-class citizens. That being able to maximise our potential is a human right.
Sometimes, people don’t believe we can change anything, so figure we may as well suck it up and accept the status quo.
Well, a few weeks ago, a group of blind leaders took on Vision Australia, after they said they weren’t going to advertise externally for their CEO. This significantly constrained the pool of blind talent from which the Vision Australia Board could pick. And make no mistake, we need more blind people leading the organisations that serve us. Lived experience matters when you’re a minority. And it certainly isn’t right that capable blind people are too often passed over for leadership roles in our own organisations. It is with great pleasure that I pass on the following message from Emma Bennison.
🎉 Victory for Blind Leadership! 🎉
United Blind Leaders is excited to announce a major step forward in our campaign! Thanks to the incredible support of 1,408 signatories, Vision Australia has revised its CEO recruitment process. The Board has confirmed that lived experience of blindness or low vision will now be a desirable attribute for the new CEO, and the search will be conducted externally with a focus on removing barriers for blind and low vision applicants.
This is a huge win, but our work is far from over. United Blind Leaders will keep pushing for blind and vision-impaired representation in leadership roles at all levels in Australia and globally.
📣 Join our movement! Stay connected by joining our mailing list and be part of our future campaigns: https://UnitedBlindLeaders.org
Together, we’re making a real difference! 🙌 #UnitedBlindLeaders #BlindLeadership #Inclusion #DisabilityAdvocacy.
That is Emma’s message. Congratulations to all involved. And to all reading this, never doubt, you can make change when you stand up for what is right. Know your power, and use it for good.
United Blind Leaders are talking now.
Register at www.unitedblindleaders.org and join the conversation!
United Blind Leaders
Jonathan Mosen
Graeme Innes
President Riccobono