In an uncertain world, it's good to take a few moments to celebrate positive milestones. Here’s what’s been keeping me motivated lately:
Fulfilling a dream I first had 20 years ago after seeing photographer Brian Lanker's "I Dream a World Exhibit" and envisioning an exhibit celebrating disabled women activists.
Empowering a highly-motivated group of young women with disabilities to launch or enhance their international career trajectory.
Proudly watching Judy Heumann receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for her global efforts in disability rights.
You’ll read about these and more milestones that energize me in this e-news. I draw energy from the disability rights activists and allies globally who are creating a world as it should be - thank you for being one of them!
Community members, art enthusiasts, and MIUSA supporters flocked to a reception for MIUSA's "Brilliant and Resilient" photo exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon. There, guests viewed 30 portraits and vignettes of disabled women activists from around the world and learned the story behind the exhibit. View our Flickr slideshow for photo highlights!
Watch out world, here come the newest WILD women! Last month, 14 young women with disabilities from the San Francisco Bay Area participated in a Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD) designed to increase leadership capacity and explore international career opportunities. Many participants reflected on a renewed sense of disability pride: “I’m going to most remember what it feels like to be in a group with women with disabilities: energy, passion, understanding. How unique are the spaces where we don’t have to be the only one!”
"I have been to many international trainings, but nothing like this, where there are people with different disabilities working together on the same issues.” In the U.S., deliberate, hard-won, cross-disability, cross-sector, cross-movement work led to the successful implementation of national disability rights laws, including the ADA. In both Peru and Guatemala, the RightsNow! trainings brought together people with different disabilities, and of all their lessons learned, one that was mentioned repeatedly was the importance of building cross-disability coalitions to ensure lasting change. Learn more about cross-disability coalition building on the Global Disability RightsNow! website.
What happens when you unite 20 disabled women from 10 regions of Panama for a 5-day leadership training? You get WILD-Panama! Earlier this year, WILD alumna Marissa Martínez led the training in her country as a follow-on project to her own graduation from WILD a year earlier. Spanning critical themes from sexual and reproductive health to gender-based violence, WILD-Panama women explored empowerment topics in-depth. Marissa envisions that this training will create unity within Panama among women with disabilities and help spread the WILD message: Loud, Proud and Passionate®! Watch our new captioned video to see WILD Panama in action!
National Council on Independent Living Conference and Global Summit
July 24 - 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. and international disability community will engage around the theme of "Revolution: A Global Independent Living Movement." Find out how to connect with MIUSA there to learn about international exchange opportunities.
EducationUSA Forum
July 31 - August 2, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Gain best practices for including international students with disabilities in programs that promote U.S. study.
FLEX and YES Students' Arrival Orientation
August 11 - 16, 2017 in Eugene, Oregon
Twenty-nine international high school exchange students with diverse disabilities will get a crash course in U.S. disability culture prior to the start of their academic year in host communities across the United States.
At its recent annual Forum bringing together the international development community, InterAction bestowed its Disability Inclusion Award to the internationally-recognized leader Judy Heumann for her outstanding contributions and commitment to disability rights globally.
In receiving the award, Ms. Heumann expressed her hope that in the near future, disability inclusion will be so commonplace in the field of international development as to render the award obsolete. Find more of our highlights from the 2017 InterAction Forum.
Alumni Spotlight: Greetings from Lindsey!
Over a decade since she participated in MIUSA's 2006 U.S./Japan Cross-Cultural Exchange program with other young people with disabilities, Lindsey Newland still remembers what it meant to her: "It was the first time I'd been abroad, and it really gave me a case of "itchy feet" - the desire to see more of the world via international travel," she says. "Of course, another benefit was that it also gave me the confidence to do so!"
One bachelor's degree, two master's degrees and an overseas internship in Romania later, Lindsey is now working at a local hospital. "[By going abroad], I've shown employers that I am prepared to adapt to unfamiliar environments and understand cultures different from my own to serve a diverse population." See more #LifeAfterExchange alumni postcards.
mobilityinternational Cobblestone streets? No problem! Here, Susan Sygall uses her FreeWheel to explore Stockholm during the International Women's Forum conference in Stockholm, Sweden. @iwfglobal @go_freewheel #internationalwomensforum
