| Keynote speakers |
|
Anna Lawson, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Leeds, UK
 Anna Lawson is a senior lecturer at the School of Law, University of Leeds, and a member of the University’s Centre for Disability Studies. She teaches a range of subjects, including Equality Law and Disability Rights and Law, and was a finalist in the UK Law Teacher of the Year Award 2009. Her primary research focus is disability equality and human rights law. Amongst her publications on the topic are: A. Lawson, Disability and Equality Law in Britain: The Role of Reasonable Adjustments (Hart, 2008); and A. Lawson and C. Gooding (eds.), Disability Rights in Europe: From Theory to Practice (Hart, 2005). She is also actively involved in the work of a number of disability and human rights organisations at national, European and international levels.
Title of keynote address: The Ivory Tower and the Real World: Academia and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Ron McCallum, AO, Emeritus Professor, Sydney Law School, Sydney University, Australia  Ronald McCallum was the foundational Professor in Industrial Law at the University of Sydney, and from 2002, he served five years as Dean of Law. He was the first totally blind person to have been appointed to a full professorship at any university in Australia. He has pursued equal rights for working people across the globe and was the inaugural President of the Australian Labour Law Association 2001-2009. Professor McCallum has been a national and international leader in the disabled people’s community. He is, among numerous other things, the Chair of Radio for the Print Handicapped of New South Wales Co-Operative and one of two Deputy Chairs of Vision Australia. He is currently the Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Ron McCallum has received numerous awards and recognitions for his contributions and on 25 January 2011, he was named Senior Australian of the Year. Title of keynote address: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2011 and Beyond: A View from its Treaty Body Steven J. Taylor, Professor of Disability Studies and Director of the Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, USA  Steven J. Taylor, PhD, is Centennial Professor of Disability Studies and Director of the Center on Human Policy at Syracuse University. He has published widely on disability policy, the sociology of disability, and qualitative research methods. His 10 books include Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (3rd edition), The Social Meaning of Mental Retardation, and Acts of Conscience: World War II, Mental Institutions, and Religious Objectors. He also serves as the Editor of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He has been the recipient of the Research Award from the American Association on Mental Retardation (1997), the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement (2003), and the first annual Senior Scholar Award from the Society for Disability Studies (2008).Title of keynote address: The Repeated Cycle of Exposes and Reforms of Institutions in the United States Adolf Ratzka, PhD, Co-director of the Institute on Independent Living, Stockholm, Sweden  Adolf Ratzka is the Founder and Co-director of the Institute on Independent Living in Stockholm. He is a pioneer and leader in the independent living movement in Europe; the founder of STIL, Stockholm Cooperative for Independent Living (in 1984) and a founding chair of ENIL, European Network on Independent Living (in 1989). He has lectured on disability and self-determination issues in over 30 countries and has participated in many United Nations Expert Seminars on disability as an invited expert on independent living. Ratzka has been recognized internationally for his work including a TIME magazine award as a “European Visionary” in 1999 and the European Citizen Award 2008 awarded by the European Anti-Discrimination Council honoring his extraordinary achievements over many decades.Title of keynote address: Independent Living for People with Disabilities of All Ages Freyja Haraldsdóttir, Managing Director, Centre for Independent Living in Iceland  Despite her young age Freyja Haraldsdóttir is recognized as a leading disability activist in Iceland. She has been a strong advocate for full human rights for disabled people and has raised public awareness about issues of disability through public lectures, education, media, and her book, Porcelain, published in 2007. In educating the public Freyja has made an effort to reach children and youth, as well as teachers and professionals, and has visited schools, universities and service institutions around the country and given lectures drawing on her own experiences growing up as disabled. Freyja is one of the pioneers in introducing the independent living philosophy in Iceland, was a founding member of the independent living movement and is the Managing Director of a user-controlled cooperative on personal assistance. Freyja has a BA degree in Social Pedagogy and is working on her MA in Disability Studies. She has been active in research about independent living options for young disabled children and their families, as well as for adults. Title of keynote address:
|