Haben Girma: Access, Innovation and Disability Futures
Series
Where
When
Tuesday, 21 Apr 2020, 06:15pm - 07:15pm
Event Status
Past event

This event has been cancelled as part of our preventative measures to stem the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. If you have tickets for this event, we’ll be in touch with you directly via email.
Find out more about our response to the coronavirus situation here.
Haben Girma is hugely accomplished by any standards. She’s a Harvard Law School graduate. She’s been featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30. She’s been honoured by Barack Obama. She’s an attorney who, at 26, was part of a legal team that won a landmark federal anti-discrimination court case in the United States.
Girma is also deafblind – in fact, she is the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. Girma communicates using a wireless typewriter and braille system she developed herself. And the landmark court case saw her representing the National Federation of the Blind against Scribd and forcing the e-book and audiobook subscription service to make its materials accessible to blind people.
In conversation with Sally Warhaft, Girma will discuss her new memoir, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law. What are the new frontiers in disability law and technology? How can people without disabilities become smarter – more aware, more imaginative and more flexible – so that everyone can benefit more from the talents and knowledge of people with disabilities?
This event will be Auslan interpreted and live-captioned.
Featuring
Featuring

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, a Wheeler Centre podcast about Australians’ lives in the fog of ... Read more

The first deaf-blind graduate of Harvard Law School, Haben Girma advocates for equal opportunities for people with disabilities. She is a White House Champion of Change, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. She has been honored by President Obama, President Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and... Read more
Watch, Listen, Read

Listen
Disruptive Comedy: Breaking Barriers with Laughter
5 Jun 2023

Listen
Craig Foster: The Republic Question
1 Jun 2023

Read
What's on in June: Resident Organisation Round Up
1 Jun 2023

Read
Reality bites back
30 May 2023

Read
A coming-of-age reading guide
29 May 2023

Listen
Finding the Heart of the Nation: Thomas Mayo in conversation with Catherine Liddle
27 May 2023