World Blindness Summit 2025
This is an online copy of the presentation delivered at the Eleventh World Blindness Summit.
Watch the presentation on YouTube here.
Download and read the post-summit report here.
Session information
Date: 3 September 2025
Time: 9:00-10:30am
Group: Concurrent sessions – Group C
Session number: 1C
Venue: Adilson Ventura Auditorium
Session title: Nothing about us without us – Active participation of people with disabilities
Session moderator: Moisés Bauer Luiz
Speakers:
• Emma Bennison MBA GAICD, Australia – Why Should Blind People Lead Their Organizations?
• Helena Rita Pereira, Brazil – Our Predecessors of "Nothing About Us Without Us".
• Hector Miguel Ulloa Asencio, Chile - We will work to leave no one behind.
• Edivaldo da Silva Ramos, Brazil - Social participation, a path to citizenship: the visually impaired person in the context of social control.
You can read the presentation below.
Slide 1
Nothing about us without us: Why Blind People Must Lead Blindness Organisations
United Blind Leaders (UBL)
Slide 2
Opening
• Decisions about blind people often made by non-blind people
• Input sometimes sought but excluded from final decisions
• Future: blind people leading as Chairs, CEOs, decision-makers
Slide 3
United Blind Leaders (UBL)
• Co-founded by blind leaders including Emma Bennison and Graeme Innes
• Global grassroots movement led by blind people, open to allies
• Building a connected network of blind leaders worldwide
• Working with NFB (USA), WBU, BCA
Slide 4
Why blind leadership matters
• Justice and human rights imperative
• Blind-led organisations design better services
• Myths debunked: blind people are ready and capable to lead
• Research backs this up (MacNeill, Duguid studies)
Slide 5
The story of UBL
• Created from frustration with tokenism
• Independent, blind-owned and ally-supported organisation
• Emma Bennison: Arts Access Australia example
• Graeme Innes: Reforms as Disability Discrimination Commissioner
Slide 6
Breaking down barriers
• Change governance to make space for blind leaders
• Invest in mentoring and succession planning
• Allies support by amplifying voices, not leading
• Examples: Vision Australia CEO recruitment progress, NFB and WBU partnerships
Slide 7
Call to action – take the pledge
• Pledge: Support blind leadership at every level
• Challenge systems that exclude blind leaders
• Sign now: unitedblindleaders.org/pledge
• Sign it. Share it. Grow the movement.
Slide 8
The Pledge:
Credit: National Federation of the Blind — adapted with permission.
I pledge to support the leadership of blind people in organisations that serve us. I commit to advocating for blind leaders at every level of decision-making, and to challenging systems that exclude us. Blind people must not only be at the table – we must lead it.
Slide 9
Call to action – take the pledge
• Pledge: Support blind leadership at every level
• Challenge systems that exclude blind leaders
• Sign now: unitedblindleaders.org/pledge
• Sign it. Share it. Grow the movement.
Slide 10
Closing and thanks
• Not just representation – about shifting power
• Justice and future shaped by blind leadership
• This is our time to lead
Slide 11
United Blind Leaders
Shaping the Future of Blind Leadership
https://unitedblindleaders.org/
unitedblindleaders@gmail.com