Inclusion campaigner Yetnebersh Nigussie receives 2017 ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’

Yetnebersh Nigussie grew up in rural Ethiopia. She became blind at the age of five following a preventable illness. Encouraged to complete her education, she is now a lawyer, campaigner and Senior Inclusion Advisor at Light for the World. Her story is testament to the importance of education for all children.

Since 2013, Yetnebersh has contributed to Handicap International’s Making it Work initiative, as part of its Gender and Disability project, which advocates to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls with disabilities.

Yetnebersh is also a strong advocate of access to education for children with disabilities, one of HI’s key areas of work, in Ethiopia and around the world.

Yetnebersh Nigussie has been awarded the prestigious Right Livelihood Award, widely referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize, for "her inspiring work promoting the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities, allowing them to realise their full potential and changing mindsets in our societies."

On receiving her award, Yetnebersh said, "If I could change one thing in the world, I would change people’s mindsets to think that inclusion - not exclusion - is the norm."

Handicap International would like to commend Yetnebersh for her dedication and achievements and for bringing these issues to the forefront of the international agenda. We are proud to collaborate with advocates such as Yetnerbersh who engage to make inclusion a reality for all.