I'm Not Contagious

Fear hinders society’s willingness to engage in sensible and courageous discussion, debate and advocacy. Fear makes us illogical. Why do people at shops and airports prefer to speak with sighted people, people standing near me or beside me, rather than speaking with me directly? Are they frightened of catching blindness? Hopefully not. 

Nevertheless, fear is the underlying, pervasive barrier to true equity and equality, which too often limits meaningful interaction between minorities and mainstream society, keeping us stuck in judgment and opposition, rather than bringing us together to have courageous conversations. 

What if we could relinquish our deeply held fears from the check-in counter to the checkout, from the conciliation table to the courtroom, in favour of a world that is more courageous, confident, compassionate and connected? 

Emma Bennison is Chief Innovation Officer with Life Without Barriers, where she provides empowering, inspiring and collaborative leadership that drives the development and implementation of strategic change and engagement initiatives in relation to disability advocacy and community services delivery across Life Without Barriers and beyond. 

Prior to this, Emma completed five years as CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, revitalising the national representative organisation of Australians who are blind or vision impaired. Emma also chairs the Attitude Foundation, which is shaping a new understanding of disability through the promotion and development of media content that provides realistic portrayals of people with disability. She also serves on Tasmania’s Ministerial Arts and Cultural Advisory Council. 

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organised by a local community.