Yetnebersh Nigussie

Yetnebersh Nigussie
Yetnebersh Nigussie (photo taken during a visit to Vienna, Austria in 2011).
Born (1982-01-24)January 24, 1982
Amhara Saint Wollo, Ethiopia
Residence Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Alma mater Addis Ababa University
Occupation Lawyer, Disability rights
Board member of Ethiopian Centre for Disability and Development
Website Ethiopian Centre for Disability and Development

Yetnebersh Nigussie is a lawyer and disability rights activist from Ethiopia.

Early life and education

Yetnebersh Nigussie lost her eyesight at the age of 5. She describes this instance as an opportunity as it helped her to escape from the early marriage which was widely exercised in Amhara Saint Wollo, at the place where Yetnebersh was born. She attended her primary classes in Shashemane Catholic School for the Blind, then joined Menelik II Senior Secondary School (an inclusive school) and studied there until 12th grade. In addition to her academic involvement in the school, she has chaired more than 6 students’ clubs including the students’ counsel. Joining Addis Ababa University, she read her undergraduate degree in law and her master's degree in social work. Continuously involved in extracurricular activities, she chaired the AAU Anti-AIDS movement 2004–05 and founded the Addis Ababa University (AAU) Female Students Association in 2006 as well as served as the first president of the association.

Activism

During her service for the Anti-AIDS movement, she has received a number of national and international awards including the AMANITARE award (African Partnership for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls) which she received in 2003 in South Africa for her strong advocacy work for girls’ education[1]. Besides her academic life, Ms. Yetnebersh served in more than 20 organizations voluntarily out of which the Ethiopian National Association of the Blind Women’s Wing happened to be the one she chaired for 4 years (2003–07). Out of that exposure, she decided to found a local organization called Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD) along with other prominent Ethiopians to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in different development programmes including economic empowerment. As of 2016, Yetnebersh is working with disability and development NGO LIGHT FOR THE WORLD,[2] which she had previously represented as a member of their International Board of Ambassadors.

In September 2017, Yetnebersh Nigussie was named a joint winner of the Right Livelihood Award, the "Alternative Nobel Prize"[3], "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". [4] Sharing the honour with Khadija Ismayilova, Colin Gonsalves, and American environmental lawyer Robert Bilott.[5]

Publications

  • Nigussie, Yetnebersh (2006). The need for Legal Reform on the rights of Persons with Disabilities in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Law, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
  • Nigussie, Yetnebersh & Ransom, Bob (2008). UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: a Call for Action on Poverty, Lack of Access and Discrimination, ECDD, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Nigussie, Yetnebersh (2009). Psychosocial Dimensions and Employability of Persons with Disabilities, Addis Abeba University, School of Social Work, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Awards

  • AMANITARE award for sexual and reproductive health advocates, 2003, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • Individual award for excellent HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities coordination, awarded by the Addis Ababa City Administration in collaboration with the Addis Abeba HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO). October 7, 2005 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Best HIV/AIDS National Activist, awarded by General Medical Practitioners Association, 2005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • World of Difference 100 Award, awarded by International Alliance for Women (TIAW), 2011.[6]
  • Right Livelihood Award 2017 [7]

References

  1. ↑ "Yetnebersh Nigussie". https://www.light-for-the-world.org/. Retrieved 2 October 2018. External link in |website= (help)
  2. ↑ LIGHT FOR THE WORLD website, March 2016
  3. ↑ "'Alternative Nobel Prize' awarded to four activists, including U.S. lawyer" CBS News (26 September 2017).
  4. ↑ "Yetnebersh Nigussie | The Right Livelihood Award". www.rightlivelihoodaward.org. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  5. ↑ Ismail Akwei, "Blind female Ethiopian lawyer wins global award for promoting disability rights" Africa News (27 September 2017).
  6. ↑ Ethiopia Investor website
  7. ↑ Right Livelihood Award 2017 announcement
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