photo courtesy of DFID (UK) and CSIR Transportek (South Africa)

This year there is one First Prize, one Second Prize and two Third Prize Winners.

First Prize
Sophia Bannert, University of Lincoln, UK: “A Day in the Life of a Wheelchair User: Navigating Lincoln”

Alone and small in the street, my self-awareness heightens. Large swarms of hurried people part when they see me approaching. My whole identity has changed in the eyes of the city, within minutes.

My wheelchair is my fortress and the enemy. With its large spindly wheels as my first and only defence, they are also my burden.

Jarred into an utterly complex version of what I formerly knew as reality, my eyes begin scrutinising and dissecting the cobbled street surface ahead into zones which I can, and cannot access. Never before had I seen the streetscape in such meticulous detail. Tiny height differences, such as curbs and grooves between cobbles, become mountains, cruelly halting progress and making small advances, exhausting.

Second Prize
Faiq Mari, Birzeit University, Palestine: “A Resilent Past and a Promising Future: Disability in Ramallah”

I was at a local hospital when I met him; a lively paramedic busy handing patients medical reports. As I approached the desk to pick up my papers, I noticed his wheelchair and wondered: “what story might he have?” For where I come from, people like Ihab often have a story to tell.

I came across Ihab again in the elevator. It was Eid al-Fiter, and his 3-year-old daughter could not wait much longer for a walk in the Souq . An innocent remark from the little girl started a conversation, and as we made our way to the Souq Ihab told me his story. He was shot during the first Intifada and left paralyzed below the waist. It was a hard time for him, he described; anger and sadness, mixed with an injured pride, consumed the young activist as he lay in bed for several painful months.

Ihab was not alone in his pain; during the first Intifada, the occupation left about twenty thousand Palestinians injured and three thousand permanently disabled. This had a drastic effect on Palestinian society. The newly disabled, like Ihab, were shocked by the reality they had to face and assumed responsibility to build awareness concerning disability in their communities. Society endorsed their efforts, and with help from international organizations, community-based-rehabilitation thrived. It was a bright chapter for Palestinians; the collaborative efforts of the community defied all constraints and culminated in projects such as Abu-Raya Rehabilitation center in Ramallah, the establishment which marked a turning point in the life of Ihab and many others.

Third Prize (tie)
Slavka Gancheva, University of Edinburgh, Bulgaria (home): “Access Denied”

There are many ways to describe my hometown Sofia, capital of Bulgaria. Some argue that it is fascinating, with its own character and curiosities. Others insist that it is fast on the road to becoming just one of many soulless urban nodes the world over. However, in all the descriptions of Sofia I have ever seen, there is one point of view that is always conspicuously missing – that of the people, who in Bulgaria are often dismissed with the convenient label ‘disabled’. In this city struggling to reconcile its newfound European identity with the still present reminders of an outdated political regime, many societal problems that have long been addressed in other countries are only now beginning to surface.

Third Prize (tie)
Caitlin Copeland, University of Edinburgh, UK: “The Disabled Traveler in Edinburgh”

Edinburgh is a medieval city full of twisting and narrow, uneven cobblestone roads, many of which have no sidewalk at all. Much of Edinburgh’s charm is experienced by walking its many closes and historical streets, which at the best of times need to be carefully trodden. The task of making accessible a city whose very identity is drawn up from its ancient roads through its historical buildings, which are inherently inaccessible, is no mean feat. Yet, Edinburgh boasts a number of initiatives that attempt to make the city a disabled-friendly space to live and explore; however, a major downfall of several of these initiatives is the lack of uniformity and consistency in their application across the city, especially in key public spaces. There are a number of programs and organizations that are aimed at promoting the knowledge that, despite appearances, an accessible Edinburgh does exist. Community-led websites offer reviews and features of cafes, pubs and entertainment venues with an accessible spin.