Elizabeth Wright
Disability activist, writer and speaker
Elizabeth Wright is an Australian Paralympic medallist, writer and international keynote and TEDx speaker. She is a leader and changemaker on disability, inclusion and resilience; her dream is equity and representation for all disabled people.
Born with limb difference, as a teen Elizabeth swam for Australia. At the 1996 Atlanta Games she won a bronze medal in the S6 50m Butterfly event. At the Sydney 2000 Games she won a bronze medal in the 4x50m Freestyle event and a silver medal in the S6 400m Freestyle event.
After her Paralympic career Elizabeth completed two degrees in Fine Art, gaining first class honours. It was during her time at university that she became aware of disability politics and activism, kickstarting her drive to use her platform to raise awareness and education.
For the past 10 years, after moving to the UK from Australia, Elizabeth has spoken at schools and organisations about the Paralympics and disability. Determined to raise awareness of disability in the community and challenge negative narrative and stereotypes, her speaking career culminated in a TEDx talk in Norwich.
Elizabeth has written for the Guardian and Huffington post. She blogs on Medium, where she also runs a publication called Conscious Being, for disabled women by disabled women. Her aim with the publication is to provide an ever growing platform for disabled women writers for which they will be paid fairly and equitably for their work, raising money through the crowdfunding platform Patreon.
Useful links
“All my life all I have ever wanted is to be heard, to have my voice, my story, my lived experience heard. That is why I write and speak on stage. This is why I create platforms from which other disabled women can be heard. Our lives, for too long, have been hidden, now it is our turn to step up, challenge, and thrive.”