2007 Award for the Defence of the Human Rights of Disabled People

Rosangela Berman-Bieler, Brazil

Rosangela Berman Bieler is a Brazilian journalist, publisher and disability rights advocate.

She founded the first Independent Living Centre in Brazil in the 1980s. There are now 23 such centres across Brazil, and an emerging independent living movement in Latin America. She is also founder and president of the Inter-American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development.

Widely considered to be an expert in the field of inclusive development, Rosangela has worked as a consultant for the UN, the World Bank, UNICEF, and the ILO.

One of her most notable achievements is pushing for and helping to develop the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disability.

The judges were impressed with Rosangela's growth as an activist. She began at the grassroots of disability-rights campaigning, and is now working within the highest echelons of world politics. Her efforts are especially significant as they result in concrete achievements.