Free copies of Ndopu’s new book Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw will be available while supplies last (pick up at event)
Courtesy image.
SUMMARY
- UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Eddie Ndopu in a lecture titled Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw
- Thursday, November 2 | 7:30 p.m. | Campbell Hall | FREE (registration recommended)
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- Part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures Justice For All initiative
- Co-founded social impact incubator A Billion Reasons with the World Economic Forum
- Member of the United Nations Foundation Board of Directors
- Advisory board member at The Valuable 500, IMAGINE and Verizon’s Global Advisory Board for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion
- Ndopu’s debut memoir, Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw, chronicles his experiences as a disabled student at Oxford University
- FREE copies of Ndopu’s new book, Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw, will be available while supplies last (pick up at event)
- Presented in association with Alpha Resource Center, Independent Living Resource Center, UCSB Multicultural Center, the Office of Black Student Development and UCSB Disabled Students Program
- Registration & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
“Eddie Ndopu is a brilliant, courageous and imaginative soul with the kind of conviction that can change the world.” – Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of South to America
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents disability rights advocate Eddie Ndopu delivering a FREE public lecture titled Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw: Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever on Thursday, November 2 at UCSB Campbell Hall. Called “one of the most powerful disabled people on the planet” by TIME magazine, Eddie Ndopu is an award-winning global humanitarian and disability justice advocate. Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at age 2 and given only five years to live, he has gone on to become a beacon of hope and possibility for people with disabilities around the world. His debut memoir, Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw, captures his effervescent, indefatigable spirit. As a UN Global Changemaker, Ndopu actively demands equity for the most marginalized segments of global society and is a vital voice at the intersection of disability, sustainability and how we can best work together to make meaningful change for our planet’s future. Attend the event and receive a free copy of Ndopu’s new book.
View the posts of Eddie Ndopu on Instagram
Eddie Ndopu tells ABC News Prime “there are no limits”
“One of the things that struck me most about my conversation with Ndopu is his radical clarity about the value of human life. His work upends established assumptions about ability and excellence, and instead argues that our deepest vulnerabilities can actually be our greatest strengths.”
Hear and read more from Eddie Ndopu’s episode of the TIMEmagazine Person of the Week podcast
ABOUT EDDIE NDOPU
Eddie Ndopu is perhaps best known for his human rights advocacy with respect to advancing disability justice at the forefront of the international development agenda. An award-winning and internationally-acclaimed humanitarian, storyteller, public intellectual and disability practitioner, Ndopu is a thought leader and advocate for social equity, sustainability and disability-based innovation. He describes himself as a queer, Black, disabled individual, fighting for social equity and the environment, and his influence is felt worldwide. A Global Changemaker, Ndopu actively champions climate justice, fights global poverty and demands equity for marginalized segments of society in his capacity as one of the U.N. Secretary-General’s 17 official advocates for the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Ndopu is the founder of A Billion Reasons, a groundbreaking social impact incubator established in partnership with the World Economic Forum to tackle the U.N.’s SDGs through a lens of universal design and disability-based innovation. He serves on several global boards, including as a member of the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation. He also sits on the advisory boards of The Valuable 500, IMAGINE and Verizon’s Global Advisory Board for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion. He formerly served as a member of both the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for the New Agenda for Social Justice and the World Economic Forum’s Partnering for Racial Justice in Business Initiative. Ndopu’s debut memoir, Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw, which chronicles his challenging experience as a disabled student attending Oxford University, was released in August 2023.
Featured in a profile by TIME and recognized as one of Pacific Standard’s Top 30 Thinkers Under 30, Ndopu has spoken at Facebook, Amazon, Discovery Health, the COP26 Climate Change Summit, the World Economic Forum, the GlobalCitizen Summit and Salesforce’s Dreamforce event, where he was described as, “one of the most powerful voices on the planet right now.”
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Eddie Ndopu is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures
Admission is FREE. Registration is recommended.
Free copies of Ndopu’s book, Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw, will be available while supplies last (pick up at event).
Presented in association with Alpha Resource Center, Independent Living Resource Center, UCSB Multicultural Center, the Office of Black Student Development and UCSB Disabled Students Program
A Justice For All initiative event
Justice for All Lead Sponsors: Marcy Carsey, Connie Frank & Evan Thompson, Eva & Yoel Haller, Dick Wolf and Zegar Family Foundation
To register, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or visit A&L online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2023-2024 season.