Develop, support, promote disability leaders
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The Disability Leadership Oration is held each year to lead the discussion on disability leadership and set the national agenda. A thought provoking 45 minute talk that puts disability leadership into the centre of things and sparks conversation.
Centred on IDay in December (International Day of People with Disabilities), the Oration is a destination annual event for the calendars of the broader disability community, business and government leaders, and anyone interested in thought leadership and equality.
Each year a prominent disability leader shares their perspective on disability leadership, where it is going and what it looks like. Taking a broad view, they will outline the way forward and consider what needs to be done and who should be part of making progress happen. The 2026 Disability Leadership Orator is Christina Ryan.
In 2016 Christina Ryan took one of the most radical steps in her long career of activism and change making: she put the two words disability and leadership into the same sentence. Her next step was founding the Disability Leadership Institute.
The Disability Leadership Institute has become a global community of disability leaders, supporting each other through a professional network and member groups. The term “disability leadership” is now used widely.
As a specialist adult vertical development leadership coach, Christina now uses her decades of expertise built through frontline disability rights activism, community sector management, systemic advocacy, working at the United Nations, and mentoring to build more disability leaders.
Christina has been acknowledged with various honours including in 2013 as one of 100 women of the Canberra Centenary, and as a finalist for 2025 ACT Australian for the Year. In 2015 she received the ACT Chief Minister’s Lifetime Achievement in Inclusion Award. She has also been a finalist in both the Telstra Business Awards and Telstra Businesswomen’s Awards.
MC
Yenn Purkis
Yenn Purkis is a Deputy CEO of the Disability Leadership Institute. They are an autistic, ADHD, Asexual and non-binary advocate and author. They also have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and anxiety. Yenn is the author of eighteen published books and a contributor to many more. Yenn is an accomplished presenter and has given two talks for TEDx Canberra. Yenn has given presentations all over the world. They have a number of awards for their work and they have been an advocate for almost 20 years. Yenn lives in Canberra with their little tortoiseshell kitty, Sunflower.
DLI Host
Christina Ryan
In 2016 Christina Ryan took one of the most radical steps in her long career of activism and change making: she put the two words disability and leadership into the same sentence. Her next step was founding the Disability Leadership Institute.
Auslan interpreters
Anytime Auslan
– Andrea Llorens
Live captions
Rojaley Reporting
– Lisa Woolridge
Livestream and onsite photography
Patorama Studios
– Patrick Lindley
– Clare Lindley
Read the full transcript of all speeches and the Oration
Our major sponsors for this event
The Achieve Foundation
Our broadcast partners
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The ABC is supported by IDPWD, the Commonwealth Government, for their IDay programming.
Christina Ryan
Debbie McKenna
Yenn Purkis
Wendy Hill
Karlie Robinson
Onsite engineer: Christian Huff-Johnston
Claire Slattery (Big Ideas)
Karin Zsivanovits (Big Ideas)
also
Daniel Hirst and team
Jodie Haigh – DLI member
Thank you to Ralph and the TreeEighty3 crew for the catering
Thank you to Nip and GG’s Flowers for the floral arrangements
Thank you to the National Archives of Australia – Coordinator, Nick Wade