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Amanda Jane "Minnie" Baragwanath MNZM is a disability advocate from New Zealand.[1] In 2011, she founded Be. Accessible, a social enterprise which aims to make New Zealand accessible and inclusive for all people with disabilities.[2][3]
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Baragwanath grew up in Palmerston North.[4] When she was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, an incurable disease of the eyes which caused her to lose her sight.[2] Baragwanath studied at Massey University and completed a bachelor's degree in English literature, a bachelor of communication studies and a graduate diploma in economic development.[2]
In 2011, Baragwanath founded Be. Accessible, and Be. Leadership as a subproject. Be. Leadership focused on providing leadership development programmes for disabled New Zealanders.[5] In 2019 she renamed the organisation Be. Lab and established the Centre of Possibility at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).[6] At the Centre of Possibility Baragwanath works with AUT researchers and academics in the field of possibility design and innovation.[6]
Recognition
In 2013, Baragwanath received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award and in 2014 she was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.[2][7] In 2017 she received the New Zealand Women of Influence Award for Diversity.[8] In 2019 she was named by Zonta International as one of 100 Women of Achievement in New Zealand for her leadership and advocacy for social change.[4]
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