Juliana Carvalho

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Juliana Carvalho was born in 1981 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. She has a big family and had an amazing childhood. When she was 19, a spinal cord inflammation left her in a wheelchair. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she turned this life-changing event into an amazing opportunity to grow and develop. She created and presented the Brazilian public television show Make a Difference, which promotes Human Rights and respect for diversity. She is the author of the Comedies of Crippled Life blog (comediasdavidaaleijada.blogspot.com) and also collaborated with the media group RBS to create the blog No Barriers addressing topics pertaining to accessibility. She produced and directed the award-winning short film If the Eyes Cannot See, The Legs Cannot Feel and won the Award for Best True Story from Marie Claire magazine Brazil 2012 for an essay on her sexual rediscovery after becoming paraplegic. Juliana coordinated editions of Movimento Superação (Overcome’s Parade - it celebrates diversity, timed to commemorate the International Day of People with Disabilities) in her native state in Brazil. Juliana published her autobiography In my chair or yours? In 2010. With the publication of her inspiring story, Juliana made headlines across her native Brazil. Garnering a strong public response, her book sold more than 30,000 copies and has been distributed to public schools throughout the country by the Ministry of Education. Major television networks have interviewed Juliana, and before long she had become a spokeswoman for the inclusion movement. Juliana currently lives in New Zealand with her mum, brother and 2 youngest sisters.