In July, American University School of Communication (AU SOC) joins with millions of people throughout America to celebrate Disability Pride Month. During this month, SOC honors the resilience, achievements, and contributions of individuals with disabilities while also recognizing the ongoing efforts to promote inclusivity and advocacy for disability rights. It is also an ideal time to highlight the work of Associate Professor Filippo Trevisan, whose commitment to disability advocacy has made a lasting global impact. 

Trevisan, who has spent nearly a decade as an SOC professor, specializes in political communication and strategic communication. He focuses on online digital mobilization, grassroots advocacy, and technology's role in empowering individuals with disabilities to influence policymakers. 

When Trevisan started working on disability rights advocacy over fifteen years ago, there were only a handful of people interested in this line of research. Now, however, Trevisan says that a new community of scholars across the globe has emerged to work on disability advocacy. 

“I think COVID-19 played a part in it when it pushed us all online and it made us realize how important this is and what opportunities might lie in there for people with disabilities to become involved not just in disability advocacy but political advocacy of any type of issues.” 

Participants in the YDAR Festival of Disability Advocacy in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

In April, Professor Trevisan played a crucial role in launching the Youth Disability Advocacy and Research Network in Tanzania at an event that brought together advocates, experts, academics, and government representatives from various countries. Funded by the United Kingdoms' Arts and Humanities Research Council, this collaborative project between AU, Bournemouth University, and Action on Disability and Development International aims to equip young people in East Africa with advocacy skills through policy-focused campaigns. 

"One element is a series of online webinars and workshops that will continue for a year focusing on a variety of themes including media advocacy, leadership skills, and working with government. The other element is a set of campaigns that some of these young leaders have designed themselves," Trevisan explained. 

Professor Trevisan envisions expanding the project's impact to other nations in order to foster awareness and amplify the political voice of the disability community, especially among younger individuals. 

At SOC, Trevisan teaches Grassroots Digital Advocacy, a course centered on identifying political voices of traditionally marginalized groups. Trevisan tries to make the point to his students that “we should think about advocacy as inclusive and accessible, that it’s not just the right thing to do morally or ethically,” but that it’s also a “strategic decision to try and reach as many people as possible and make sure that we motivate them to become involved in our campaign chain.” Trevisan says that this point resonates the most with students and is an important element to his course. 

Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July to call attention to the significance of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a milestone in the fight for disability rights.  

"July is a good time to remind people of how far we’ve come, but also how much road there is still to go. And I think we are headed in the right direction," Professor Trevisan said.