IDPP Deputy Director and Assistant Professor at American University’s School of Communication Dr. Filippo Trevisan recently traveled to Australia to present his work on persons with disabilities and online political participation at several universities.

The first presentation was part of the Political Action in the Digital Age Workshop at the University of Melbourne on June 29th-30th. This workshop was organized by the Political Organization and Participation (POP) standing group of the Australian Political Science Association and brought together over 30 scholars from leading universities to discuss the latest trends in campaigning and collective and connective forms of political action, organization and participation in the digital age. Dr. Trevisan presented a paper titled “When in Shock, Turn to the Internet: Virtual Disability Protest at Donald Trump’s Inauguration,” which discussed the virtual response of the American disability community to the election of the 45th U.S. President.

On July 3rd, Dr. Trevisan was invited by the Disability Research Network and the Society Health and Disability Research Group at the University of Newcastle (New South Wales) to talk about his latest book Disability Rights Advocacy Online: Voice, Empowerment and Global Connectivity, which was recently published by Routledge. This event was a part of the Disability Research Network’s Lunchtime Seminar Series and virtual participation was also available via Blackboard Collaborate. You can check out the #DisabilityRighteUON hashtag on Twitter for a summary of the event and hear Dr. Trevisan talk about his book here.

Finally, on July 5th Dr. Trevisan’s took part in an innovative panel discussion on “Disability and Digital Citizenship” at the Australia-New Zealand Communication Association’s Conference 2017 (ANZCA 2017). As part of this panel, which brought together researchers exploring different aspects of digital inclusion for persons with disabilities such as the digital economy, smart cities, and online political participation, Dr. Trevisan discussed his paper Digital Election Campaigns and Voters with Disabilities: Missing a Key Constituency?