Esther Loukin to deliver 2023 Swarthmore Lecture

'Esther will speak from her experience of life as a disabled person, and explore the different identities that we all inhabit.' Woodbrooke’s Swarthmore Lecture Committee

Esther Loukin – née Leighton – will give the 2023 Swarthmore Lecture. The co-founder of the disabled-led organisation Reasonable Access, Esther is known for her activism, holding organisations to account on disability access. This includes using legal methods to get National Express to install wheelchair spaces on all their coaches.

Jon Martin, from Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, which organises the lecture, said: ‘Esther will look at how we can bring about change in broader society, including reflections about what established systems could achieve and what they cannot. She’ll explore where the Spirit is in that decision-making process, for her, and where it has enabled others to support, uphold and deepen her work.’

Esther first connected with Quakers through Young Friends General Meeting and has deep affection for that community and its non-geographical nature. She has worshipped at several Meetings over many years and is currently with Hartington Grove Meeting in Cambridge.

Woodbrooke’s Swarthmore Lecture Committee minuted its discernment that ‘Esther has the gifts and experience to be able to offer something that is both deepening and engaging… Esther will speak from her experience of life as a disabled person, and explore the different identities that we all inhabit’.

Esther will give her talk as part of Yearly Meeting 2023. This will take place from 28 April to 1 May. The lecture will be live streamed on the Woodbrooke YouTube Channel.

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