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Eddie Ndopu: "People with disabilities need to be in leadership"
As many as 98% of disabled children in the developing world “never see the inside of a classroom” or go to school at all, says Eddie Ndopu. He could have been one of that vast majority. Born in Namibia, he was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and expected to live for only five years. Now 33, Ndopu is a leading advocate for human rights and accessibility for all.
GZERO’s Tony Maciulis caught up with Ndopu at the UN General Assembly this week. The two discussed his role as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Advocates, a prominent position he shares alongside leaders including Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, and Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. He hopes to bring a “fresh” perspective to the discussion of global development and help leaders understand the needs of the most vulnerable people, including those with disabilities.
Ndopu credits his success to his fiercely strong single mother, who never gave up on him despite all odds, and he continues to pay it forward and find new ways to raise awareness of the need for greater inclusion. He describes his recent memoir "Sipping Dom Perignon through a Straw" as “equal parts cheeky and incisive.” Just like him.
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Why Chris Christie calls DeSantis "anti-conservative"
The Republican Party is in the midst of an identity crisis. Between the far-right MAGA supporters and more traditional “Never Trump” conservatives, there doesn’t seem to be a coherent through-line for GOP priorities ahead of the 2024 race for US president.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer asked rumored 2024 GOP candidate and former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, what the Republicans’ policy priorities should be as we look ahead to the election. Along with fixing America’s immigration system and shoring up its alliances around the world, Christie argues that Republicans need to become the “fiscally responsible party” once again.
An issue that has received too much attention, Christie says, is the ongoing culture war within the GOP against things like transgender rights and library books, as exemplified by Governor Ron DeSantis’ battle with Disney World over Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. While Christie argues some of those things should be discussed in the context of larger issues, like parental choice in education, he believes using the powers of government to police speech you disagree with is a fundamentally “anti-conservative” position.
“[DeSantis] should have just let it go. But instead he is going to continue to push it and up the ante,” Christie told Ian Bremmer, “I think it’s anti-conservative. I think it’s a mistake.”