All around the world, every day, brave people fight for the right to think freely and be heard. They struggle toward a life where everyone can live equally, regardless of gender, political, religious or ethnic affiliation, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disabilities. These people often do their brave work in anonymity. But they deserve our attention, awareness and unwavering support.
One of these people was Erik Ljungberg. He lived and did much of his work in Gothenburg. He passed away suddenly on Friday of last week, and in his departure we feel obligated to honor him. We at “The Unlimited Library” try to spread awareness and build opinion on matters of equality. We try to highlight interesting and important actions in society, in order to work toward a better school, society and world. In keeping with this, we believe Erik’s work should be honored and remembered, in the hopes that it can be continued.
Erik Ljungberg is best described as an accessibility activist, entrepreneur and inspiration. He strove to allow those of differing abilities the same access to all the amenities of society, such as riding the tram or going to the movies. He did this with eloquence, wit and poignancy. His struggle was both communal and personal, as an uncommon type of Muscular Dystrophy had confined him to a wheelchair.
Erik was a powerful opinion-maker. He used sharp arguments and humor to spark change, cause irritation and influence opinion. During his multi-year dispute with Västtrafik, he used the remarkably clever website Västtragik to further his cause. He collected all of Västtrafik’s replies to inquiries and displayed them, showing, in a mercilessly clear way, how flagrantly they ignored the law (1979:558) about handicapped-accessible public transportation. The campaign was so successful and so enraged Västtrafik that they threatened to sue. When the media caught wind of the story, Västtrafik were forced to withdraw their threats in the face of the public outcry.
Erik received awards and public praise for his tireless efforts. In 2005, he received Stilpriset, Hjärter Ess (The Ace of Hearts). The organization, Stil, said, “He protests against and reveals discrimination in a funny and intelligent way. For an organization like Stil, with roots in the politics of working for the rights of the handicapped, it is important that incisiveness still exists, that one dares to stick their neck out. Erik Ljungberg does that and that is why he is a clear winner of Stilpriset, Hjärter Ess 2005.”
He became an IFA-Scholar in the fall of 2010, with recognition for “his initiative toward and later work with the blog FullDelaktighet.Nu. With this he created the possibility for strong political advocacy in social media during the 2010 election, with the focus on personal assistance.”
In 2011, Erik Ljungberg became the first winner of the Alla ska fram (Everyone forward) prize.
The world is a poorer place without Erik Ljungberg, but by continuing his struggle and echoing his voice, both the man and his work will live on. The awards he received honored the man. It is our job to honor his legacy.
Translation: Matt O´Brian
