Ms Rose Wilkinson, of Wellington, ONZM, for services to the blind and vision impaired community
Rose Wilkinson is an advocate for the rights of blind and vision-impaired people. Her initial involvement was coordinating school exams and curriculum content for production in Braille for blind students at Manurewa High School. She was Blind Citizens New Zealand, leading national accessibility initiatives benefitting blind people. She is a leading member of the Disabled People’s Organisations Coalition, serving as a representative on the Independent Monitoring Mechanism, monitoring the government’s implementation of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ms Wilkinson has been instrumental in the development and introduction of the Accessibility Charter and a strong advocate for producing materials into alternative formats for the blind community, including the dissemination of government information during the COVID-19 pandemic.