Xueli's Story
© Photographs taken by Kyra ten Brink
Xueli (21) has been the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against racism and discrimination since 2022. She was asked and appointed by the Director-General herself after she read an article about Xueli on the BBC News website. The article stated that Xueli was born with albinism in China, that she was probably abandoned because of this, and that she used her modelling work as a platform to create more representation and combat discrimination.
In 2022, she founded the Open Eyes Foundation to support projects and advocacy against discrimination in a more sustainable way.
However, Xueli feels that she has become more patient because she has accepted that she has to explain everything over and over again when she is in a new environment or meets new people. It would be nice if people automatically helped to break down barriers. True inclusion means accepting people as they are and giving people with disabilities the space to develop and express themselves. There needs to be more individual support for work and education, and adjustments to suit individual needs should become more common practice. At the moment, you always have to fight for it, and even then it is still very complicated to get things done. There simply need to be more real opportunities, and we will seize them with both hands.
​
© Photographs taken by Saskia Bogarde
At school, she was regularly excluded from gym class. For example, Xueli was often not chosen and the last one left. That was not fun, especially since she was a keen athlete and they simply never asked. What's more, people at school focused much more on the things she could not do rather than on what she could do. They wanted to help her, but they helped too much or thought she could not do it, which was sometimes very annoying. They would have been better off just asking her what she needed. She also has dyslexia, and because it's not visible, she has to explain it over and over again. It is not a very convenient combination with visual impairment either.
Accessibility of public spaces can be challenging, such as locating doors. Guide lines sometimes lead to walls and hazardous areas on public roads. Cycle paths can be dangerous, especially with fat bikes and other electric bikes.
