Wheelchair Accessibility in Iceland Interview with Halli Thorleifsson

Published: March 23, 2023, 5:17 p.m.

b'I have another fantastic interview to share with you this month. This time around it\\u2019s with Haraldur Thorleifsson or \\u201cHalli\\u201d, as he likes to be called. Halli was born and raised in Iceland and has achieved some incredible things, such as building a successful design company and selling it to Twitter.
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\\nIn 2022, he was named Person of the Year in Iceland, was awarded the Order of the Falcon (the highest honor one can receive in the country), and he has lived in many cool places around the world. You can learn more about his accolades on his personal website.
\\nRamp Up Iceland \\u2013 Increasing Wheelchair Accessibility in the Country
\\nWhile I find all those things to be interesting, what intrigued me the most is the work that Halli is doing to provide ramp access across Iceland for those who are in wheelchairs, have a stroller, or just find that a ramp is easier for them to walk up than stairs. The project is called Ramp Up Iceland or R\\xf6mpum Upp \\xcdsland.
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\\nFor updates about the project in English, click here.
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\\nDuring the interview, Halli and I talk about all of this and the fact that he has muscular dystrophy. The CDC describes muscular dystrophy as,
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\\n\\t\\t\\t\\ta group of muscle diseases caused by mutations in a person\'s genes. Over time, muscle weakness decreases mobility, making everyday tasks difficult."
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\\nPlease note that this interview was conducted in Halli\\u2019s apartment in February 2023 so the sound quality will be different than what you hear right now. Also, this interview was recorded before Halli and Elon Musk had a huge argument on Twitter. During the back and forth, Elon embarrassed himself and eventually had to apologize to Halli.
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\\nIf you use Twitter, I highly recommend following Halli there. He is very active on that channel and shares quite a bit.
\\nFollow Halli on Twitter
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