Since 1981, Mobility International USA (MIUSA) has brought hundreds of visitors from around the world to Eugene, Oregon as part of its international exchange programming and its mission to Advance Disability Leadership and Rights Globally®.
Eugene Cascades and Coast recently honored MIUSA at its 2024 Visitor Industry Celebration & Summit, presenting MIUSA’s CEO and Co-Founder Susan Sygall with the Convention Leadership Award. This award recognizes a local resident, business, or organization that brings in a significant number of overnight visitors to Lane County.
“I think we are making Eugene a more global place,” says Susan, “and I think we are also sharing what we have so that the world can be a better place.”
Eugene Cascades and Coast prepared a short video to highlight the work that MIUSA has done to impact the local community. Watch the captioned video on YouTube or below. Find a transcript with visual descriptions below on this page.
Read more about MIUSA on the Eugene Cascades and Coast blog.
Video Transcript with Visual Descriptions
(Upbeat Music)
[A group of women lift their hands high in the air, some clapping or waving jubilantly.]
[Lydia Shula is seated in the MIUSA office, speaks to an off-screen interviewer. On-screen text reads “Lydia Shula, Senior Manager of MIUSA”]
>>LYDIA SHULA: Well MIUSA is Mobility International USA. We’re a disability-led organization and we advance disability rights and leadership globally.
[Still image of a MIUSA social media post showing four women from various countries hugging in an airport while facing camera.]
[Susan Sygall, seated in the MIUSA office, speaks to an off-screen interviewer. On-screen text reads “Susan Sygall, Founder, MIUSA”.]
>>SUSAN SYGALL: At Mobility International USA we do so many different things, and I’m very proud to say that we’ve had people from over 135 countries that we’ve brought to Eugene for the purposes of leadership, training or learning more about disability rights.
[Still image of a MIUSA social media post showing five women from various countries, three of whom use mobility devices and hold yellow roses, in an airport facing camera]
[Camera pans over an office wall that displays photo collages of people participating in MIUSA exchange programs over the years]
>>LYDIA SHULA: One thing Susan does a lot is build partnerships and relationships with a lot of our local organizations, government and even individuals. She’s passionate, she’s wicked smart and has like 10 million ideas going at one time. I feel like I can’t do Susan justice, to be honest. [laughing] She’s fierce, she’s kind, she’s known around the world, making sure that people can get to their highest level of potential that they want to be at, to be their best selves.
[Early footage of Susan addressing a group of women who listen, captivated]
[Close up of Lydia speaking; Susan pushes herself in her wheelchair down the hallway to meet Lydia, who sits at her desk.]
[MIUSA social media post showing video of Susan with her back to the camera and signaling to a group of over 20 women with disabilities from different countries who gather in two rows on the sand at the coast]
>>SUSAN SYGALL: I think we are making Eugene a more global place, and I think we are also sharing what we have so that the world can be a better place. So it’s just a win-win for everybody.
[Susan and Lydia, now wearing warm layers, exit a building and travel together down the busy street, Susan riding wheelchair and Lydia walking alongside her, and through an alleyway. The brick wall of the alley is painted with a brightly colored mural depicting about 20 or so women from around the world with apparent and non-apparent disabilities.]
[Still image of a section of the mural which says “Loud, Proud and Passionate” in several languages. On-screen text reads “Eugene Cascades and Coast”]
(Upbeat Music)
