Gunela Astbrink has been active in disability policy and research for 25 years and comes from a
library and information management background.
Gunela is a Director of the Internet Society of Australia and a member of the Pacific Islands Chapter of
the Internet Society. She initiated disability awareness training for Asian Chapter leaders and over the
past six years has held annual workshops and presentations in various Pacific Island countries about
ICT accessibility for people with disability.
She has led projects at the Telematics and Disability Centre of Telia (Swedish Telecom) and the
European Union-funded project, COST 219 (Telecommunications: Access for Disabled and Elderly
People). She participated in the European Commission project, CARDIAC developing a roadmap for
accessible ICT and assistive technology research directions. For over 10 years, Gunela was National
Coordinator of TEDICORE (Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation) to
improve accessibility to communications technology for people with disability.
Gunela Astbrink is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Center for Disability
Resources on the Internet as well as a Fellow of the RSA, 21st enlightenment. She holds an adjunct
senior research position in the Institute for Integrated and Intelligent Systems at Griffith University and
teaches Information Policy and Governance to postgraduate students in Griffith University’s
Department of International Business and Asian Studies. In 2013, Gunela was awarded the Christopher
Newell Prize for the best journal article in the Telecommunications Journal of Australia.