INTA · Boston
Opening Ceremony keynote at the 141st Annual Meeting in 2019. INTA reported more than 11,360 registrants from 154 countries for the overall meeting.
Read the public record ↗
A life in motion. A purpose beyond it.
THE HUMAN
CAPACITY
TO ADAPT.
Neuro-adaptive athlete.
Global advocate. Transformation speaker.
UNDPRegional Goodwill Ambassador
Climate Action · Arab States
ALECSOPresident, Chair & Observatory
Persons with Disabilities & Special Needs
MICHAEL HADDAD FOUNDATIONFounder & President
Human potential. Shared responsibility.
01 / THE PERSON
LIVED EXPERIENCE.
EXPANDING POSSIBILITY.
Every step
begins with
another way.
An athlete’s discipline.
An advocate’s purpose.
A speaker’s power to connect.
Michael Haddad is a Lebanese neuro-adaptive endurance athlete and international keynote speaker whose work connects human performance, science and public purpose. He is UNDP Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Action in the Arab States, President of the ALECSO Chair and Observatory for Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs, and Founder of the Michael Haddad Foundation.
Paralyzed from the chest down since childhood, he moves upright using crutches, a mechanical exoskeleton and a distinctive swing-to gait. Michael describes the effort involved as approximately 32 times that of conventional walking.
From Lebanon’s mountains to the Arctic, his campaigns bring climate action and disability inclusion into international dialogue. Today, he connects that experience with scientific collaboration, institutional leadership and peacebuilding.
Every step carries a question: how can we expand what people—and the systems around them—make possible?
THE ANATOMY OF A STEP
Adaptation in motion.
Explore the movement behind the journey.
He plants his crutches, establishing the support for the next movement.
02 / SPEAKING & ADVISORY
LIVED TRANSFORMATION.
IDEAS FOR PEOPLE, TEAMS & SYSTEMS.
When the old way
forward is no longer available.
International Transformation Speaker & Strategic Inclusion Advisor
A speaker platform built from lived transformation, scientific collaboration, extreme performance and international leadership.
Human performance · Adaptation · Leadership · Team building · Inclusion · Climate · Dialogue
32×
The effort behind a step
Michael describes his effort as approximately 32 times that of conventional walking.70+
School engagements each year
Reported by Michael’s team.Global
Keynotes & international forums
Business, education, UN platforms and public dialogue.Michael lives the demands of adaptation. Moving upright with crutches and a mechanical exoskeleton requires his own strength, balance, timing and conscious motor planning. On stage, he connects that experience with the choices facing people and organisations: rebuilding confidence, working under pressure, trusting a team and designing a new way forward.
Five signature keynotes
Choose a conversation to explore its focus, audience and takeaway.
THE MESSAGE IN THE ROOM
A personal story.
A shared conversation.
Connecting lived adaptation with the decisions facing leaders, teams and communities.
View full photograph ↗From global stages to the next generation
American University of Sharjah
Guest and keynote speaker at the Fall 2023 Commencement.
Read the public record ↗Mediterranean Tourism Foundation
Recipient of the 2022 MARE NOSTRUM Lifetime Achievement Award.
Read the public record ↗DIALOGUE · INSTITUTIONS · EDUCATION
A conversation across generations.
INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE
MED Dialogues on Climate
Rome · 2024 · Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation / ISPI
INSTITUTIONAL STAGES
Speaking at UNESCO
THE NEXT GENERATION
Learning, confidence and belonging
One platform, five applications
- Human adaptation: movement, preparation and learning through physical constraints.
- Organisational adaptation: leadership, teamwork and collective performance.
- Social adaptation: accessible services, participation and institutional design.
- Environmental adaptation: climate risk, food systems and resilience.
- Adaptation across difference: empathy, dignity and dialogue.
Who Michael speaks to
Each engagement is shaped around the audience’s context and objectives.
- Corporations and executive teams: transformation, culture, resilience and teamwork.
- Pharmaceuticals, healthcare and medical technology: human performance, patient experience, innovation and the relationship between lived experience and science.
- Medical and rehabilitation communities: adaptation, assistive technology and multidisciplinary collaboration.
- Hospitality, tourism and service organisations: accessibility, teamwork and inclusive customer experience.
- Government, UN and international organisations: public leadership, climate action, food systems, accessible services and dialogue.
- Schools: confidence, empathy, belonging and possibility.
- Universities and commencements: purpose, leadership, innovation and responsibility.
Selected stages, organisations & education
Michael’s speaking record spans UN platforms, INTA in Dubai and Boston, MED Dialogues in Rome, YPO audiences, Mediterranean Tourism Foundation and BRAIN platforms, and Landscape Middle East events.
Corporate and professional audiences
Malia Group · Pharmaline · Karl Storz · National Instruments Middle East · Henkel · Ulster · Marriott in Dubai and Kuwait · Hilton Amman · Rove Dubai · Le Royal Hotel Beirut · medical and professional societies.
Universities and education
AUB · AUS · Université La Sagesse · USEK · University of Balamand · NDU · Middle East University · Rafik Hariri University. Michael also brings age-appropriate conversations on confidence and inclusion into schools, with more than 70 annual engagements reported by his team.
Selected engagements supplied by Michael’s team; public records are linked below. Organisation names identify engagements and do not imply endorsement of every service offered.
Recognition & institutional roles
Michael’s archive records recognition from Lebanese presidential and prime-ministerial institutions, the Lebanese Army and Special Forces, the President of Malta, and medical, academic, technology and professional organisations. Recognition spans physical therapy, neurology, neurosurgery, cardiology and business, including National Instruments.
His 2022 Mediterranean Tourism MARE NOSTRUM Lifetime Achievement Award is documented by the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation.
Roles and distinctions
UNDP Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Action · President, ALECSO Chair and Observatory for Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs · Founder, Michael Haddad Foundation · MTF Senator · FAO Food Hero.
FAO Food Hero is presented as a recognition, alongside Michael’s institutional roles.
Selected public references
- UNDP · Goodwill Ambassador appointment ↗
- INTA · 2019 opening keynote and annual meeting ↗
- INTA · 2018 Middle East & Africa Conference ↗
- AUS · Fall 2023 commencement ↗
- Mediterranean Tourism Foundation · 2022 award ↗
- Landscape Middle East · 2025 agenda ↗
- UNDP · UN Secretary-General support ↗
These references are a selection of the public record. Further engagements and recognitions are held in Michael’s archive.
BEYOND THE KEYNOTE
From the idea
to the experience.
Strategic accessibility, inclusion and adaptation advisory helps organisations connect intention with practical decisions.
Keynote
Open the conversationWorkshop
Apply the ideaAdvisory
Review the experienceImplementation
Support the next steps
Open the conversationWorkshop
Apply the ideaAdvisory
Review the experienceImplementation
Support the next steps
Explore advisory areas
- Accessibility and lived-experience review: how people enter, navigate, interact and participate in physical and service environments.
- Inclusive customer experience: accessibility as a question of service quality in hospitality, tourism, universities and public institutions.
- Design and construction collaboration: user-centred input alongside architects, engineers and qualified accessibility specialists.
- Leadership and inclusion strategy: participation in culture, decisions, communication and organisational priorities.
- Tourism and public space: experience-led input for destinations, hotels, cultural institutions and landscape projects.
Engagement scope and deliverables are agreed with each organisation and its relevant specialists.
What do you do when the old way forward is no longer available?
A distinctive lived experience. A practical conversation about adaptation. A message shaped for your audience.
03 / PURPOSE IN ACTION
A JOURNEY ACROSS PLACES.
A COMMITMENT ACROSS BORDERS.
Steps that carry
a greater purpose.
Three founding feats in Lebanon.
A growing international commitment.
01 · Lebanon foundations02 · International engagement03 · Global campaigns & dialogue
01 / 16
04 / GLOBAL ADVOCACY & HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE
PUBLIC PURPOSE.
INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT.
From the journey
to the decision table.
Endurance creates a moment of attention. Dialogue connects that moment with the people and institutions able to carry a shared purpose forward.
12 JUNE 2025 · EUROPEAN–ARAB COOPERATION
Brussels
Food security.
Shared responsibility.
An advocacy walk, an exchange with Queen Mathilde and a separate institutional roundtable on resilient agrifood systems.
21 JANUARY 2022 · BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
Expo Dubai
Climate action
in the boardroom.
Opening remarks at the Swedish Pavilion connected Michael’s climate message with corporate leadership and sustainable business practice.
DECEMBER 2021 · SCIENCE & PUBLIC POLICY
Bahrain
Different disciplines.
A common purpose.
Rehabilitation and inclusion discussions alongside a climate roundtable on participation in Bahrain’s net-zero ambition.
Mobilize
Bring public attention to an issue through purposeful action.
Connect
Bring lived experience into discussions across sectors and borders.
Follow through
Make the next steps visible and recognize each partner’s contribution.
05 / ONE IDENTITY. MULTIPLE WORLDS.
KNOWLEDGE. PARTICIPATION.
LASTING OPPORTUNITY.
Beyond the journey.
Into the systems we share.
06 / STORIES THAT CONNECT US
OFFICIAL TRAILER · 57 SECONDSBEYONDBARRIERS.
Leaving No One Behind
A Mediterranean crossing from Lebanon to Cyprus becomes a conversation about disability, conflict, access to care and the possibility of dialogue.
The full short documentary will be released soon.
Watch the trailer
Beyond Barriers — Leaving No One Behind · Official trailer
Open the trailer in a new tab ↗Explore the climate film archive ↓Directed by Mireille Ghanimeh
A Virtual Media Productions & Michael Haddad Foundation production
CLIMATE CHANGE · EARLY ARTISTIC FILMS
When the water rises,
will we act?
Two early artistic films by Michael Haddad use the human body and rising water to make environmental change personal. Watch them together: an invitation to act, followed by a reflection on the scale of change.
From Michael’s climate advocacy archive. These are separate short films, presented alongside the Beyond Barriers documentary.
01 / THE CALL TO ACT · 30 SECONDS
Climate Change: Act
Listen. Rise. Change. Act. Rising water becomes a visual metaphor for environmental pressure and the urgency of a response.
Visual description
Michael faces the camera as the waterline rises across his face. Words appear in sequence: listen, rise, change and act. The film closes with “climate change act” and the original partner credits.
02 / THE SCALE OF CHANGE · 25 SECONDS
Behind the Numbers
An underwater portrait sits alongside changing environmental figures, bringing a human presence to an otherwise abstract set of numbers.
Archival film: the on-screen figures refer to data collected on 1 September 2016 and are reproduced as part of the original artwork. They are not current statistics.
Visual description
Michael appears beneath the water with his eyes closed. Counters around him refer to carbon emissions, temperature, air pollution, forests, sea levels and melting ice. A source note dates the figures to September 2016. Original partner credits close the film.
07 / START A CONVERSATION
A different perspective.
A shared possibility.
Bring Michael’s experience to your audience.
Or connect around the work that moves us forward.
