Euan MacDonald
Co-founder of two charitable organisations, The Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research and Euan’s Guide. Established SpeakUnique.
-19As someone living with a progressive condition, Euan frequently uses his own experience, skills and perseverance to find powerful solutions to help other people in a similar situation.
Euan has dedicated the last 14 years to work selflessly and relentlessly to improve the lives of others. He has established two charitable organisations, The Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research and Euan’s Guide, the disabled access review website. Euan also spearheaded SpeakUnique, a company launched in 2020 which creates personalised synthetic voices for individuals who have lost or will lose the ability to speak. His unwavering commitment to these projects is a testament to his character and strength.
The Euan MacDonald Centre launched an innovative UK-wide clinical trial in January 2020 that aims to find treatments that will slow, stop or reverse the progression of Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Around a quarter of people living in with MND in the UK have already signed up to take part in the trial, called MND-SMART.
Euan’s Guide is all about making it easier for disabled people to find great places to go. The website holds thousands of reviews for all kinds of places across the UK and beyond. Disabled people, their family, friends and carers use it to find and share relevant and accurate information on a place’s disabled access. In response to coronavirus, the charity has added Covid-19 information to reviews and listings. It has given out thousands of free Face Mask Exempt badges to individuals who require them.
“This year has brought on unique challenges for everyone, and it is certainly not one we will forget in a hurry. I am thankful to everyone who has helped keep spirits high and supported each other through the challenges. This has been a particularly momentous year, with the launch of the MND-SMART clinical trial in January, the launch of the SpeakUnique personalised synthetic voice service in June and the numerous initiatives that Euan’s Guide have implemented to support disabled people since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. I am delighted to see what we have accomplished so far and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”