Workshop 4: „Vielfalt macht unsere Gesellschaft reich“ (english)

mit Stefanie Trzecinski und Victoria Michel, Gebärdengrips

Changing approach to disabilities through inclusion

Stefanie Trzecinski
Bild: Anne Kerubo Samba

On the second workshop round called “Variety enriches our society”, founder of KOPF, HAND + FUSS Stefanie Trzecinski and Victoria Michel begin the discussion on the problems and obstacles disabled people encounter which can be solved in times of digitalization.

Their aim is to offer equal participation and develop educational projects for people with disabilities. The goal of one project of that type – “Gebärdengrips” – is to allow people with different abilities to get information they need.  The online platform uses sign language, sounds and subtitles to address everybody.

Workshop-Teilnehmer/innen
Bild: Anne Kerubo SAmba

In all the projects the team is campaigning for inclusion. “Not everybody can see videos in YouTube. We try to make something inclusive”, says Stefanie Trzecinski.

Also some efforts for cooperation with universities are taken. For example, there is a discussion with product designers how the furniture should look like. The aim is to raise awareness about needs of disabled people as soon as possible. Thanks to this, product designers will think in advance about these needs.

Referentin Victoria Michel
Bild: Anne Kerubo Samba

And some changes have to be made to alter the attitude people have to disabilities. Sometimes employers are just afraid to hire handicapped people. “Because I am physically disabled, many people think that I have mental problems as well”, says 23-year-old Victoria Michel, who is responsible for PR of these projects.

The digitalization is a huge advantage that is contributing to their mission. “We are now changing how people with disabilities work in a digital world”, adds Trzecinski. Social media already play a significant role, but there still remain some constraints in the way how people can get the information from them (lack of pictures, audio descriptions, subtitles, etc).

Autorin:  Anja Falkenthal und Anna Savchuk
Der Social Community Day wird von einer Live-Redaktion dokumentiert. Auch in diesem Jahr besteht diese aus Studenten des Masterstudiengangs „International Media Studies“ der DW-Akademie.