Education
The educational and artistic project SWITCHup [wŁĄCZNIK]
The educational and artistic project SWITCHup [wŁĄCZNIK – combination of two words: ‘switch’ and ‘connector’] is a platform for dialogue for youth and people with disabilities. Its aim is to create conditions for the inclusion and interaction of representatives of so-called ‘self-advocates’ – groups at risk of social exclusion – with the youth community. In the name of ‘nothing about us without us’ idea, it is impossible to realise the concept of accessibility without close cooperation with the community of people with special needs. We are committed to bringing the two groups together in joint action and ultimately demonstrating what unites all people across all divides.
Feelings, values, emotions, fears, do not categorise the ‘owner’ by the number of limbs they have, their intelligence quotient or their ability to hear or see. The participants of the workshops are people with and without disabilities and with various dysfunctions – the activities are a platform for meeting, getting to know each other, exchanging, reflecting – the chance to refer to one’s own experiences in order to understand the other person. The main objective of the project is to integrate and activate people with disabilities to participate in culture through a process of establishing social relations initiated by youth circles and counteracting harmful stereotypes.
The project’s formula involves a series of workshops, artistic actions, discussions, an exhibition and a publication.
The project SWITCHup was launched in July 2023. Thanks to funding from the Very Young Culture programme, we were able to carry out a social diagnosis among young people, thanks to which we found out what their attitude to people with disabilities is – among other things, what they fear, whether they would like to take action to integrate into the community of people with disabilities. Thanks to the local partnership (cooperation with the Occupational Therapy Workshop ‘Unikat’ and the 14th High School), we were able to carry out several activities, which became the leaven for the creation of this project. This year, thanks to funding from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, we are continuing the activities we started, as we are deeply convinced of their meaning and value – the results of a social diagnosis carried out among young people confirmed us in this conviction.
Why SWITCHup?
This word refers to both switching and activating (emotions, empathy, etc.), as well as to connecting, taming and assimilating. SWITCHup is an anti-discrimination and cognitive action that changes our view of people with disabilities.
