Speech by Saphir Ben Dakon at the opening event of the National Disability Rights Action Days
Vision of an inclusive society
<p>The speech is set in a fictional future and takes the audience into a reality in which the UN CRPD has already been implemented. Saphir Ben Dakon uses storytelling to take the audience with him and show them their individual scope for action. Read more and be inspired!</p>
<p>Dear attendees</p> <p>My name is Saphir Ben Dakon, I am 1.50 meters tall, have medium-length brown hair, brown eyes and eye-catching golden glasses with red rims.</p> <p>My contribution today is about the topic of disabilities. This is worth mentioning on other occasions, as disability is often treated as a side issue. The job is often just to provide a little impetus, to raise awareness, as they say. That's different today. Let me speak to you. To people who consider inclusion to be necessary and want to advocate for more participation. We here in this room live inclusion. That's a great starting point.</p> <p>But life also always means development. I know from my professional work as a transformation manager that change/development always requires a clear vision. I would like to explore this vision of inclusion with you today. It is not my vision. It is the vision of all the people who were involved in the development of the UN CRPD and who still support it today.</p> <p>So let's imagine together that the UN CRPD had been implemented and we were already living in an inclusive society. A radical thought in today's situation. Let's let it sink in. Are you ready to take a leap into the future? Then make yourself comfortable and let inclusion work its magic on you.</p> <p>We find ourselves at a bus stop on an unspecified day in the distant future. The weather is nice. Our mood is good. People with disabilities in our community are no longer simply asked what they were doing here at this time and with whom. They also no longer have to constantly explain themselves. They are no longer asked what they were doing here at this time and with whom. You greet each other with a natural "hello".</p> <p>We stand around in small groups, discussing and taking in our surroundings. Meanwhile, people without disabilities are not asked whether they are the carers of people with disabilities and are praised for spending time with them. In future, praise will only be given for extraordinary things.</p> <p>All the people at the bus stop are aware that we could be a team on the way to a tournament or a group of friends going to a concert together. This doesn't seem strange to anyone, because people with disabilities have been included for decades. They are part of a culture that is no longer based on ableism.</p> <p>bleism: Discrimination against people with disabilities is systemic. It is conveyed through language, images and actions. Ableism is reproduced and cemented in the structures of our society and its institutions. It is a closed system that no one can escape. It's time we broke it open." <br /> <br /> Leisure time still exists, we don't work 24 hours yet. Now people with disabilities but no longer have to recover from their eternal struggle for recognition and support services, because subject funding including assistance exists across the board for all areas of life.<br /> <br /> Now people are allowed to recover from a day at work and from work that gives them pleasure, where they earn the same amount as their non-disabled peers and which enables them to pay for an independent lifestyle. This is also because the previously mentioned support services no longer flow into segregative structures in which people with disabilities are more business models than people.<br /> <br /> They are equal human beings from birth. Parents of children with disabilities have long since stopped receiving condolences and instead receive offers of support. They are allowed to enjoy their family life and no longer have to justify the existence of their children.<br /> The birth rate has risen, partly because people with disabilities are becoming parents more and more often. They decide for themselves whether they want to live in a partnership with or without children. Neither the partner nor the children are seen as victims of these decisions.</p> <p>When we talk about children: There is a group of children next to us on their way to school. Although school has become more digital, face-to-face teaching is still important for interaction and socialization. Children learn in an inclusive education system in which they are not held responsible for challenges, but are given responsibility for their educational success.<br /> The bus is running late. This information is passed on to everyone using the 2-senses principle. It is also digitally barrier-free accessible. Just like all other information in the digital world, whatever it may look like.<br /> <br /> Eventually, the bus does arrive and everyone can board without having to overcome an obstacle course and expose themselves to danger. Do you remember what it was like when people had to stay behind at the stations because the streetcars were not obstacle-free? Neither do I, public transport is now 100% barrier-free.<br /> We are not stared at during the bus ride. No annoyed looks are exchanged when we get off. What's more, nobody asks us what we're having. What bad things have happened and gone wrong in our lives. We are also private fellow human beings.<br /> We get off at a different stop than planned. No incidents, no surprises. We are also no longer in the dark when it comes to knowledge about living with disabilities. <br /> The figures needed to take measures to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities were all recorded.<br /> The figures were also collected close to the realities of life, i.e. they include intersectionality. For example, measures were taken to counteract multiple discrimination against women with disabilities. Today, they are no longer at high risk of violence and poverty.</p> <p>Where figures have been lacking, this has not served as an excuse for inaction. Action was also taken on linguistic accessibility. </p> <p>Sign language has been translated into all national languages and is officially recognized as a national language.</p> <p>On the way to our destination, we all talk to each other about the event we want to attend together: The opening of a historical exhibition on "Future Inclusion". We are given a guided tour and the lack of barriers is no longer worth mentioning. As always and everywhere, some politicians give opening speeches. Those who have a disability and those who don't are not worthy of a speech. Everyone can participate in political life, vote, vote or be elected. Elections and voting also work digitally and information is written and accessible in plain language.nbsp;After the compulsory part, there is a party. Visitors to the exhibition question contemporary witnesses in disbelief and marvel at the path they have taken. </p> <p>Have you noticed? We went through the important articles of the UN CRPD together. We have brought them to life. Now back to our reality here in this room. Back to the road ahead. If we continue to pick up the pace, we can be those witnesses who explain to the next generation why this inclusion movement was important. We can tell the stories of the great initiatives that were started today and in the days to come that have endured. We can share how we have had an impact on real equality for people with disabilities.<br /> <br /> I look forward to experiencing these initiatives with you next month. Together, let's make the vision of the UN CRPD a reality. The future is now, it is developing with all of us.</p> <p>However, I am already planning our joint visit to the historic exhibition on the future of inclusion. Because our presence here is a commitment to inclusion. Only in this way can we radically change the today, so that "Future Inclusion" becomes a reality.</p> <p> </p> <p