No exceptions: What do we know about a world accessible to all
We all hear the words "inclusion" or "inclusion" - the principle, which implies that a variety of people participate in the life of society and none of them, regardless of appearance, origin, gender, physical data, state of health, orientation or any other signs, do not feel deprived and excluded. Inclusion removes the barriers that prevent a person from gaining access to a particular area: education, the ability to make political decisions, culture and others. For the upcoming inclusive festival of House of Hearts, which will be held in Moscow on September 2 and 3, we decided to find out how the idea of inclusion appeared and what its adherents achieved during this time.
Declaration of Rights
Until the 20th century, the concept of inclusiveness did not exist in principle. Although the first educational institutions for children with disabilities appeared in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (for example, a school for children with hearing disabilities opened in Paris in 1791, and one of the first schools for children with visual disabilities appeared in England in 1799) , they can hardly be called inclusive. Yes, they gave children with disabilities an opportunity to finally get an education, but pupils were still isolated from other children.
The first inclusive cultural projects that began to emerge at the beginning of the 20th century were education-related: for example, Charlton Dis, the museum's curator in Sunderland, organized an exhibition for children with visual disabilities where they could touch animal models to understand how they look and what size they are. The fact that society is not homogeneous, and the familiar environment, the structure of houses and the city as a whole can be inconvenient for someone, they thought later - only in the 20th century. Thanks to improved living conditions and medicine, life expectancy has increased; after the world wars with disabilities, many more people were confronted than before, and with the help of new medicines, people managed to survive the diseases and injuries that were previously considered fatal. Demography has changed, the population has become older - now we understand that, sooner or later, anyone may be faced with the fact that the environment does not suit him, but then this idea seemed new.
The fact that society is not homogeneous, and the familiar environment, the structure of houses and the city as a whole can be inconvenient for someone, they thought only in the 20th century
Inclusive education, as we understand it today, did begin to emerge only in the second half of the last century. In 1971, the UN adopted the “Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons”, and in 1975, the “Declaration on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. Around the same time, a movement for the rights of people with disabilities appeared in the West: adults with disabilities were outraged that society obliges them to live in shelters, separate from other people. We also talked about the fact that children with disabilities study together with everyone. True, the changes were not instantaneous: the corresponding changes in the laws on education began to appear in the 1980s (and they have not happened somewhere until now).
In Russia, the right of children with disabilities to study with others in a regular educational institution was enshrined in law only in 2012 — and how the program is applied in practice raises questions today.
Design
The concept of "design for all" appeared in the XX century, primarily due to demographic changes. The American Ronald Mace coined the term "universal design" - this is how he described the design of objects and the environment, which is suitable for everyone, regardless of age, presence or absence of disability or social status. In 1989, Mace founded the Center for Affordable Housing, which is now called the Universal Design Center - it was in it that he developed the basic principles of a new approach, which underlies the modern inclusive design.
Universal design is described by a simple principle - "ban for average, design for the edges", that is, "forget about the" average ", create a design for the extreme points." A simple historical example helps to understand it. In the middle of the last century, the US Air Force revealed several problems that hindered the development of aviation, for example, they found that the cabin designed in the 1920s was not suitable for pilots. The Air Force decided that the average pilot, like the average American, simply became larger, and he was uncomfortable in a tight cockpit. They measured ten indicators in 4 thousand pilots - for example, the length of the body and the volume of the chest - and hoped that they could create a new "medium" cockpit.
Universal design is described by a simple principle - "ban the average, design for the edges", that is, "forget about the" average ", create a design for the extreme points"
In reality, everything turned out to be wrong: it turned out that almost none of the pilots fit into the “medium” parameters - for example, not all tall pilots have long arms, not all people of medium height have the same chest volume. As a result, the Air Force used a fundamentally different approach: instead of the “medium” cabin, they decided to choose a design that would suit people with very different parameters - for example, use adjustable seats for people of different heights.
“Universal design comes down to the idea that everything should be created taking into account the needs of people with the most extreme forms of disability and the highest degree of discrimination,” says Simon Heihou, a researcher who specializes in disability experiences in the context of educational programs and art. to make a ramp, we will make the porch itself so that we can immediately drop in on a wheelchair. And if we succeed, it will be easier for all other people without disabilities to use it. " This approach helps to rethink things familiar to us: for example, the automatic door, unlike the usual one, will be convenient for those who move in a wheelchair, and for parents with a small child, and for those who simply carry heavy bags.
Education
Education is perhaps the most familiar area where the principle of inclusivity is sought to apply - simply because it is one of the basic human rights. Inclusive education implies that the school creates such conditions so that every student has the opportunity to study in the classroom, actively participate in the lessons and achieve high results. At the same time, simply helping students with special needs “integrate” into the existing system is not enough - you need to take into account the needs of different children and understand whether the existing system suits them in principle.
Speaking of inclusive education, most often referring to students with disabilities or developmental characteristics, but the difficulties that prevent students from getting an education may be related to their gender, origin, economic status, nationality, and other reasons. Moreover, students with disabilities are not a single group with the same needs: if some students may need ramps, then others, such as a guide tile or the ability to receive information in sign language.
Schoolchildren are divided into classes by age, textbooks also make more suitable for a given age, standard tests, such as IQ or our USE, assess the student’s abilities compared to the average student’s abilities
Todd Rose, a Harvard professor, developed this idea even further - he believes that the school system in its current form, in principle, is built under the "average" student, who, like the "average" American pilot of the fifties, does not exist. Schoolchildren are divided into classes by age, textbooks also make more suitable for a given age, standard tests, such as IQ or our USE, assess a student’s abilities compared to those of an “average” schoolchild. As a result, students often do not have the opportunity to truly demonstrate their abilities, and talented students can do less than they actually could, because they perform tasks designed for an "average" student. The question whether it is possible to build such a truly individual system remains open.
Culture
“I don’t believe that in order to change attitudes towards disability in society, it’s just enough to simplify access to cafes and shops for people with disabilities. There are still many different factors involved,” Simon Heihou notes. to the current migration crisis. When the economic situation is favorable, we are pleased with the arriving labor force and not opposed to living with people from different countries and cultures. However, as soon as our things start to get worse, the attitude towards migrants changes to negat willow side. "
Of course, inclusiveness does not end with just giving everyone equal access somewhere: in order for society to become truly inclusive, you need to learn to accept diversity. Here cultural projects are useful - for example, special cinema halls where people with autism are comfortable or museum projects: the Moscow Garage opened the museum an hour earlier for visitors with autism. For guests with visual disabilities, tactile materials may be used, and for guests with hearing disabilities, guided tours can be made in sign language.
Capitalism
Universal methods of inclusiveness do not exist - although its principles can (and should) be used in any sphere - everything is not limited to education and culture. The UN has released a report on inclusive society - how to make society more open and how to ensure that more and more people take part in political life. There are less obvious ways to apply the principle of inclusion: for example, The Guardian published a column on inclusive capitalism - "the idea that people with power and means should make society stronger and help it become more inclusive for those who have no power." This can be done by giving people more access to education, modernizing public transport and local initiatives that make cities more convenient for life. "
The Moscow Garage opened the museum an hour earlier for visitors with autism. For guests with visual disabilities, tactile materials can be used, and for guests with hearing disabilities, guided tours can be conducted in sign language.
There are more narrow and specific projects - for example, the concept of inclusive tourism, for which even developed a special instruction. It implies not only universal design and work to make cities comfortable for everyone, but also the level of service and work to make the tourism industry more friendly to different people.
The principle of inclusion can be applied almost anywhere - there are no restrictions. The universal rule is only one thing: to take into account that there are no people with the same needs and absolutely the same experience, so you should not start only from your own ideas - it is better to ask the opinion of others.
Photo: Nikolai Sorokin - stock.adobe.com (1, 2, 3)
