Disabled Awareness
I would like to contribute to the environment where we all live. We depend on the environment in which we live. A safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is our human right. Without a healthy environment, we are unable to fulfill our aspirations.
I will work with Turkish Cypriot Orthopedic Disability Association. I will have 10 -15 young disabled people in my workshops during two months. They will experience an artistic project that will be exhibited as a street art in most transited streets of Nicosia.
This project is focused on personal empowering of disabled youth to develop their social and communicational skills and to develop their artistic capacity. The social art is very important. We will have all a big benefit of sharing an art work not only with the families, friends, and the members of association but the circle will grow by doing an exhibition. It will not only give visibility to disabled youth but also will show the environment where we all live. Art can make visible.
What makes this project innovative is the use of expressive arts. By using different forms of art and by using creative process one can go to an awareness where brings to a better understanding of each other. It is new to use art in social basis to empower the disabled community. By empowering connections we can create a culture of peace. Expressive arts can motivate to emerge the cultural and social identity of the disabled youth.
Young people with disabilities can experience rejection and isolation. Feelings of loneliness and isolation are reinforced by an inaccessible environment. We all need and want the sense of identity and belonging. To be part of a community that respects and appreciates every individual, regardless of their differences is our desire. There is a social prejudice and discomfort in their presence. What is more environmental barriers prevent them from being accepted.
Ignorance of disability by the society leads disabled people to a loss of self-esteem, self worth, and the creation of social isolation. Art therapy can help to express these feelings and help to make an emotional support network within the group.
Including the youth in this kind of activities can help to give them a chance to create and say things in another way and change the vision of the society.
Expressive Arts therapy can give another opportunity to find a way to discover and bring awareness to our difficulties to communicate. It can give us tools to change our point of view to get strength and change things. It can help us to discover ourselves and to be conscious of what we are doing with our environment.
To be aware of our environment first, we should be aware of ourselves. By creating we make personal and emotional connections. To be part of this project will make young people feel part of the society, feel hopeful that they can express and change things that not only concern themselves but everybody in the society.
I can say that, this project can facilitate the process that empowers youth with disabilities to address the multiple societal changes they face. We can use media and social media to reach a great part of the society and reach to listen their rights: to exercise the same rights as the rest of the citizens, have equal access to all opportunities and not remain isolated and invisible.
Including disabled youth for equal social and civic participation is beneficial not only to youth with disabilities, but also all parts of the society as youth can contribute to development of the society.
The intention of the project is to create a work in continuity. To continue with this kind of workshops the association will try to transform the project into participative workshops for other young disabled people.
The aim of the project is to get awareness on environment through disabled point of view. As a consequence our project will put emphasis on it.
