Internship Parcival College   

In November, three high school students from the Parcival College in Groningen joined This Abled City for a week-long internship: Madison (16), Ibbe (16) and Vera (15). The students participated in our project on accessibility and perceptions of living with a physical disability. Together they explored the city in a wheelchair, tested the board game“This Abled City – A Steampunk Story” (with Julia Munuera Garcia) and considered how young people can learn to view (in)accessibility differently. They worked for several days with co-researcher Tessa Meijer (wheelchair user and involved with This Abled City). Each student worked on a small, personal project as well:

Adaptive fashion
Ibbe delved into adaptive fashion, i.e.. clothing tailored to the needs of wheelchair users, among others. Based on his own streetwear style, he designed an outfit for wheelchair users within that community. He researched online which elements were important (comfort, fit, zippers/fasteners, pressure points) and incorporated these into his design. He then asked wheelchair users for feedback to refine his ideas.

Photography, fashion and identity
Madison focused on photography and the relationship between fashion and identity. Together with Tessa and Vera, she visited a local fashion store to see what wheelchair users face when trying on and choosing clothes. They turned it into a moment of shared interest and fun, including a little makeover (hair/makeup). This resulted in a series of photos and—together with Vera—short videos.

Young people, video and image formation
Vera focused on making videos for and by young people; Short, smartphone-friendly formats that cater to limited attention spans, yet still encourage reflection. She experimented with specific shots, pacing, sound, and editing to tell a story that surprises viewers and encourages them to reflect on their own perceptions of disability and accessibility.

At the end of the internship, the three presented their work at ‘s Heeren Loo, our societal partner organisation. They explained that they now see the city differently – and see how inaccessible it often is. They also expressed the value of being able to use their own interests (fashion, photography, video) in a socially relevant project.
When asked how we, in the This Abled City project, can better involve young people in thinking about an inclusive society, they were honest: It is quite difficult, but practical experience (such as a wheelchair tour through the city) and attention to this theme in class can really make a difference.

This is a clear assignment for us as teachers, researchers and professionals.
We are proud of what Madison, Ibbe, and Vera have accomplished in such a short time— and grateful for their fresh perspective on This Abled City. In the compilation below, some images from the week as well as prototype videos (here and here).

UCG Project Year 1 'This Abled City' 

At the heart of the Liberal Arts and Sciences programme at University College Groningen lays the Projects learning line. These courses allow students to discover, apply, and integrate knowledge and understanding from diverse disciplinary domains to address complex societal problems. It has a strong focus on innovation and synthesizing existing knowledge in new ways using creativity and imagination.

In the experiential project ‘This Abled City’, students first explore different models of ‘knowing’ disability, i.e. a medical model, a social model and an embodied model. This included rethinking ways in which society portrayed people with disabilities in different spaces, for example by visiting the University Museum Groningen and discussing the ways in anatomic collections deal with the issues of disability representation. Students the intricate relation of ability and disability through spaces, places and practices that cause people to either ‘become’ disabled or enabled in society. For example, by visiting Smashing Groningen and participating in one of their Roelstoeltennis lessons (wheelchair tennis lessons) students have first hand experiences in what practices and spaces can contribute to enable people with disabilities in accessible sports.

In smaller groups, students worked on developing ways of creating awareness and to share knowledge in creative, affective and impactful ways. This included a simulation of being blind during everyday activities (e.g. walking, making a sandwich, taking notes on a lecture, etc); a brief on how to make inaccessible spaces accessible, including interviews with experts by experience, policy makers and people with disabilities; and a website that raised awareness about ADHD which includes interactive activities to embody the experience of disability (e.g. a lecture and games).

An impression of the project, under supervision of Nena Lejko and Julia Munuera Garcia.

Alfa College 'A Steampunk Story' 

Students Kai Nijland and Sandra Staats from the Alfa College (Groningen) worked on creating character designs and game art for a prototype board game to create awareness of the experiences of people with disabilities as well as mainstream characters with a disability as heroes in games. 

This is a collaborative game where our wheelchairs co-researchers become playable characters in a Steampunk world. Each character has unique talents to bring to this game, and together they have to face challenges to make their city more accessible. The game takes inspiration from many existing games played within our team throughout the development phase like ‘the Lost City’, and the ‘Battle of Hogwarts’ in that the city comprises a board of different locations revealed during the game, and the characters can acquire a variety of helpful tools. An earlier prototype that provided inspiration was developed by UCG students in the context of their project work.

Sandra and Kai developed some amazing prototype characters and locations sketches which will soon be used to finalise this game.

The project was supervised by Bettina van Hoven and Julia Munuera Garcia, in collaboration with Alfa College lecturer/Buro Bouma coach Delfo Pinto.