{"id":1244,"date":"2023-07-07T14:38:52","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T12:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.divers2023.ch\/?page_id=1244"},"modified":"2023-08-23T15:02:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T13:02:00","slug":"barriers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.divers2023.ch\/en\/barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We and Our Surroundings\n<\/h2>\n\n
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Life, mobility or a visit to a museum can present different hurdles and challenges, depending on a person\u2019s situation in life, age, impairments etc.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Participation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Think about your four best capabilities, or better still, write them down on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would happen if you lost the three most important ones? What would your life like be then?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Impediments<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Impediments have various aspects. They are an interplay of individual characteristics and one\u2019s surroundings. Different restrictions arise depending on how those surroundings are organised. A broken lift is a problem for a person with a rollator, a walking aid or a wheelchair. A noisy entrance can prevent autistic people from visiting a museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This understanding of impediments to interaction and participation is oriented around the social model and, analogous to the Oxford English Dictionary definition, includes <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.1. To impede; to be impeded
1.2. Something that impedes someone
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\u201c<\/em><\/em>Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\nUNO Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articel 1<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The UNO Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in May 2008. Its aim is to guarantee all human rights to people with disabilities and enable their active participation in public, economic and social life. Switzerland did not accede to the international treaty until 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dismantling Hurdles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If a society wants to live diversity, everyone must be able to participate. This is the goal of accessibility. Obstacles should be removed, be they physical, cultural, psychological or intellectual. In the context of a cultural institution, this means: no thresholds, easy language, readable websites, precise information and much more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Kunstmuseum Luzern aims to dismantle various barriers and thus, for example, makes its website available in German in easy language. It is also planning further steps towards a barrier-free experience of art.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like an impairment, old age can cause similar difficulties in interaction with one\u2019s surroundings, as sooner or later it also brings physical or psychological restriction with it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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When is a person old?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Old age is relative: when someone is old, and whether they feel old, depends on their form on the day, on their character and on their actual age. Generally, old age is associated with the beginning of retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether old or young \u2013 a person\u2019s age can be a disqualifier, be it in case of a job application or at a party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Baby boomers, Millenials, Generation Z<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A generation is bound together by personal, cultural and social events. Each generation has to contend with different challenges. It is said of Generation Z (born 1997-2000) that they do not want to work, whereas the baby boomers (born 1945-1964) are being confronted with possible restrictions imposed by old age.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Whereas one generation looked forward to an apparently safe future and grew up with economic growth, the next generations have been faced with climate change, the COVID pandemic, war and the different crises involved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf I could live my life again, I would make the same mistakes. But a bit earlier, so that I could benefit more from them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nMarlene Dietrich<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Forever Young<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Discrimination of older people is more a phenomenon of the western world, where vigour and youthfulness rank higher than life experience. An enormously high value is placed on a person\u2019s ability to work and consume, with the result that older people are perceived as a financial burden on society. One result of this is that advertising, for example, often promises eternal youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eternal youth is what the figure Dorian Grey strives for in Oscar Wilde\u2019s novel. His wish to remain flawlessly young is granted to him, while the ageing process and his sinful life are visually registered in his painted portrait, which thus become a mirror of his cruelty and wickedness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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