Workshop “Breaking down disability: Removing barriers”

This workshop is aimed at de-stigmatising ideas connected to disability and seeks to empower young people to advocate for Disability Justice. At the end of the workshop, pupils should be more comfortable and knowledgeable regarding the concept of disability.

What is this workshop about?

The workshop follows the idea that participants can challenge their pre-conceptions about disability, creating understanding beyond pity. The students will be introduced to the idea of disability as socially constructed, meaning it is lived and built through interactions with other people and one’s culture, and not purely medical experience.

It will encourage non-disabled students to advocate for their disabled counterparts in school, and throughout their lives, including in their future employment, relationships, and communities. Further, it will allow students who will go on to develop a disability to hopefully find resources and feel more at peace in their bodies. Lastly, this workshop will allow the burden of education on disability to be partially removed from disabled students.

Leonor Albuquerque Amaral

Author

Key facts

Duration: 110 minutes without a break

Target group: aimed at all pupils, including non-disabled, pre-disabled, and disabled students between the ages of 14 and 18

Format: digital or on site

About the material

The workshop was developed as part of our Thinking of Europe Fellowship in cooperation with the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft. All  materials are accessible as an Open Educational Resource.

The author and we as Understanding Europe would like to encourage teachers, young educators and educational multipliers to use it for their work.

Workshop manual: Breaking down disability: Removing barriers
PDF — 4 MB
Powerpoint presentation
PPTX — 12 MB