On March 28th the Executive Director of Equilibrium Galina Bisset participated in the event of the Institute for Social Services in the Community: AccessibleEU Bulgaria: Accessibility of Cultural Heritage and Tourism with a presentation “Touching the Danube Bridge”.
This was a story through film and sharing the experience of a different exhibition, realized in partnership with the Regional History Museum in Ruse: In 2019, we created a new exhibition with social functions, which we called Tactile Workshop for Equal Opportunities at the Regional History Museum – Ruse. It was inspired by the Homer Museum in Ancona, Italy and open to the whole community – children and adults with and without sensory impairments or intellectual disabilities. This tactile exhibition included 5 tactile models (with more key details) of the most emblematic cultural and historical monuments of the city of Ruse, which were explored by touch. Works of art by local artists, also suitable for touching, were also provided. The methods of exploring the sites were interactive and suitable for children and adults with different social and health status (disabled, sensory imapired, from marginalized communities, from the general community). Blindfolds, boxes with holes for touching, clay and drawing materials were used to recreate the perceived object by touch. In this way everyone participated equally, driven by the inherent curiosity of all people and the desire to have fun. Children and people with disabilities were successfully introduced to cultural heritage and contemporary art. Their self-confidence, mobility and autonomy – prerequisites for a fuller participation in community life – were improved. And those without difficulties were placed in situations that would help them understand how people with sensory or cognitive impairments feel. During the project, the exhibition was visited by children from kindergartens and schools, from social services, including for people with sensory impairments, from marginalized neighborhoods. They were put in the ‘shoes’ of less privileged members of the community and through awareness of their own feelings developed empathy and greater tolerance. The initiative improved the social cohesion of the community in the city because the experience of the exhibition, in a very emotional way, touched the hearts of everyone. The models continue to be used to work with children and with visitors to the city with sensory impairments.
The event of the Institute for Social Services in the Community provided an opportunity to learn about good examples of accessible cultural and natural environments and to create new partnerships to support the children and young people with disabilities cared for by Equilibrium.
