How to demystify disability? How to change looks from an early age? A playful solution has been created: the video game Gamino allows you to see yourself in the place of people with disabilities.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s managers
Camille MaldjianHead of Strategy at “Gamino”
This sensitization by resemblance engages the children. The company “Startup For Kids”, which prepares the youngest for innovation and creativity, multiplies the workshops organized with schoolchildren. In Paris, in the 17th arrondissement, school 42 hosted students for a disability awareness day with the creators of Gamino. Girls and boys of about 8 years old invited to immerse themselves for 45 minutes in a different universe: quizzes, riddles, small fun exercises to acquire vocabulary and develop a different perspective.
“The earlier we do it, the more we promote benevolence, empathy and we defuse situations of harassment”, says Damien Caillaud, expert on the subject of disability and co-founder of the platform. Schoolchildren love it: the concept is similar to that of a video game and they have no trouble putting themselves in the shoes of the other, to discover lip reading or essential tremor.
Trivializing disability is my goal!
Damien Caillaudexpert, trainer and co-founder of Gamino
These exchanges at school 42 open minds in homes, to remove taboos and arouse a feeling of empathy among young people, who are often discovering these disabilities for the first time. The workshops are carried out with the participation of teachers, stakeholders in the adventure. The child, once at home, will talk to his parents about it, explain to his relatives what he has just experienced. It will disseminate information on the different families of disabilities, motor, sensory, psychic, mental, as well as anecdotes. Some cannot be seen with the naked eye: this is called invisible disabilities.
This initiative was created to change behaviors, build a more inclusive and caring society. France is lagging behind, far behind Italy and Sweden, in the field of early inclusion, while nearly 12 million people are disabled in the country.