Wednesday, March 28, Ilse van der Put (Empowerment by Playing) together with Nick Althuizen (Sicuro), Miranda Leeuwis (Speeltuinbende Barneveld) and Johannes Fontanus College Technasium (JFC) teachers Jeannette van de Fliert and Mariska de Pater formed the jury of the final presentation of O&O “Design an inclusive playground.”
It was the fourth time that the freshmen of the Technasium started working on the assignment “Design an inclusive playground” .
More than 20 groups (nearly 100 students) worked on the project for two months. On Wednesday 23th of march, each group was given 5 minutes to present their results to the jury.
It was a joy to talk to these new designers about their plans and to see the models and drawings. Most of the students do not know peers with disabilities. Through the assignment, they learned about inclusion and playing together. They discovered that it is not about the disability but about the opportunities you do have to participate, to play together. They saw that sometimes a disability is not the wheelchair but the sand under a piece of playground equipment. They also now know that as a designer you can really contribute to a more inclusive society.
The project at the JFC shows that the topic “Design an inclusive playground ” is very suitable for freshmen. With this project, students not only gain design skills but also learn about inclusion. One student summed it up nicely “Because of this project, every time I design something, I want to become a designer later, I will also think about people with disabilities. ” Well, you can’t put it better.
We want all technasia in the netherlands to put the project “design an inclusive playground” on the curriculum.
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