1st July 2009 (at METU)

All the students have now arrived and have joined the activities, so there are about 40 participants.   

In the “Gossip about Evelien” activity, today's trainer Evelien told us all to make small groups and try and guess what she likes (or not), what she has done/ plans to do, etc.  She left the room for 10 minutes then returned to find out what people had guessed; she then told us whether these were correct or not. 

“She is punctual, likes horses, is a good listener; sensitive, ...”  

This activity has several aims: participants have to ‘gossip’consciously.  It is not easy; and in fact many feel uncomfortable.  We realised how difficult it was to make acurate guesses, because we had only just met Evelien; we had few clues to base assumptions on.  But in real life, people are always judging/ pre-judging others (e.g. She's blind, so she can't do XXX, won't like QQQ...). We are always making assumptions; it is automatic.  It is not a problem if you are aware, if you consciously try to say what you think about someone, rather than keeping feelings and thoughts silent, unspoken.    It’s good to learn to say what is on your mind, because finding words helps us get a clearer idea in our mind; we need to learn how to do this without judging. 

 This activity is especially a good way to learn to deal with prejudice.  This works in both ways:

• the ‘gossiped’ person can see some of the ideas people have about him/her, what they can guess correctly even though s/he never told any of us, and what people think is correct when it isn’t; what messages am I giving? Another point is being aware that not everybody has to like me.  
• the people who judge / who gossip learn that what they are thinking the minute they meet a person is an assumption from their own reference (according to their own way of looking at things); this assumption might be true, but it might also be completely false.  So be aware and keep your mind open.  

Discussion about  “Empowerment is…”

The Power point text was discussed during the session. 

Another Power point gives quotes that we discussed too. 

COFFEE BREAK

Discussion:  “Empowerment is…”

"Do you feel empowered now?  Do we feel we can say what we think now?                                              Eylem's empowered: She will tell me when she doesn't understand so that I can say it again! "

The Power point text was discussed during the session. 

Another Powerpoint gives quotes that we discussed too. 

Impossible

can change → to become

I’m possible

Empowerment is….

-         When a disabled student is empowered s/he can decide and act independently, in a responsible way, so that he/she gets the same chances (during and after his/her studies) as all students.

-         Empowerment is often a question of “daring”, having the courage to take a risk...

-         Empowerment is a continuous process of development: the student with disability develops confidence in his skills for a particular need or interest. 

There are two responsibilities, that of the students themselves, and that of the institute:

The student is empowered

• when he has got enough self-confidence to be responsible of his own behaviour
• when he can act and say what he needs

The institute is responsible for helping students grow in empowerment.

When a student doesn’t want, the institute cannot help. This can be a problem. What does a student need to be more empowered and to try to persuade our students to act like this. That is the responsibility of the institute. It is good to make this distinction. To be empowered as a student and what to expect from the empowerment of the institute.

How can a university help students to be empowered?   We must focus on the students, so that disability advisers know what they need to do for the students with disabilities.

Jan challenges the students:

• Dare to speak! 
• Do you need empowerment?  How can you get more empowered?
• Do you need better conditions?  Did you ask the university?  
• Can they do something? It is very slow; find out why. Do you understand how they work?
• How did you feel when you asked?  Did you feel stronger? Yes
• ...but sometimes some people behave badly and it is difficult and I am sad and sorry. That is the sad reality.

  Turkish students talked about their experiences and talked about how they were empowered. The situation seems the same in Holland and in Turkey. There are always problems and the solutions actually are very simple but they are just made impossible.

Deniz: I am responsible for empowering myself, but my university must give me the right conditions to empower me.  Jan: the student must learn to say what she needs.  The university must help students to be empowered, only when students say they want empowerment. 

Eylem: She needs accessibility. If the buildings are accessible she will feel empowered.     Jan: Did you feel stronger when you asked people to make buildings more accessible.        Eylem: Yes.

Deniz: In my first years at university I wasn't happy. Now I'm still not happy, but I'm stronger.  In my 1^st year I was really discouraged when a teacher behaved negatively: she didn't allow me to decide.  If I had been stronger I would have taken the course. Now I don't give up. Jan: What made you stronger?  Deniz: I now know that if I don't struggle for myself, no one will give me anything. When I experience enough success I know I can change.

Zeliha: When there is team work between teachers and students, both are empowered together.  Cukurova University had a project; we asked for a lift; later others befitted too, because the lift made their life easier.

Danilo:  We get empowerment when we are challenged.

Pasha: I have a right to an ergonomic chair... but so far it has still not been provided.  Every week I ask... but now I feel a failure: because I'm not getting what I want, it is not so simple.  

Jan: This is a common problem.  Pasha is empowered enough to ask.  But her part isn't enough to get her rights.  When there isn't enough cooperation, in the Netherlands students can apply to Commission for Equal Treatment.  But the problem is time; and students don't have a lot of time when they are studying. 

Jan: When you feel "I'm failing because everyone else is successful", think about the worst case: then you can make choices.

LUNCH

6 elements of Empowerment:   (The last section of the Power point)

1. Competency

2. Self-Determination

3. Impact

4. Meaning

5. Positive Identity

6. Group orientation (explanations will be given by Evelien)

 and 5 S’s 

Evelien asks us to draw the Picture of empowerment and write how we would do an empowering communication. Later on we discussed both the drawings and the communication.

COFFEE BREAK

Jan told us a story about the history of how disability issues started.

 Networking and Lobbying as different ways of reaching your goals.  by Gilles Verschoore

 The points given in the presentation are only guidelines because networking and lobbying can learned by doing.

In the evening, participants had a a meal in the old citadelle of Ankara, at Kinacizade Konagi : this old mansion is relatively accessible, wheelchair users being able to reach the garden.  Our group was joined by several supporters from Ankara.  The restaurant owner arranged for a journalist from Sabah newspaper to come and interview us about the project. There is a good photo of the project team at the meal.  

A number of rooms in the building are used like a museum, to display a variety of old objects, clothes, etc.  However unlike regular museums, the objects can be handled - excellent for visually impaired visitors.  Our deaf-blind participant was able to understand the structure of old houses by touching a small model of Kinacizade Konagi.  She also was impressed, amongst other things, by the weight of an old iron: much more informative than museum objects in glass cases.