VIDEO PROJECT "JEDE*R FÜR JEDE*N"

Arian Saraie: I like to cook. Cutting, peeling pumpkin, peeling potatoes and putting them in water.

Bettina Onderka: I’ve always been interested in art and minerals, stones - everything that’s connected to nature.

Maria Clara Horvath: What’s important in my life is my husband - most important: my family.

Maria Schwarr: It’s important to me that people with learning difficulties are made visible.

Peter Hacker: As the City of Vienna, it is important to us to be a city of solidarity, a city of togetherness. Whether small, large, fat, thin, young or old - or people with or without disabilities.

Dennis Beck: The topic of people with disabilities and living without being disabled in our city is, for health promotion - and therefore also for WiG - a cross-cutting issue. We make a great effort to consider and include it in all our projects and programs.

Peter Hacker: People with disabilities have already been given quite a “heavy load” in life, and that’s why it is our task, in a modern disability policy, to at least try to make the barriers - the disabling aspects - these people face in everyday life as minimal as possible or, if possible, to eliminate them altogether.

Markus Ladstätter: We support people with disabilities in leading an independent, self-determined life and advise them on how they can achieve and implement that.

Maria Nimführ: Doctors today no longer have the time to explain everything - and that’s what the self-help group provides. We have experience, because most of us are either affected ourselves or have someone in the family who is. So it’s really important to pass that on.

Christine Reinhardt: That I get to know others too - because there are so many - that’s something I really like. That’s why I think it’s great that SUS exists as a resource.

Dennis Beck: The Self-Help Support Center SUS Vienna informs, advises, also helps with the founding of new groups, and organizes continuing education for those active in self-help and in the disability sector.

Eva Walcher: The Parkinson’s Self-Help Group Vienna helped me live in this community and be together. That is very, very beautiful.

Dennis Beck: There are many people in this city who, for many years, have been committed to enabling a life as free from disability as possible for people with disabilities. And I would like to highlight two people in particular: Theresia Haidlmayr was a long-time member of the Independent Living Movement. In 2006, the long struggle of Theresia and her fellow campaigners for a federal disability equality law ended successfully. Theresia was also a very dear friend of mine and sadly passed away on June 13, 2022, after a serious illness. Herbert Pichler was involved for decades in the union and the disability movement. One of Herbert’s greatest achievements was the inclusion package adopted in 2017. Far too early, Herbert died in a car accident on April 3, 2021.

Karlo Palavra: There should be a dedicated school subject where children are exposed to different types of disabilities from an early age. Then people wouldn’t be so afraid.

Klaus Widl: Without education, without inclusion, there is no equal opportunity for participation. That starts in kindergarten and school and continues with further education and in the workplace.

Thomas Posch: What I would really love is for us to be heard more often—or to be taken more seriously.

Karin Prusa: A major barrier is the availability of interpreters. There are far too few, and interpretation costs are not always covered.

Peter Hacker: People without disabilities often don’t even see the everyday barriers. And that also means being willing to engage in critical dialogue. Personally, I appreciate that critical dialogue because it helps us move forward together. And that, in the end, is what it’s all about.

Sigrun Schwab: In our kindergarten in the Stadtpark, inclusion is really lived and practiced.

Peter Hörmann: I joined a bowling club where we participate with various disabilities, or with few or no disabilities - and I must say, it’s just great.

Markus Ladstätter: It’s a good feeling to walk through Vienna and, over the years, see what you’ve actually been able to achieve. That really fills you with pride.

Cathrin Sedhoum: I love being around people with and without disabilities. It’s the most beautiful thing that has ever happened.

Bettina Onderka: 12th district, Fockygasse, BALANCE. Daily structure. I paint pictures every day. I do that myself. I don’t get help with that. I only get help with other things, like filling out forms. I occasionally color mandalas because that calms the nerves. Painting generally calms the nerves.

Stefanie Wimmer: I used to be completely cast aside. Now I'm no longer rejected — I like it better here. I can knit and do handicrafts, and draw. I like it better here than anywhere else.

Bettina Onderka: It's great in the workshop. Here they see what I can do well and what I can't.

Markus Mras: The district here is the 14th district, Hütteldorf. I still have to find everything in the boxes and set it all up. That’s still a lot of work. In the city, I like to go shopping with my support workers for things I need at the moment. Visiting services take trips with me, to the Schönbrunn Zoo or to the House of the Sea. When I have my phone with me, and I notice I’ve gotten lost, I can use video calling to show my support workers where I am. Then I have to press a button. A support worker will come or call a taxi that brings me back. Everything is beautiful — the whole house and everything. All the beautiful furniture and everything. I want to thank everyone in the whole city for the beautiful apartment.

Heidi Tomacek: We are at “biv integrativ” on Mariahilfer Straße. The courses have helped me a lot.

Mag.a Beate Dietmann: We are an adult education institution that has existed for 26 years.

Bruno Kirchner: We offer courses for people with disabilities and people working in the social sector.

Karlo Palavra: Once, I took part in the course “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.” And I really enjoyed it.

Heidi Tomacek: Thanks to the English course, I learned a bit of English.

Josef Hochmeister: We work together in a group, use our brains, and continue our education.

Heidi Tomacek: I didn’t know how to use a computer before. That’s why I took a computer course at “biv.”

Karlo Palavra: I completed a special training as a course assistant, and currently I’m taking part in “Learning Workshop 2,” reading, writing and arithmetic.

Charlotte Knees-Weixelberger: Inclusion in education means creating opportunities in which people who are interested in the subject can participate. It’s about responding individually to each person, while also making sure that we are - or want to become - a group.

Mag.a Beate Dietmann: The topic of education for all is very important to us.

Bruno Kirchner: We want to create learning spaces where people can learn with and from one another.

Mag.a Beate Dietmann: In this spirit, we offer inclusive workshops that are open to everyone.

Bruno Kirchner: You can find more information about our courses on our website: www.biv-integrativ.at

Mag.a Beate Dietmann: Additionally, our educational counseling service is available to you free of charge.

Timea Rebstock: BIZEPS offers on the one hand, counseling on personal assistance, but also on the topic of care allowance and also on the topics of mobility and accessibility, not only for individuals, but also for organizations and groups. Success is when personal assistance works well for clients, when they get the number of hours they need and have wished for and can simply lead a self-determined life with personal assistance.

Markus Ladstätter: BIZEPS – Center for Independent Living is a counseling center for disabled people and their relatives. We also advise companies on implementing accessibility and help when disabled people feel discriminated against. We started in 1992 as a self-help group and in 1994 we then established ourselves as an association. Our vision is that disabled people can lead their lives independently. What do we mean by that? That they have the freedom of choice between acceptable options, that means they can also decide how they want to lead their lives and don't have to live as they are told to. When we advise disabled people, it’s very important for us to emphasize that we provide peer counseling. That means people affected advise other affected people, because only they can know what a life situation feels like and therefore give more authentic advice.

Cornelia Scheuer: A woman contacted us who lives in a municipal apartment where there is a step at the entrance, and where she cannot open the door herself. She contacted us, and together with the district support of the City of Vienna and the client, we managed to get a ramp built there, which was even constructed by the City of Vienna as “Wiener Wohnen,” and it turned out very well.

Michael Bruckner: We are here in the CBMF Café.

Gabriela Bakshi: If I need something, all my colleagues are there for me and of course help me. When I say “I can’t do this or that.” That’s not a problem at all, we are a community, and one helps the other. And that’s the beautiful thing about this association. We are one big family.

Emilie Karall: What is essential and important to me is having the option of personal assistance. If I didn’t have that, it would be difficult. And that’s why I think it’s absolutely essential to make an effort to spread the topic of personal assistance more widely.

Klaus Widl: We are an association that offers people with disabilities leisure activities, recreational opportunities, and advocates for social and disability policy concerns, as well as promotes inclusion and independence.

Andrea Bruckner: My son has now been a member of CBMF for four years and I can only say positive things, because it has simply been so important for his independence. He can go there on his own, without me having to accompany him, and that is really a benefit for him.

Michael Bruckner: The WAKA transport service is important to us, and good friends.

Robert Prajo: What’s important to me is that people accept all of us as we are.

Michael Bruckner: Robert thinks it’s important that people accept us as we are.

Martin Rauch: Down-Syndrome Vienna is an association that is committed to making the issues of people with Down syndrome more visible in public. A lot of it is about education. A lot of it is about the workplace – creating opportunities. It’s also a lot about aging, creating opportunities for housing.

Sigrun Schwab: We are here in the seventh district, at Hilfswerk, in the „toy library“.

Martin Rauch: We are guests here twice a month and there is a playgroup for families with children with Down syndrome. The age group is up to about seven years.

Sigrun Schwab: Tips are shared here, friendships are made.

Martin Rauch: I myself, for example, have a ten-year-old son and I notice that I have a lot of knowledge that I can pass on to the younger ones. But I still need knowledge about what happens at 14, 15 years? When it comes to career orientation. This exchange is extremely important.

Sigrun Schwab: After our daughter’s diagnosis, this playgroup gave me a lot of support and the exchange was very important to gain information and also to see how the children grow up. That the children actually develop completely normally, and that you're not standing there alone, so to speak.

Christian Weber: The parents’ forum was founded in 1992. We meet once a month at the Landstraße Clinic. There are expert lectures or exchanges of experience. What’s most important about these meetings is that we get to know each other better, that we can exchange ideas. That helps everyone. One person can pass something on and the other learns something new.

Maria Clara Horvath: I go regularly every week, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to dance class here with Hana and Attila. It helped me a lot. And I love dancing, just like I love my husband.

Mike Brozek: Hip-hop, modern, ballroom, or musical dance. This is my home in the association, this is where I belong.

Maria Clara Horvath: We’ve had many performances in Prague, Spain, and we were once in Dresden too.

Attila Zanin: My mother founded the association in 1979, with the goal of simply creating a place where people with and without disabilities come together, can learn from each other, and develop things together that can then be presented on stage or in the streets. 44 years later, three pillars have emerged. The first pillar is the “Ich bin O.K.” dance studio, where people are offered 20 classes per week and everyone can choose for themselves what they want to do and how often. The second pillar is the “Ich bin O.K.” Dance Company, where we work with professional dancers and choreographers, and try to create a full-length piece for the stage and go on tour nationally and internationally. And the third pillar is quite new. It’s called “Ich bin O.K.” Dance Assist, where we noticed that some dancers want more than just dancing — they really want to pass on what they’ve learned.

Philipp Horak: At first I danced with you. That was also pretty cool for me, I have to say. And then I let you go on your own at some point. Now you dance only on your own and that’s really great. What I really value about “Ich bin O.K.” is that it’s a community.

Group (shouts together): We are O.K.!

Attila Zanin: It’s a gift to be able to take part in their lives, and that it’s really not like a normal dance school where people just come and go. That’s really our big plus — that people stay with us for years, even decades.

Maria Nimführ: Welcome to the Medical Self-Help Center “Martha Frühwirt.” We have been in this building since 1986.

Markus Raab: The Medical Self-Help Center “Martha Frühwirt” is located in Vienna. It is unique in Austria.

Maria Nimführ: Currently, there are 22 self-help groups in the medical field based here.

Markus Raab: Each group has a small office. Additionally, two large meeting rooms and a small gymnasium can be used. The meeting rooms are equipped with a projector, a large TV, an induction system, a small kitchen, and microphones and speakers. So we are very well equipped. There is also a garden. In summer, people can go outside to the garden…

Maria Nimführ: …where we also celebrate parties. It’s not just about talking about illness; you also have to bring in the joys of life.

Markus Raab: Self-help is voluntary work—it’s done voluntarily. And people affected help other affected people. That means you go to a self-help group and receive advice, support, and information from people who are themselves affected.

Maria Nimführ: Doctors today no longer have the time to explain everything, and that’s what self-help groups provide. We have experience because most of us are affected ourselves or have affected family members.

Markus Raab: So it’s very important to pass on this knowledge. In my opinion, what makes self-help so valuable is the personal support. You attend the meetings in person. Sure, you can look up information on the internet through so-called Dr. Google, but that’s just information. You can read various things. But being there in person is better, because you can ask questions on site and see the affected person—so you're basically in the same boat. Self-help is not just for older people. That’s not true. Young people also attend such meetings. It’s also not true that the self-help leader gets paid. That is also not true. It is a voluntary activity.

Group: Loving life despite Parkinson's. You can experience that and more with us. Come and join in. The members of the Parkinson’s Self-Help Group Vienna are looking forward to meeting you.

Christine Reinhardt: The pro mente Wien self-help groups are self-help groups for people with mental illness. And people meet there weekly and come together because of their shared experiences and exchange ideas, feel understood through it and learn to help themselves again.

Wolfgang Brunthaler: In self-help groups, people meet and exchange ideas about the illness and how they deal with it or could deal with it and also gain experience from others.

Sabine Stanek: And they take place once a week. 90 minutes are free of charge for participants. The goal is really to be able to manage everyday life well.

Christine Reinhardt: We really have self-help groups for many mental illnesses on many topics, be it obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, anxiety and depression, burnout, schizophrenia spectrum, bipolar disorder. We have special groups for young adults, so really a wide range, so that many people can find something that speaks to what concerns them.

Sabine Stanek: Since was affected myself a few years ago, I realized how incredibly important it is to be able to talk to like-minded people who simply have similar symptoms, experiences, feelings and want to be seen. People with mental illness want to be seen, want to be given space, want to be appreciated and respected and not be stigmatized and simply be viewed only through the lens of their diagnosis.

Christine Reinhardt: It's not about me telling others what is good for him or her, but rather that through the exchange with others you just realize: Aha, maybe that could work for me too. And in that way, regain your own self-efficacy.

Clemens Brait „Falco“: We are here at Rainman's Home in Vienna. I come here every day to Semperstraße.

Arian Saraie: I like to cook. Cutting, peeling pumpkin, peeling potatoes, putting them in water, snoezelen, going into the snoezelen room, craft room. I like listening to music, Bravo Hits. I like going for walks outside.

Dr. Anton Diestelberger: Today it’s hard to believe that it’s been over 30 years since we decided to found Rainman’s Home. It happened mostly out of personal experience. I’m the father of an autistic son myself. And back then, the big problem was: at the end of school, there were practically no places where you could confidently entrust your autistic child to a facility. We were successful, and today there are already three day centers. And we have become specialists in the field of day structure.

Dr. Nadia Sairafi-Stocker: I really value Rainman’s Homes because they have specialized in autistic people. I think what they actually do for us parents of autistic children and adolescents is a tremendous relief, that we can also pursue our professions.

Dr. Anton Diestelberger: In dealing with the people we care for, it’s very important to us to pay attention to clear structures, but never to become militant.

Clemens Brait „Falco“: It helps me that I sometimes have vacation time or can go on trips. We once went on a trip to see monuments, on another trip we went to the House of the Sea.