How do you navigate a tight corner in a wheelchair? How do you read with only 10% vision? How can you concentrate on math when people are talking loudly around you? On October 29, 2024, the auditorium on the Mainz University of Applied Sciences campus was transformed into an interactive world of experience for a day of action on experiencing barriers. Students were able to experience the obstacles that people with physical or mental disabilities face in everyday life. A wheelchair course through the auditorium, slalom courses, and a ramp offered insights into the efforts and challenges faced by people with limited mobility.
Sensory impairments were also made tangible: Using a cane for the blind and special glasses as well as simulated hearing impairments, participants were able to experience what visual and hearing impairments feel like. The ADHD experience was brought to life through sensory overload. In addition to challenges, there were also opportunities to talk to experts and change perspectives at various stations. One deaf visitor even spontaneously supported the team at the ‘hearing table’ and, because it was a lot of fun, mastered the course several times.
The response at the interactive walls revealed two real barriers on campus: heavy entrance doors and thresholds, for example between the outdoor area and the auditorium door, where some wheelchairs got stuck. The day was organized by students from the School of Business under the direction of Dr. Elke Lassahn and the Center for Self-Determined Living in Mainz (ZSL), which supported activities with aids such as wheelchairs, special headphones, and Braille writing devices.
Students Yunes Al-Obadi, Katharina Fritzen, Anika Kloster, and Sarah Stumpf organized and ran the event. They gained valuable experience in event management and barrier-free design. The next day of action to raise awareness of disabilities and barriers is already in the works.
