On May 27, Access Israel’s international department conducted a workshop on accessibility for people with disabilities during emergencies, for students from the international department of the Master’s in Disaster Management in Tel Aviv University. Throughout the day, participants attended a lecture on the challenges of accessibility for people with disabilities during emergencies and the importance of preparedness. They met with individuals with four types of disabilities: visual, physical, hearing, and autism, who shared their experiences and personal challenges in emergencies.
The participants also engaged in experiential activities to understand different disabilities. For the visual disability, participants wore blindfolds and navigated their way to an emergency exit in the class, obstacle navigation, and sensory effects.
They experienced physical disability by sitting in a wheelchair and navigating an obstacle course to locate a safe area.
For the hearing loss simulation, the students wore headphones and tried to pass massages to one another by lip reading.
At the end of the day, the students spoke about how eye-opening, meaningful, and unique the experience was for them. They expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to meet, talk to, and hear firsthand from people with disabilities about their challenges.
“It was such an amazing workshop! Thank you so much to everyone who shared their stories with us – truly eye-opening!”
“A wonderful workshop! It was so meaningful to hear directly from those most impacted by accessibility issues, especially during emergencies.”
We thank the Seneca trust for supporting the Purple Vest Mission efforts of raising awareness and providing tools for accessible emergencies.
